The introduction of the Penny Black signalled the start of one of the most popular hobbies in the world – stamp collecting or philately.
By 1860, thousands of collectors and stamp dealers had cropped up as stamp collecting spread across Europe, the European colonies, the United States and other parts of the world. This rapid growth led to the introduction of stamp albums and stamp related literature, as well as spawning publishers like Stanley Gibbons.
Stamp collecting remains a popular pastime now among old and young. Current famous philatelists include Ronnie Wood, from the Rolling Stones, Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, and Maria Sharapova, the Russian tennis player.
Le Philateliste by François Barraud (1929).
1900s Women’s roles during the war
1900s Syvanus Blackman (born 1933)
1800s One of the earliest known examples of writing in Latin by a woman (1st century AD), (British Museum, Romano-British Department)
1600s The origins of the postmark
1900s ‘Pack your parcels carefully’ by Hans Unger (1960)
1900s Thomas May (1893/4-1953)