Collecting
Stamp of
approval
Paul V. Tattersall relates how stamp collecting saved the sanity of many older people during the Covid lockdowns and how many of them have returned to their childhood hobby. Most older people can remember when stamp collecting was the number one hobby for boys, and indeed many girls, in their younger days, particularly those growing up in the Fifties, Sixties or Seventies. As times moved on so did pastimes and video games or other newer pursuits took over and young people put away their stamp albums in the attic or gave them away to younger siblings. However, over the last couple of years, when the Covid pandemic was raging and people were told to stay home, many older people, unable to visit family or friends, felt very isolated in their homes. One can get very tired of mindless daytime TV, and quite a few people, tidying the house or rummaging in the attic came upon their old stamp albums and a long-lost interest was re-kindled. This particularly happened to those who, while abandoning the hobby as college, work, dating, etc., took over, still couldn’t throw away a nice stamp; so, they tore it off the envelope and put it in a shoebox on top of the wardrobe. During the lockdowns some people got down these shoeboxes and set about sorting out the contents, only to be bitten by the bug once again. Stamp collecting, or philately to give it its proper name, can be a very fulfilling hobby, with many beneficial side effects. Obviously it is a relaxing hobby, but also can be a very sociable one. For example, the Dublin Stamp Society, which has been active since the 1940’s, caters for members who wish to get together once or twice a month to discuss their various collecting habits, put on displays of their collections, ask questions or buy and sell
Three vintage Irish stamps from the 1920s worth around €400
items at the little auctions or ‘Bourses’, conducted at the meetings. Apart altogether from making a new bunch of friends. Re-organising a collection, exchanging with other collectors both in Ireland or abroad, and sorting out stamps to send to such exchange partners is a good exercise to keep one’s mind active and stave off the onset of dementia. Stamp collecting can take many forms; some collectors specialise in particular
72 Senior Times | May - June 2022 | www.seniortimes.ie
Issued in the United Kingdom in May 1840, the Penny Black was the first adhesive stamp in the world, which is why this stamp is considered so valuable. The Penny Black carries a picture of Queen Victoria and does not show the country of origin, as is custom today. Despite there being plenty of Penny Blacks for sale, an unused one can earn a lucky owner around €3,000, making it a very popular amongst collectors.
countries only, like Ireland or Europe, others collect stamps with special frank marks, while others collect thematically concentrating only on stamps featuring ships, or birds, or music, or Christmas,
