Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. It also refers to the collection, appreciation and research activities on stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. 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.
Philatelic literature is written material relating to philately, primarily information about postage stamps and postal history.
The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States, was established through joint agreement between the United States Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution and opened in 1993.
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 Museum of Philatelic History, at its Devonshire Place headquarters in London.
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.
A postal museum is a museum dedicated to the display of objects relating to the postal service. A subcategory of postal museums are philatelic museums, which focus on philately and postage stamps.
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.
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 Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History, also commonly known as the Cardinal Spellman Philatelic Museum, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation of diversity through the medium of postage stamps and postal history.
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 will receive the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award for outstanding lifetime accomplishments in the field of philately.
The Western Philatelic Library is located in Redwood City, California.
The Philas Library is a specialised philatelic library which includes the collections of the Philatelic Association of NSW Inc. and the Royal Sydney Philatelic Club (RSPC). The library is based in New South Wales, Australia.
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.
The Bailey Collection is a collection of philatelic material relating to the Spanish Civil War that forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections. The collection was donated to the Library by the Spanish Study Circle in 2007.
The Blackburn Collection is a collection of philatelic material relating to the Spanish Civil War that forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections. The collection also includes 17th century letters from Kings Philip II, III and IV of Spain and correspondence delivered by the Message Carriers of Cadiz. It was donated to the Library by Tony Blackburn and is in 35 volumes.
The Row Collection is a collection of philatelic material relating to Siam that forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections. The collection covers the period 1883 to 1918 in 22 volumes. It is mainly of unused material with many blocks, and strong in the various provisional surcharges. It also includes some postal stationery and issues used in Kedah and Kelantan. It was formed by Harold Row and presented to the British Museum in 1919 by Row's mother, Mrs Eliza Row.
Manfred Dobin (1925-2015) of St. Petersburg, was a stamp dealer and auctioneer, and philatelic expert on Imperial postmarks, 1750-1858 of Russia. Dobin became a member of the Association Internationale des Experts en Philatéle, AIEP in 1995. He has also been a member of the Expert Council on Russian Philately since 1991.
