The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-09
THE STAMP HUNTERS.
Ahelr National Convention Opens I'm
Boston. ON Aug. "a,
Philadelphia North American

tAi'NCipllId IEOIIn American.
The annual convention of the Amar;oox
Phlatelic Association will he held IN R 80.
Ton aug "A, 70 and Is Among its membera
d dIei+ an me Leading stamp collectors in the
OHIteu states, but the rank and file fs
MADE up of obscure but ardent followers
OF the rad There are about l. POO mem hers
ah9 they live in all parts of the Union, for
habitat ~ pa 0ieulaf
People who have never acquired a fond
ness for stamp collecting generally regard
the followers of this pursuit as victims ~
peculiar mental malady They always
nave, and probably always WILL although
OF late years the devotees of phiately seem
10 nave gained a small amount of respect
from their fellow-men. but the true stamn
istnes. The fact that the addition Of a fauv
rare stamps to his album-Whoh gives him
the hveliest satisfaction-fails to interest
not trouble him bit
The number of members belonging to tha
national organization is no index to the size
OF the great body of stamp collectors in
this country No one knows how many
there are. They are surely half million,
ana there may be more, but this includes
all the school-boy collectors, and they are
a legion by themselves. The people who
get so deeply interested in the subject that
they join the national association and travel
thousands Of miles to attend the annual
conventions are not to be termed mere
stamp collectors. They claim the right 10
be designated as philatelists. They say
there is a vast difference between a stamp
collector and phiatelist. The former is
stamp of each issue, and his chief prizes
are stamps of current issue from some far
away country.
The philatelist, however, makes a scientific
study of stamps or pretends TO do so. In
many respects his hobby resembles that
Maurtius 10-cent lilac when he sees IT, but
he is familiar with nearly all the rare
stamps in existence, having either seen
long and earnestly or read detailed de-
scrtptions of them He not only Identifies
rare specimens by the color and denomina-
ton, but by the water mark in the paper.
errors in the printing and peculiarities In
the engraving.
1t Will readily be seen that to become
expert in such hobby as this time and
study must be given to it. No schoolboy
can hope to acquire such vast fund Of
technical knowledge as the skilled philatel-
list must have until after he has spent the
spare time of years In patient research. SO
you will not be surprised to learn that the
most prominent phiatelists are men who
hold high places in the professions and in
the business world. Many doctors. lawyers
and bankers are numbered among the phi
latelists. If gone into extensively, II is
rich mans hobby, for there are at least q
score of private collections in the United
States which are worth over SlO0,0O each.
Not long ago Fred w. Aver. of Bangor,
Me- sold his collection for S250,0OO.
Then there always seems 10 be a market
for rare stamps. For some of them there
is a fixed market price but, the rarest
specimens those which have been sold at
from $500 to $1,000 each, are worth what
they will bring, and this depends largely
upon the means of the purchaser ana MS
anxiety to obtain the specimen.
The extent of the hobby can be better
understood when you realize that there ara
AT least 200 firms in the United States deal
ing exclusively in stamps, and thousands or
dealers who sell them as a side issue. A
hundred or more monthly publications are
devoted to the interests Of stamp collectors,
and there are two thriving weeklies which
print nothing except news connected with
stamps and stamp collectors One of these
publications Is sixteen-page pamphlet
and claims a paid circulation OF 10000
In almost every large city there is a
local branch of the American Philatehc
Association, and the national body serves
to bind them together. II maintains an
exchange, and sales department, which has
transacted business to the amount OF more
than $4,000 a year. This association was
organized In 1886 with ll9 members and
since then il has grown in Importance. IN
nized authority in the philatelic world, ana
the results of its deliberations In annual
convention will be read with great interest
by many thousands of stamp collectors.
The present president of the association
is ex-Mayor Frank i. Olney, or ProYi-
dence. He has q collection which is valued
at 100000. and dealers think 1t would bring
more than that If broken up and placed
on the market, for some of the specimens
are of the rarcSt and most valuable. PreSl-
dent Olney is 4 wealthy woollen manufac-
turer, and has both time and money 10
devote TO his hobby.
one of the principal questions to be dis
cussed at the coming convention and one
which has excited the philatests not
little is that of the jubilee stamp issues
OF the British colonies In North America.
The Canadians in thus honoring their
Queen have laid plans to turn pretty
ing collectors TO buy stamps whose race
value is as high as S. at eNorbltant prices.