PHILATELY: BIRTH AND DEVELOPMENT

No one really knows if who started stamp collecting, but it might have probably began as soon as the first postage stamp was issued in 1840 by Great Britain. As more countries had issued more stamps, more people had turned to stamp collecting.

By 1860's, recognizing the popularity of philately as a new form of hobby, small shops started selling stamps. Stamp magazines, catalogues and albums were published. Significant development in philately were the founding of stamp clubs.

More were turned to stamp collecting when the trend of topical collecting began.With this scheme of collecting, collectors were able to combine their other interest with stamp collecting.