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THE

Stanley Gibbons Philatelic Handbooks.

STAMP COLLECTING
AS A PASTIME

BY

EDWARD J. NANKIVELL

MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISTS
MEMBER OF THE PHILATELIC SOCIETY OF LONDON

London

STANLEY GIBBONS, Ltd., 391, STRAND, W.C.

New York

167, BROADWAY

1902

[3]

PREFACE

any people are at a loss to understand the fascination that surroundsthe pursuit of stamp collecting. They are surprised at theclannishness of stamp collectors, and their lifelong devotion to theirhobby. They are thunderstruck at the enormous prices paid for rarestamps, and at the fortunes that are spent and made in stampcollecting.

The following pages will afford a peep behind the scenes, and explainhow it is that, after nearly half a century of existence, stampcollecting has never been more popular than it is to-day.

And perchance many a tired worker in search of a hobby may bepersuaded that of all the relaxations that are open to him none ismore attractive or more satisfying than stamp collecting.

Its literature is more abundant than that devoted to any other hobby.Its votaries are to be found in every city and town of the civilisedworld. Governments and statesmen recognise, unsolicited, the claims ofstamp collecting—the power, the influence, and the wealth that itcommands. From a mere schoolboy pastime it has steadily developed intoan engrossing hobby for the leisured and the busy of all classes andall ranks of life, from the monarch on his throne to the errand boy inthe merchant's office.

In the competition of modern life it is recognised[4] that those whomust work must also play. The physician assures us that the man whoallows himself no relaxation, no recreation, loses his energy, andages earlier than the man who judiciously alternates work and play.

As stamp collecting may be indulged in by all ages, and at allseasons, it is becoming more and more the favourite indoor relaxationwith brain-workers. It may be taken up or laid down at any time, andat any stage. Its cost may be limited to shillings or pounds, and itmay be made a pleasant pursuit or an engrossing study, or it may evenbe diverted into money-making purposes.

So absorbing is the hobby that in stamp circles there is a saying,"Once a stamp collector, always a stamp collector."

[6]

CONTENTS

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