Generally speaking, the best countries from an investment po_Stamp Collecting as a Pastime

view are British Colonials, especially those of the small colonies

that have small populations, and therefore very small printings of

stamps. Obviously, countries that put stamps into circulation by the

million can never be a very good investment, so far as their common

values are concerned. Those who buy with a keen eye on the investment

purpose, always buy unused copies of uncommon values. Unused are not

likely to depreciate, and they may appreciate.

In fact, it may be safely said that, all round, the thing to do in

stamps is to buy _unused_ for investment. When stamps are printed by

the million, _used_ supplies will be available for no one knows how

long; but in the case of unused, when a new issue is made, the

obsolete stamp is on the road to an advance in value. It is true

dealers stock large quantities of all stamps, but there are so many

countries to be stocked now that no dealer can afford to hoard unused

to any great extent, and even if he did, the dead capital would be an

item which would compel him to advance the price of unused to protect

himself from loss. Let us say a stamp becomes obsolete this year, and

a dealer buys £100 worth. It would be a moderate estimate to place the

earning power of stamps at 10 per cent. In seven years that £100 hoard

would, reckoning compound interest, represent £200, or double face. Of

course, no dealer would hoard up £100 worth of a common stamp, but

from the day that it becomes obsolete it must be hoarded up by

someone, and interest must be accruing on the investment which will

have to be added to the value of the stamp, unless someone is to stand

the loss. It will, therefore, be obvious that unused stamps must

appreciate while used may remain stationary, for the simple reason

that the limit of supply has been reached in one case but not in the

other.

Taking almost haphazard a few stamps, most of which have been within

the reach of all collectors during the last fifteen years, the

following table will give some idea of the appreciation in prices

which has been steadily going on in good stamps:--

|1875 |1880 |1886 |1890 |1893 |1897 |1902 |

|s. d. |s. d. |s. d. |s. d. |s. d. |s. d. |s. d. |

_unused_ |1 0 |1 6 |2 6 |4 0 |5 0 |25 0 |17 6 |

_used_. |-- |-- |-- |2 6 |2 6 |6 6 |30 0 |

" 1888-9, 4d., | | | | | | | |

_unused_ |-- |-- |-- |1 0 |2 0 |2 0 |3 0 |

brown. perf., _used_ |3 6 |4 0 |12 6 |30 0 |32 6 |80 0 |80 0 |

[triangle]_unused_ |0 4 |0 6 |1 6 |2 0 |4 0 |8 0 |15 0 |

_used_ |2 6 |3 6 |15 0 |25 0 |45 0 |90 0 |95 0 |

Cyprus, 1880, 6d., _unused_ |-- |-- |1 6 |7 6 |12 0 |30 0 |25 0 |

" " 1s., _unused_ |-- |-- |2 6 |10 0 |15 0 |40 0 |55 0 |

4 c., blue, _unused_. |0 6 |0 6 |1 6 |3 6 |5 0 |17 6 |25 0 |

14 c., _unused_ |1 0 |1 0 |2 6 |3 6 |5 6 |24 0 |32 0 |

_unused_ |2 0 |2 0 |5 0 |8 6 |16 0 |22 6 |25 0 |

" " 10 " |2 6 |1 6 |6 0 |12 0 |20 0 |26 0 |27 6 |

_unused_ |0 8 |0 8 |2 6 |5 0 |6 0 |20 0 |32 0 |

Gibraltar, 1886, 1s. |-- |-- |1 9 |3 6 |7 6 |70 0 |75 0 |

Hayti, 1881, 20 c., _unused_ |-- |-- |2 0 |2 0 |2 6 |7 6 |20 0 |

_used_ |0 2 |0 2 |1 6 |3 6 |6 6 |30 0 |40 0 |

brown, _used_. |1 0 |2 6 |3 6 |7 6 |12 6 |28 0 |25 0 |

Views, _used_. |2 6 |4 0 |17 6 |30 0 |35 0 |40 0 |40 0 |

on 6d., _unused_ |-- |1 0 |1 0 |3 0 |3 0 |5 0 |30 0 |

Tonga, 1892, 8d. |-- |-- |-- |-- |2 0 |5 0 |10 0 |

" " 1s. |-- |-- |-- |-- |3 0 |4 0 |15 0 |

_unused_ |-- |0 8 |1 0 |1 0 |0 9 |1 6 |20 0 |

" " 1s. " |-- |1 9 |2 0 |2 0 |4 6 |15 0 |40 0 |

Trinidad, 1896, 10s. |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |14 0 |70 0 |

