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In the Beginning. . .

© Michael A. Weatherford

Great Britain issued the first adhesive postage stamp to prepay for the delivery of mail on May 6, 1840. Postage stamps were the idea of Sir Rowland Hill, as part of Great Britain's introduction of standardized postal rates. The first postage stamp, commonly referred to as the "Penny Black", helped eliminate a number of problems that the British Post Office had experienced up to that date. The idea of prepaying for delivery of mail was so successful that by 1860 more than 70 countries were using postage stamps.

Stamp collecting began at the same time that stamps were first issued, and by 1860 included thousands of collectors and a number of local merchants catering to their desires. Originally referred to as "timbromania" ("stamp madness"), it swept through Europe and quickly spread to the European colonies worldwide. How stamps were collected was as varied as the people that collected them. One Parisienne was supposed to have wallpapered her bedroom with sheets of an early issue from France - a stamp issued in sheets of 100, and that now sells for up to several hundred dollars each!

As more and more people began collecting stamps, businesses specializing in selling just stamps began to appear. By 1880, there were dozens in every major country. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., founded in 1856 and now located in London, England, is the oldest continuously operated business to specialize in selling postage stamps and supplies. The first stamp albums were printed and sold in the early 1880's. Copies of these albums can still be found from time to time.

Stamp catalogues, now considered essential by virtually every collector, began as sales lists. The original Stanley Gibbons list that led to the creation of today's extensive Stanley Gibbons Catalogue began as a 16-page list containing fewer than 1000 items.

One of the early stamp dealers in the United States was John W. Scott, working out of New York City. Mr. Scott's pricelist gradually grew into today's SCOTT STANDARD POSTAGE STAMP CATALOGUE, purchased by more than 1 million US collectors and dealers annually. Other catalogues are produced in most European countries, with the most notable being Michel, Zumstein, Facit, and Yvert y Tellier.

Stamp collecting is less popular a hobby today than it was in the past, but an estimated 25 million people collect stamps in the United States alone. Worldwide, there are more than 200 million collectors. They are supported by more than 125,000 dealers, supply manufacturers, catalogue and other print media publishers, and thousands of clubs and associations. Stamp dealers sell millions of dollars' worth of stamps and supplies annually. There are more than 4000 stamp shows and exhibitions in the United States each year, and large international exhibits can attract more than 100,000 visitors a day. Stamp collecting has clearly "grown up" from its early beginnings to one of the largest hobbies in the world, shared by all manner of people from small children to Heads of State.