Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and 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.
A first day of issue cover or first day cover (FDC) is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for use within the country or territory of the stamp-issuing authority. Sometimes the issue is made from a temporary or permanent foreign or overseas office. Covers that are postmarked at sea or their next port of call will carry a Paquebot postmark. There will usually be a first day of issue postmark, frequently a pictorial cancellation, indicating the city and date where the item was first issued, and "first day of issue" is often used to refer to this postmark. Depending on the policy of the nation issuing the stamp, official first day postmarks may sometimes be applied to covers weeks or months after the date indicated.
A cancellation is a postal marking applied on a postage stamp or postal stationery to deface the stamp and to prevent its reuse. Cancellations come in a huge variety of designs, shapes, sizes, and colors. Modern cancellations commonly include the date and post office location where the stamps were mailed, in addition to lines or bars designed to cover the stamp itself. The term "postmark" refers specifically to the part that contains the date and posting location, but the term is often used interchangeably with "cancellation" as it may serve that purpose. The portion of a cancellation that is designed to deface the stamp and does not contain writing is also called the "obliteration" or killer. Some stamps are issued pre-cancelled with a printed or stamped cancellation and do not need to have a cancellation added. Cancellations can affect the value of stamps to collectors, positively or negatively. Cancellations of some countries have been extensively studied by philatelists, and many stamp collectors and postal history collectors collect cancellations in addition to the stamps themselves.
James Alexander Mackay was a prolific Scottish writer and philatelist whose output of philatelic works was rivalled only by Fred Melville. He was described by John Holman, editor of the British Philatelic Bulletin, as a "philatelic writer without equal" but his reputation was damaged by a conviction for theft from the British Museum early in his career, which cost him his job there, and multiple accusations of plagiarism.
The British Antarctic Territory (BAT) is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between longitudes 20°W and 80°W, forming a wedge shape that extends to the South Pole. The Territory was formed on 3 March 1962, although the UK's claim to this portion of the Antarctic dates back to Letters Patent of 1908 and 1917. The area now covered by the Territory includes three regions which, before 1962, were administered by the British as separate dependencies of the Falkland Islands: Graham Land, the South Orkney Islands, and the South Shetland Islands.
In general, philatelic fakes and forgeries are labels that look like postage stamps but have been produced to deceive or defraud. Learning to identify these can be a challenging branch of philately.
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.
Douglas Myall was a British civil servant and philatelist. He is known for his exhaustive study of the Machin stamps, the British definitive series in use since 1967. His catalogue, The Complete Deegam Machin Handbook, is one of the main reference books about this series.
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 Palestinian National Authority began in 1994 to issue stamps and operate postal services as authorized by the Oslo Accords.
Adrian Albert Jurgens was a South African philatelist and signatory to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists of Southern Africa in 1948 and the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in Great Britain in 1952.
Fritz F. Billig (1902–1986) was a Viennese philatelist and stamp dealer who fled to the United States after the Austrian Anschluss in 1938 and continued his career from Jamaica, New York. There he published a successful and long-running series of philatelic handbooks that are still regularly referred to by philatelists today.
Percy George de Worms was an English aristocrat and philatelist.
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 Chinchen Collection is a collection of stamps, proofs, artwork and covers from Lundy Island donated by Barry Chinchen to the British Library Philatelic Collections in 1977 and is located at the British Library.
Henry Robert Holmes was the president of the Royal Philatelic Society London 1961–1964 and signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1953.
Dieter Bortfeldt FRPSL was a graphic designer and award-winning philatelist who was a specialist in the philately of Colombia. He designed the "Famous Colombians" and "Tourism" postage stamps of Colombia issued in 1993.
Philip Thomas Saunders FRPSL was a British banker and philatelist. He started in banking before the First World War but his career was interrupted by service in the Royal Flying Corps during the conflict. Returning to banking after the war, he published a history of Stuckey's Bank in 1928, working for banks that ultimately became today's National Westminster, before retiring in 1959.
Everard Francis Aguilar was a Jamaican horticulturist, stamp dealer, and philatelist.
John Barefoot is a British philatelist, stamp dealer, and publisher, best known for his catalogues of revenue stamps which are known collectively as the "Barefoot catalogue".