blue, _unused_ |-- |1 9 |2 6 |3 0 |5 0 |20 0 |25 0 |

Zululand, 1888, 9d. |-- |-- |-- |1 6 |1 6 |12 0 |17 6 |

Of foolish investors there will always be a generous supply, who will

ever be ready to offer themselves as evidence of the worthlessness of

any and every form of investment, forgetful of the fact that the shoe

is more often on the other foot. In stamps, as in every other class of

investment, the foolish may buy what is worthless instead of what is

valuable. There are stamps specially manufactured and issued to catch

such flats, and they are easily hooked by the thousand every year,

despite the continual warnings of experienced collectors.

But if we turn to the result of experienced collecting we find

abundant evidence of the fact that the stamp collector may enjoy his

stamps and, when the force of circumstances compels him to abandon

them, he may retire without regret for having put so much money into a

mere hobby.

Mr. W. Hughes Hughes, B.L., started his collection in 1859, and kept a

strict account of all his expenditure on his hobby, and in 1896 he

sold to our publishers for close on £3,000 what had cost him only £69.

In 1870 a stamp dealer in London, as a novelty and an advertisement,

papered his shop windows, walls, and ceiling with unused Ionian

Islands stamps, which were then a drug in the market. The same stamps

would now readily sell at 10s. per set of three; in other words, the

materials of that wall-paper would now be worth at least £5,000.

The late Mr. Pauwels, of Torquay, made a collection which cost him

£360 up to 1871, when it was put on one side and left untouched until

1898. It was then purchased by our publishers for the sum of £4,000,

and yielded them a very fair return on their investment.

In the International Philatelic Exhibition, held in the Galleries of

the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours in Piccadilly,

London, in 1897, one collector marked over each stamp of his exhibit

the price which he had paid for it, and the market price of the day.

The collection had been got together during the previous fifteen

years, and had cost its owner £25 2s., while by the then latest

catalogue value it totalled up to £368 1s. 3d.

Shrewd business men are those who frequently invest large sums in

stamps. The amounts spent annually by some wealthy collectors range

from £1,000 to £10,000. One well-known Parisian collector, whose life

has been largely devoted to his philatelic treasures, and who employs

two secretaries to look after his collection, has, it is estimated,

spent at least £200,000 on his stamps since 1870.

If investment were the Alpha and Omega of stamp collecting, every

collector of standing would bemoan lost opportunities. Many a great

rarity of to-day could have been had for a few shillings a few years

ago. The Cape errors were sold by Stanley Gibbons at 2s. 6d. each. The

"Transvral" error was sold by the same generous firm at 4s., and

others in similar proportion in the day of opportunity.

To-day it is the fashion to look back with regret on those lost

opportunities, and to nurse the belief that such opportunities are

never likely to return. But experience shows that in every decade of

stamp collecting the common stamp of to-day may be the rarity of

to-morrow. In many a series of stamps some one of the lot from some

cause or another gets scarce, and the price appreciates from year to

year till the original price paid for the stamp in pence is

represented by pounds.

[Illustration]

XIV.

What to Collect and How to Collect.

The questions, "What to collect?" and "How to collect?" are much more

easily asked than answered. Each individual will differ in taste, in

inclination, in method, in time at his disposal, and last, but not

least, in the depth of his pocket. The most that can be done is to

outline a general plan, founded upon general experience.

Collectors are divided into two classes--the general collector and the

specialist. The general collector takes everything that comes in his

way, and knows no limitations, no exclusions of this country or that.

The specialist, on the other hand, confines his attention to the

stamps of one or more particular groups or divisions, or even to one

particular country.

The most experienced collectors, whether general or specialist, almost

invariably advise the beginner to start as a general collector. As a

beginner he will have no experience to guide him in the choice of a

particular group or division; and until he has travelled over the

ground as a general collector it will be difficult for him to make a

choice which he may not have cause to regret. As a general collector

he will gather together a general knowledge of stamps in all their

peculiar varieties, which can scarcely fail to be immensely useful to

him even should he subsequently drift into specialism. Indeed, it is

an accepted truism that the man who starts as a general collector

invariably makes the best specialist in the end.

