Future of Philately ‘Not Licked Yet’

As the world celebrated 175th anniversary of the piece of paper that shrunk the world, The Nerdy Reporter looks at how the world of philately has transformed in all these years.

Introduced in Britain in 1840, the Penny Black was the first adhesive postage stamp.
 Photograph courtesy of: Wikimedia 

American children’s author, Susan Lendroth has rightly put it: “To write is human, to get mail, Divine!”

Nothing can replace the excitement of waiting for a mail from a loved one. The joy of opening those colourful, sometimes scented envelopes that enclosed outpourings of an affectionate sister, a concerned mother, a bosom buddy or a distant lover.

There was a time when social letter-writing and having a pen pal was “the thing.” Christmas time meant excited family members eagerly waiting for the mailman to come. The anticipation of a greeting card or a beautifully packaged gift was part and parcel of the festive fervour. Jumping off the sofa and rushing as soon as one heard the clatter of the post dropping through the slot in the door.

And with every post, came tiny, classic vignettes that showcased a vivid picture of the world: stamps!

The first postage stamp was introduced in 1840, and the hobby of stamp collecting is nearly as old. Stamp collecting was perceived as a way to travel the world while staying in the comfort of home. One could learn about historical events and places far and wide from these fascinating, miniature documents of human history.

Even today, philately remains a cherished and widely practiced leisure activity. While the postal stamp is fighting a battle against the ubiquitous digital forms of communication, philatelists believe that the hobby is burgeoning.

The collector base for philately has moved upscale.

The UK has witnessed a surge in the number and extent of both specialist and general philatelic societies throughout the country.

“The Royal Philatelic Society London, the premier society in the world, has some 2100 members, an all-time high. The GBPS [Great Britain Philatelic Society] has 760 members. It is the largest specialist society and continues to grow,” says former President of Association of British Philatelic Societies (ABPS), Ian Harvey.

Established in 1869, the Royal Philatelic Society of London is the oldest philately society in the world.

“There is a strong dealer community and many auction houses specialising in every type of philately…a whole range of fairs, exhibitions and society meetings up and down the country every week,” adds the long term member of the association.

Similarly, in the U.S, philately seems to be thriving like never before.

“The American Philatelic Society has six times as many members as we did in the 1930’s which many individuals claim was the height of stamp collecting,” says Ken Martin, Executive Director of American Philatelic Society (APS). The society is one of the largest stamp collecting organisations in the USA.

“At that point, we did not have a single paid employee …  Today, we have 30 full-time employees and nearly 200 affiliates — national specialty societies, while we had fewer than ten affiliates at that time,” he adds.

Philatelists believe that the advent of internet has also contributed in expanding and strengthening the business of philately.

“There is virtually no dealer, auction house, exhibition organiser or society that does not have a website and can offer you material or services.  So, there is far more ability to find anything that you might want if you look,” explains Harvey.

Collectors and dealers can now explore the world of philately and trade stamps online. There are blogs and forums dedicated to the hobby so collectors are no longer depend on stamp shops or auctions. Also, sites like eBay and Del Campe give hobbyists access to thousands of stamps from dealers around the world.

Consequently, the international stamp market is enjoying a boom.

“Stamp collection has grown enormously in some parts of the world, like China and the Indian subcontinent,” says Chris King, President of Royal Philatelic Society of London.

“It [philately] has become a big business in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Far East,” adds King.

Growing popularity of social philately is also one of the factors behind the survival of the hobby. Social philately is a term used for “thematic philately”, in which a collector collects stamps based on a subject rather than stamps of a single country.

“Stamps have been used to convey political messages for years. There is much more interest in building collections to illustrate social issues than 50 years ago and this type of collecting is particularly attractive to ladies,” Harvey explains.

“There is a whole range of fairs, exhibitions and, of course, society meetings up and down the country every week,” he adds.

Furthermore, a £22-million British Postal Museum is scheduled to open in London next year.

However, igniting interest in new collectors is the biggest challenge that philately faces today.

