Knowra Philately Philately Philately is the study and collection of postage stamps and related postal artifacts. It includes postal history, which examines how mail was produced, transported, and delivered.
Postage stamp : A small printed token attached to mail as evidence that postage has been paid. The central object of philately, studied for its design, printing, use, and variations.
Stamp collecting : The hobby of acquiring, organizing, and studying postage stamps. It is philately's most familiar practice, though philately also includes research beyond collecting.
Penny Black : The world's first adhesive postage stamp, issued by Great Britain in 1840. Its issue marks the beginning of the modern postage-stamp tradition studied in philately.
Inverted Jenny : A 1918 United States airmail stamp variety with its central airplane printed upside down. Its striking printing error illustrates how a production accident can define a stamp's fame.
Numismatics : The study and collection of coins, tokens, and paper money. It shares material-culture methods with philately but centers on currency rather than postal artifacts.
Postal history : The study of mail systems, routes, rates, and practices through records and surviving postal artifacts. It extends philately from stamps to the journeys and institutions behind mailed items.
Stamp catalog : A reference work that identifies and numbers postage stamps and often lists varieties and prices. Catalogs provide shared systems for describing and comparing stamp issues.
Rowland Hill : A British postal reformer whose proposals helped establish uniform, prepaid postage in 1840. His reforms created the conditions for adhesive postage stamps to become standard.
Mauritius 'Post Office' stamps : The 1847 postage stamps of Mauritius, bearing the inscription “Post Office” and known for their rarity. These early colonial issues exemplify the historical and material evidence prized in philately.
Deltiology : The study and collection of postcards. Postcards often intersect with postal history, but deltiology centers on the cards themselves.
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