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.
Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth century with the rapid growth of the postal service, as a stream of new stamps was produced by countries that sought to advertise their distinctiveness through their stamps.
A privately run packet service for mail existed in British Guiana in 1796, and continued for a number of years. Postage stamps of Britain were used in those days at Georgetown (Demerara) and Berbice. The first adhesive stamps produced by British Guiana were issued in 1850.
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 the City of London.
John Harry Robson Lowe was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer.
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.
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.
The Hawaiian Philatelic Society is an organization for stamp collectors to meet, exchange philatelic information, and auction their duplicate postage stamps. It is a branch of the American Philatelic Society and was established in 1911.
Society for Czechoslovak Philately (SCP) is a philatelic organization dedicated to the collection and study of the postage stamps and postal history of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Dr. Gordon H. Torrey, of Maryland, was a stamp collector active within the Washington, D.C., area, and at the national level.
Dr. Gregory B. Salisbury of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a noted philatelist named to the Hall of Fame by the American Philatelic Society.
Otto Hornung was a distinguished philatelist and philatelic journalist who won Gold medals at several philatelic exhibitions and was a Fellow of The Royal Philatelic Society London. He signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1993 and lived in Wembley, London.
The Revenue Society was formed in 1990 and is the only international philatelic society which covers revenue stamps of the whole world. The society is also noted for the particularly high quality of its journal which has published many articles on subjects about which little or nothing has previously been written.
The International Philatelic Union, formed 1881, was an early international philatelic organisation formed for the study of stamps and the promotion of philately generally. Its office was located in London. The society survived to see its jubilee in 1931, and an exhibition was held to celebrate the fact, but its later history is unclear.
The China Philatelic Society of London (CPSL) is a philatelic organisation devoted to the study of all aspects of Chinese philately from the Municipal Posts of the Treaty Ports to the People's Republic and Taiwan.
Henry Robert Holmes was the president of the Royal Philatelic Society London 1961–1964 and signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1953.
Hedwige Alma Lee FRPSL RDP was a Swiss-born naturalised British philatelist who specialised in the stamps of Switzerland and in topical collecting. She won large gold medals for her displays at Naba 1984, Stockholmia 1986, Hafnia 1987 and Finlandia 1988 and her collection was exhibited in the Court of Honour at PhilexFrance 1989 and New Zealand 1990. She signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1991 and later became the only non-resident member of the Consilium Philateliae Helveticae. The Royal Philatelic Society London award the Lee Medal in memory of Alma and her husband Ron.
Lieutenant-Colonel William Byam was a British Harley Street physician whose home in Guernsey was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War. In his spare time, Byam was a noted philatelist who was added to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1949.
Trevor Robert Cornford is a British businessman, award-winning philatelist, and chairman of the Polar Postal History Society of Great Britain. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Adolf Passer FRPSL was an Austrian philatelist and authority on the stamps of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ottoman Empire and Turkey.
