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.
Philatelic literature is written material relating to philately, primarily information about postage stamps and postal history.
The Inverted Jenny is a 24 cent United States postage stamp first issued on May 10, 1918, in which the image of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the center of the design is printed upside-down; it is one of the most famous errors in American philately. Only one pane of 100 of the invert stamps was ever found, making this error one of the most prized in philately.
John Nicholas Luff of New York City was one of the important philatelists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, notable as an early user of scientific methods in the study of postage stamps. The Luff Award of the American Philatelic Society is named after him.
The 2¢ Large Queen on laid paper is the rarest postage stamp of Canada. Printed in 1868, it was not discovered until 1925, and so far only three have been found, all used. Many more could exist as at least one sheet must have been printed, and possibly many sheets; however, they may all have been destroyed, or lie unrecognised in stamp collections or on cover.
The Hawaiian Missionaries are the first postage stamps of the Kingdom of Hawaii, issued in 1851. They came to be known as the "Missionaries" because they were primarily found on the correspondence of missionaries working in the Hawaiian Islands. Only a handful of these stamps have survived to the present day, and so they are amongst the great rarities of philately.
John Harry Robson Lowe was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer.
First Issues Collectors Club, or FICC, is an international society for collectors of the first postage stamps issued by any legitimate postal administration.
John Robert Boker Jr. was an American philatelist who amassed some of the most prestigious collections of 19th century stamps ever seen by stamp collectors. Before his death in 2003, the Collectors Club of New York declared him, in 1996, to be the "outstanding philatelist of the last half of the twentieth century."
Herbert J. Bloch, who emigrated from Europe to New York City in 1936, was a philatelist and stamp dealer who became recognized as a leading expert on authentication of rare European postage stamps.
John Walter Scott of New York City, was originally from England, but he emigrated to the United States to take part in the California Gold Rush. Unsuccessful at the prospecting trade, Scott began to sell postage stamps for collectors and in a short period of time became the nation's leading stamp dealer. During his lifetime, he was known as "The Father of American Philately" by his fellow stamp collectors.
Philip Mathias Wolsieffer, of Chicago and Philadelphia, was a stamp dealer and auctioneer who sold stamps and philatelic items during the early years of stamp collecting.
Berliner Philatelisten-Klub von 1888 eV – also known as the Berlin Philatelic Club -- is one of the oldest and most respected philatelic societies in the world, founded in 1888.
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.
The British Society of Russian Philately is a philatelic society dedicated to the study of postage stamps and postal history of Russia and Russian-related countries.
The American Helvetia Philatelic Society (AHPS) is a philatelic organization dedicated to "encourage and facilitate the collecting, preservation, display, exchange, and creation and dispersal of knowledge of the postage stamps, postal history, and related philatelic material of Switzerland." It is an affiliate of the American Philatelic Society and the Union of Swiss Philatelic Societies.
A philatelic calendar is a collection of postmarks from each day, month, and year during the period collected. The stamps collected may be limited to the stamps of one country, or even to a particular issue such as Penny Lilac. A philatelic calendar extending from the first day of issue of the Penny Black to the present would include stamps canceled on each day from May 1, 1840 to the present, about 62,000 stamps as of 2011. Only someone who possesses the sole used example of the Penny Black from May 1, 1840 could assemble a complete calendar.
World Stamp Show-NY 2016 was an international exhibition of stamp collecting held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City from May 28 to June 4, 2016. It was the first international stamp show to be held in New York since FIPEX in 1956.
William Thorne was a wealthy American businessman and philatelist. In poor health, he retired early from the leather trade and began to collect postage stamps. He was one of the founders of the Philatelic Society of New York and the second president of the Collectors Club of New York. He was the owner of the unique block of four of the 1869 24¢ United States stamps with inverted center. He sold his collection but restarted in order to provide a distraction from his poor health. He died in 1907 after three operations for what was thought to be throat cancer.
