'Stamp collection' today is the world's oldest and the most widely followed hobby and perhaps the only hobby which has also acquired an authentic status and extensive government support. It's the most easiest and less expensive means of penetrating the core of the origin of a History.

Stamp Collection is a hobby followed by specific purposes by almost all classes, masses and ages.

The answer to the question of 'why stamp collection' emmits various answers. Like -

# Its a very exciting yet a simple hobby to follow.

# For some, it's really thrilling to hunt the stamps of their particular subject of collection and this thrill itself is ample reason to persue the hobby.

# Some take it as a national heritage depicting all the national events, people, places, monuments, cultures and various other factors and collecting all the facets of the nation is in itself an achievement.

# For the Philatelists, it's a life long investment and a reason to live and they take pride in inheriting Philately to the nation's younger generation.

So, the objectives of stamp collection are various depending on the objectives and the mass who collect stamps !

The stamps even being a tiny bit, is a ticket to the journeys you can make in the Past, Present and the Future !

What Is Philately?

The Oxford English dictionary defines the word 'Philately' as the 'collection and study of stamps'. The word was coined by the French, who combined the Greek words 'Philos' meaning 'love' with 'a-telos' meaning 'tax-free'. The stamps were a substitute for the tax paid on delivery earlier, and were therefore, as the name suggests 'tax-free'. The introduction of the postage stamp, as also its popularity as a convenient and inexpensive medium of communication, gave rise to an interest in philately and birth of the philatelist. The history of philately is as old as the history of the postage stamp itself. Dr. John Edward Gray of the British museum became the first collector by purchasing the first postage stamp on the date of its issue, May 1, 1840, and preserving it as a memento. As the definition of the dictionary suggests, however, philately does not restrict itself to the mere collection of stamps. It is also a study which comprises, and yet, goes beyond collection of stamps. The philatelist studies the various processes that go into not only the production of stamps, but also the details of transmission of letters and articles on which the postage stamp is stuck. Moreover, philatelists are also interested in collecting the variations, which may occur in the printing of the stamps.

For instance, the same stamp which may be printed in different types of paper, with a slight difference in colour, centering etc. or with printing on the reverse, became a collector's item.

The expansion of the subjects in the designing of postage stamps offered philatelists an opportunity for specialization. Stamps could now be collected not only in terms of the country of their origin, but also according to the themes. The branch of philately, known as 'Thematics', is possibly the most interesting, for the number of subjects is indeed unlimited, ranging from space travel to dinosaurs, flora and fauna, to paintings and masks.

Philatelic exhibitions, which are held at regional, national and international levels, display the whole gamut of philatelic activities.