The diminishing use of postal stamps is one of the reasons behind children losing interest in the hobby, say philatelists. Photograph courtesy of: Wikipedia

The number of young collectors is declining. The blame is being pinned on the decline in the use of postal stamps as it has been eclipsed by the virtual world.

“Technology has resulted in a decline of many previous pursuits,” says Ian Harvey from the ASPB. He adds that the hobby is losing popularity among the younger generation “due to the advent of the games culture and chat.”

David Rossall from Stamp Active Network, a group dedicated to promoting the hobby among children, holds a similar opinion, “the internet and associated technologies do form a significant alternative as a hobby for youngsters.”

“Earlier, stamps offered a glimpse of exotic places, distant countries, and different peoples. You could learn about and interpret the world through stamps.  I think TV changed that,” says William Fogarty, an avid stamp collector from Liverpool.

“And now, of course, everything, and I mean everything, in the world, is so easily accessed online that stamps no longer arrive bearing that sense of wonder or strangeness,” adds the lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, who started collecting stamps at the age of five.

“The reduced use of ‘traditional’ postage stamps and their exposure to kids who rely more on texting and social media is of concern,” says Martin from APS.

Today, most of the mail that is delivered at our doorstep is junk mail, business mail or products purchased online. Majority of such mails come in prepaid envelopes.

“A major reason that fewer youngsters collect [stamps] than in the past is because we do not get mail through the front door with attractive stamps,” says Harvey from ABPS.

The volume of ‘single piece mail’, which includes stamped items, has fallen by 35% in past five years, according to Royal Mail figures in 2014.

“Fashions and crazes come and go and I don’t think we should pretend that we can turn back the clock to the 1950’s,” says Peter Mellor from the National Philatelic Society, UK.

“We can’t reverse the society” agrees Martin.  “But we have had success in providing lesson plans and stamps to teachers to enhance the classroom experience,” he adds.

“There are a number of people who are visiting schools on a regular basis to introduce youngsters from scratch to stamp collecting and the potential width of what they can enjoy,” says Harvey.

“There are still a surprising numbers of school stamp clubs in existence which we try to assist in a number of ways,” adds Rossall from the Stamp Active Network.

“It is the fact that collecting stamps is now so unfashionable that may give it an appeal to some people, as a kind of cool, quasi-underground activity,” says Fogarty.

“In the short term it would be helpful if stamp collecting was perceived as ‘cool’ or the hobby of the day,” says Martin. “However, fads are generally short lived,” he adds.

The world of philately has had some high-profile collectors in the past, including King George V and the U.S president Franklin D. Roosevelt. More recent famous philatelists include the likes of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and tennis sensation Martina Navaratilova.

“Celebrity endorsement of any and every activity will promote it and that is true of collecting stamps and all types of philatelic activity,” says Harvey. “The fact that pop singer Freddy Mercury collected stamps provided newspaper publicity,” he adds.

However, some philatelists doubt if celebrity endorsement can have any concrete impact on the popularity of philately as a hobby among youngsters.

Mellor from National Philatelic Society says,“In publicising what the hobby has to offer, any such endorsement must be of help. But no celebrity endorsement is going to re-create mass stamp collecting by youngsters and others such as we found in the 1950’s.”

“Celebrity endorsement can have an impact, but the underlying strength (or weakness) is not likely to be impacted greatly,” agrees Martin.

“I do wonder whether collecting stamps will go the same way as previously popular hobbies such as having “pen pals” or making “silhouettes” out of paper,” wonders William Fogarty.
“On one hand, children, especially boys, still love to ‘collect’, whether it’s Pokémon cards, football stickers or Star Wars figures. Stamp collecting, for me, appealed to that sense of trying to create “order out of chaos, ” with a love of lists and alphabetical arrangements,” he adds.

“It provides a great way for individuals to relax and learn more about the world and provides an alternative to the immediate gratification now more frequently sought,” says Martin, explaining the joys of philately.

“As long as stamp collecting continues to provide an intellectual escape from the daily pressures of the world and adapts to changing communications, its future should be bright,” he adds.