Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection, appreciation and research activities on stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare or reside only in museums.
The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting foundation of philately in the world. Both the membership and interests of the society are worldwide.
The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as The Philatelic Society, London. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its headquarters in London.
Edward Benjamin Evans, a British army officer also known as "Major Evans", was a distinguished philatelist, stamp collector, and philatelic journalist. His philatelic specialization included Mauritius, the Confederate States of America, the Mulready envelopes, and the Indian feudatory states.
Sir Edward Denny Bacon, KCVO was a British philatelist who helped with the enlargement and mounting of collections possessed by rich collectors of his time and became the curator of the Royal Philatelic Collection between 1913 and 1938.
The postage stamps and postal history of Israel is a survey of the postage stamps issued by the state of Israel, and its postal history, since independence was proclaimed on May 14, 1948. The first postage stamps were issued two days later on May 16, 1948. Pre-1948 postal history is discussed in postage stamps and postal history of Palestine.
The Belvedere is a Beaux Arts style building in Baltimore, Maryland. Designed by the Boston architectural firm of Parker and Thomas and built in 1902–1903, the Belvedere is a Baltimore landmark at the southeast corner of North Charles Street, facing north on East Chase Street in the city's fashionable Mount Vernon-Belvedere-Mount Royal neighborhood. In 1991 it was converted into condominiums, though areas remain open to the public.
The Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand is an international society for collectors of the postage stamps and postal history of New Zealand and her Dependencies.
Percival Stuart Bryce Rossiter was a renowned British philatelist and postal historian who wrote extensively about British postal history and postage stamps of British colonies in Africa and was involved in numerous philatelic institutions. In his Will he created The Stuart Rossiter Trust which has become a leading publisher of books on postal history.
Frederick John Melville was a British philatelist, prolific philatelic author and founder of The Junior Philatelic Society. He was also a founder in 1907 of the Philatelic Literature Society. Melville is a member of the American Philatelic Society's Hall of Fame and was a signatory to The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921.
George Townsend Turner of Washington, D.C., was considered a leading philatelic bibliophile of his era, amassing a very large body of philatelic literature over his lifetime. He was the acting curator of the Smithsonian Institution's philatelic collection from 1959 until 1962 and was the owner of the largest private philatelic library ever assembled.
William Carlos Stone, called "Uncle Billy" by his friends, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was a philatelist who specialized in the collection of philatelic literature related to revenue stamps and postal stationery.
The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of three pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their names.
Patricia A. (Trish) Kaufmann of Lincoln, Delaware, is an expert on the postage stamps and postal history of the Confederate States of America (CSA), and has written hundreds of articles on the subject; she is known as a diligent researcher who brings postal history to life. She is also a speaker on the subject.
Frederick Adolphus Philbrick, KC was an English barrister and an early philatelist.
David Richard Beech MBE was the curator of the British Library Philatelic Collections from 1983–2013. He is a Fellow and past President of the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL). In 2013, it was announced that Beech was to receive the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award for outstanding lifetime accomplishments in the field of philately.
Richard McPherren Cabeen, of Chicago, Illinois, United States, was well known philatelist in the Chicago area. He was one of philately's foremost writers of philatelic literature. The New York Times gives his nickname as "Sandy." He married Blema Eulaila Meagher on October 28, 1910.
John Richard Holman FRPSL was the editor of the British Philatelic Bulletin from 1988 to 2010 and a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London.
The Crawford Library is a library of early books about philately formed between 1898 and 1913 by James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford. By the time of his death in 1913, Crawford was thought to have amassed the greatest philatelic library of his time. Today, the library is part of the British Library Philatelic Collections.
