Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is related to 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 never-ending stream of new stamps was produced by countries that sought to advertise their distinctiveness through their stamps.
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is attributed to Robson Lowe, a professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer, who made the first organised study of the subject in the 1930s and described philatelists as "students of science", but postal historians as "students of humanity". More precisely, philatelists describe postal history as the study of rates, routes, markings, and means.
Ernest Robinson Ackerman was an American Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1919 to 1931.
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.
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.
August Dietz was a philatelist, editor and publisher, who specialized in the study of mail and postal history of the Confederate States of America.
Clarence William Hennan was an internationally recognized philatelist known for his collection, his exhibits at various stamp exhibitions, and for his expertise in evaluating the authenticity of rare stamps.
John Robert Boker Jr., of New York City, was a 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."
William Hubert Miller Jr., of New York City, was an aerophilatelist who published philatelic literature on the subject.
Creighton C. Hart, of Missouri, was a stamp collector and a writer of philatelic articles on specific niches of United States postage stamp collecting.
Baron Takaharu Mitsui of Japan, is considered one of the most eminent, if not the most celebrated, students of Japanese philately. He is considered the "dean of Japanese philately" by many in the philatelic world.
Edith Margaret Faulstich of New Jersey and New York City, was a philatelist and philatelic journalist who specialized in postal history and postal covers. She encouraged the development of that field in philately.
Charles Foster Richards, of New York City, was a lifelong stamp collector and a charter member of the American Philatelic Association.
Dr. Gordon H. Torrey, of Maryland, was a stamp collector active within the Washington, D.C., area, and at the national level.
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.
William Hogarth Tower (1871–1950), of New Jersey, USA was a postage stamp collector who endowed a "stamp room" at Princeton University.
Elliott Perry, of New Jersey, was a researcher and expert on postage stamps and postal history of the United States.
Carl Einar Pelander was a stamp dealer and auctioneer who was an expert on postage stamps and postal history of the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Danish West Indies, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
Victor E. Engstrom was a philatelist known for his knowledge and collections of stamps of Nordic countries.