Starting, then, as a general collector, the beginner purchases an

album--for choice say the "Imperial," published by Stanley Gibbons,

Ltd., which on one page has a printed and illustrated list of the

stamps of a country, and on the opposite page ruled and numbered

spaces for every stamp mentioned in the printed list. A catalogue,

setting forth the prices at which stamps may be purchased, should also

be obtained.

One of the very first questions to be settled at the start will be the

choice that must be made between the collection of used and of unused.

The general collector who wishes to collect economically should

certainly start with what is cheapest; and as the common stamps are

cheapest in the used condition, used should be selected. When a

collector can afford to spend his money liberally, the best and

safest, and cheapest in the long run, will be stamps unused and in the

pink of condition. Such stamps generally turn out to be a safe and not

unfrequently a splendid investment.

The beginner will find that he can fill up a large proportion of the

spaces in his album with comparatively common stamps, and these are

much more economically purchased in the form of cheap packets. The

blanks that remain will then represent stamps worth searching for

separately, and buying singly as good opportunities occur. Many may be

obtained in exchanging duplicates with other collectors.

After some experience as a general collector, preferences will

gradually materialise, and the utter hopelessness of making a thorough

collection of the postal issues of the world will be apparent. At this

stage the collector generally sells the bulk of his collection,

reserving only a few countries to be followed up in future on

specialist lines. The remedy and the change are drastic, and, like

most drastic remedies, are much too sweeping. Wiser and keener

Philatelists nowadays retain their general collections, so far as they

have gone with them, and upon their basis give play to their

specialist inclinations. That is to say, they single out a country,

and work at that exclusively on specialist lines; and when they tire

of that country, or exhaust it so far as their means allow, they have

in their general collection the nucleus of another country with which

to build up another specialist collection. On this plan a collector

can always be working in sympathy and on the lines of the fashionable

country of the day. He can take up and open out whatever country

happens to be the vogue. In this way a neglected country every now and

again comes to the front, and the nucleus of that country which may be

found in the general collection may suddenly acquire an interest and a

value never dreamt of. A recent case in point is that of the Orange

Free State. Its stamps went a-begging for purchasers. Then trouble,

and unrest, and war brought them into notice, and now the almost

worthless have become valuable, and the pence have run into shillings,

and the shillings into pounds.

For many persons, however, limitations and exclusions are necessary

from the start. In their case a choice must be made, and the safest

choice will be that of the British Colonies, or, if a still more

restricted line must be drawn, one of the Continental groups of

Colonies. A glance at a priced catalogue will be the best guide for

selection. If it must be an economical selection, the catalogue will

speak for itself. There is abundant choice in every direction. There

are colonies with few and simple and inexpensive issues, and there are

others that require ample means and patient research. But the cheapest

countries, from an expenditure point of view, are foreign

countries--such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, German Empire, Italy,

Chili, China, and so on.

[Illustration]

XV.

Great Collections.

Great collections of postage stamps, like great collections of

pictures, in these days acquire an international rank and reputation.

The great stamp collections of to-day are in a few hands, and have

been built up by lavish wealth and lavish industry. Wealth alone will

not suffice to gather together a really great philatelic collection.

There must be patient research, and there can be no research apart

from that full knowledge which comes only to the industrious and

painstaking Philatelist. The gem that is wanted to complete the finest

page in the rich man's collection has not unfrequently to be

personally sought for in the byways, the alleys, and lanes of stamp

collecting; and despite the keenest search of the wealthy, it

sometimes, after all, falls by grim mischance into the laboriously

gathered collection of the man of very limited means.

The Prince of Wales is known to be an enthusiastic and keen stamp

collector. He is the acting President of the Philatelic Society of

London. During his recent tour round the world he displayed his great

interest in the postal issues of the colonies which he visited, and

brought home much valuable philatelic information and a number of

proofs of sheets of old colonial stamps which will help to clear up

many doubtful points. H.R.H. collects only the stamps of Great Britain

and her colonies, and he possesses many specimens that are absolutely

unique.

