Philately philosophy

Having just been asked. "What are you collecting?" I think it's timely that I try to knock together a philosophy concerning my hobby. Maybe 'philately' is too grand a term. Perhaps 'stamp collecting' is closer to the mark.

I've thought about the subject before, of course. I've taken note of certain people. There is a trader on Trade Me, Papa2toes, whose attitude to stamp dealing I admire; he lists his auctions at a minimum price and doesn't fuss if they sell cheaply. His aim is to keep the stamps turning over. I've also written about Dean Brown's altruistic approach - of how he aims to exchange to gain stamps that his children are interested in. My late uncle, Wim Ottema, would boast about his stamps collection that he had built it up laboriously through exchanging only without spending a single cent - or penny, rather in those days. There's a purity and nobility in that.

 

So, what will my guiding philosophy be?

Because you see, it is high time that I formulate one. 

In the past few months I have accumulated a huge pile of material, more than I can ever hope to catalogue, categorize, mount and study. I'm going to have to get selective. What am I really interested in? What can I persuade myself to release?

I guess that for me my main pleasure is an aesthetic one. There are certain sorts of stamps that I enjoy looking at, showing off, and possessing. And it doesn't depend on their value . . . well, not much. It depends on colour, composition, line and subject matter. That being a good starting point from which to leap, let me draw up a list:

1. New Zealand predecimals. I'll collect these and mount them in a Tasman book similar to the one I had when I was a boy. I won't actively buy these, but I'll remain on the lookout.
2. New Zealand decimals. As above, I'll collect these passively. The main role NZ stamps will take for me are as duplicates that I'l exchange with overseas collectors.
3. I love Japanese stamps. I bought an old pre-printed album that will do nicely to contain stamps before 1970.
4. I am interested in British Commonwealth stamps especially those before Queen Elizabeth II.
5. I like out of the way countries whose stamps for one reason or another have caught me eye: Domincan Republic, Labuan, Newfoundland, the Line Islands.
6. The definitives of certain countries have put me off collecting USA, Canada, Holland, Denmark, India. And yet when I look in the catalogue I can find plenty of attractive stamps in their pages.