Hawaii holomua = Progress. [volume] (Honolulu) 1893-1895, 1894-08-16
Philatelic Notes.

N-S Va A4c t1Cct CNEAVE> "a 0bEtat
fads- A collection Of coins is al
the most worth the weight Of the
metal. Not so collection a
stamps Tie fashion may go out
as it came in. aud then the stamps
will be only so much waste paper.
The forger may perfect his evil
art aud food the market with
counterfeits not to be distinguish
ed from the real And even il
these sad events do not occur a
postage stamp is. poor treasure
to preserve in a house where fire
may consume or thieves break In
and steal.
The fad broke out, according
to the Illustrated American. in
1861, in the form of few spor-
adic cases among schoolboys and
maiden ladies. 1t was not only 8
harmless fad, but. in the case oil
the schoolboys. it was even an
educative one. 1t proved the
easiest. pleasantest. and the most
efficacious way of driving know
ledge of geography into the
adolescent mind. But now thai
these first few sporadic attacks
have developed into something
alarmingly like an epidemic, one
begins to speculate whether the
craze of the philatelist is not a
distinct bar to hannah progress,
inasmuch as it consumes a large
amount of brain force and vital
energy that might better be turn
ed into other and more useful
channels of activity.
In the United States alone
there is an organization called
the American Philatelic Associa-
ton, which numbers 1000 men,
bers. Bot this represents only a
small fraction of the philatelists
actually in the country. Among
the number were men of the type
of General William Tecumseh
Sherman and George Gould.
Then there are others who have
an esoteric reputation among the
philatelists themselves, but are
little known to the world at
large.
The greatest and most famous
of living philatelists considered
merely from the phitalelist point
of VIEWS NJ. Philippe de Fer
rari, dignifed, courteous and
white-haired old gentleman who
lives In Paris. He is son of
the late Duchess de Galliera, who
was also passionate lover of
stamps. His collection is valued
ut half a million dollars. He has
been known to pay $500 for an
album which contained only a
single stamp that he coveted
For more valuable collections he
has never limited his expendi-
lures. Dir. Philbrick, an English
vlrtuoso, is understood to have
sold him the fruits of sixteen
years boarding for 10000 Four
private secretaries are employed
to attend to this stupendous col
lection. Three of them handle
new issues, they revise and re-
arrange the old ones, then assert,
catalogue. and mount the stamps
that are constantly pouring in.
The fourth does nothing but
carry correspondence with all
the leading dealers of the world.
with special view to obtain what
collectors call "unattainables."
Next to the Ferrari collection
comes that of Baron Arthur de
Rothschild, which is so valuable
that its owner. reserve the pages
containing his rarest treasures for
the delectation only of himself
and his most intimate friends.
There are two public collection
in Paris which are known to all
stamp-lovers throughout the
world. One is at the Mint, the
other at the Admiralty. Another, |
less famous, is in the Berlin
Museums. r. Chronicle.
yis~na. July 31--Fifty-eight