The collection which was made by the late Mr. T. K. Tapling, M.P., is

now in the keeping of the British Museum, having been bequeathed to

the nation by its possessor, who was one of the most cultured and

shrewdest collectors of his day. His collection was his

life-work--from boyhood till his early death in 1891. It was largely

made up of the amalgamation of great collections. In his day Tapling

had the first pick in every direction, and, as a result, his

collection is to-day one of the grandest and richest and most

scientific general collections extant. Great rarities may be said to

be conspicuous by their prominence and by their matchless condition.

But the greatest collection of all is that of M. Philipp la Renotiérè,

of Paris, known to most collectors as Herr von Ferrary. In the course

of the last thirty years he has purchased many well-known old

collections, amongst which may be mentioned that of Judge Philbrick

for £7,000, Sir Daniel Cooper's for £3,000, W. B. Thornhill's

Australians, etc. M. la Renotiérè has been a large buyer in the

leading capitals of Europe for a great many years. His expenditure

with our own publishers is said to average from £3,000 to £4,000 a

year. He employs two secretaries who are paid large salaries, one to

look after the postage stamps and the other the post cards, envelopes,

and wrappers.

Mr. F. Breitfuss, of St. Petersburg, who has been collecting since

1860, is credited with the third finest collection in the world. He

is an omnivorous, but scientific general collector.

Mr. H. J. Duveen, the well-known art connoisseur of London and New

York, although he did not take to stamp collecting till 1892, has

already got together the finest collection, outside the British

Museum, in this country. It is celebrated not only for the beauty of

its specimens, but also for its completeness, neatness, and scientific

arrangement. The value of the collection is probably close on £80,000.

It is enclosed in seventy handsome Oriel albums.

Mr. W. B. Avery, head of the well-known firm of scale-makers of

Birmingham, has one of the finest general collections. It is justly

celebrated for the large number of great rarities that it contains,

amongst which are the two rare "Post Office" Mauritius in superb

unused condition. The collection cannot be worth at present far short

of £50,000.

Mr. M. P. Castle, the Vice-President of the Philatelic Society of

London, who succeeded the late Mr. Tapling in office, is one of the

keenest of keen collectors. His general collection became so large

that he parted with it in 1877, and then specialised in Australians.

This latter collection he sold, in 1894, to our publishers for

£10,000, at that time the largest sum ever paid for a single

collection. He subsequently made a grand specialised collection of

Europeans. This, arranged in sixty-seven volumes, he sold, in 1900,

for nearly £30,000, and he has now returned to his love for

Australians.

The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres is a collector of only recent date,

but he has already formed a really magnificent collection based on

broad historical lines. He confines himself mostly to the stamps of

the British Empire, the United States, and the Italian States. His

lordship is a member of the Council of the Philatelic Society of

London, and, when in England, a regular attendant at its meetings.

The Earl of Kintore is also the possessor of a very fine collection of

English Colonials, etc.; among his greater rarities being the "Post

Office" Mauritius, the complete set of Hawaiian Islands (first issue),

the 2 cents, rose, British Guiana, and many other gems. He also is a

member of the London Philatelic Society.

In France the place of honour, after M. la Renotiérè, is deservedly

taken by M. Paul Mirabaud, the well-known banker of Paris, whose

magnificent collection of Switzerland was shown in the last Paris

Exhibition. It forms, however, only a small portion of his fine

collection.

In Italy probably the most famous collection is that of Prince Doria

Pamphilj, which is exceptionally rich in the interesting issues of the

Italian States.

In the United States of America there are many notable collections,

several of them being worth from £30,000 to £50,000, amongst which may

be mentioned the Crockers', of San Francisco, Mr. F. W. Ayer's, of

Bangor, Maine, and Mr. Paul's, of Philadelphia.

In Germany the greatest collection is doubtless that of Mr. Martin

Schroeder, the well known merchant of Leipzig.

[Illustration:]

Stanley Gibbons, Ltd.

_CAPITAL, £75,000. ESTABLISHED 1856._

HIGHEST POSSIBLE AWARDS.

_GOLD MEDAL, Paris, 1892._

_GOLD MEDAL, Chicago, 1893._

FIVE MEDALS

(_Highest in each Class_),

GENEVA, 1896.

FOUR MEDALS

(_Highest in each Class_),

LONDON, 1897.

The above-mentioned high rewards gained by the Firm have been awarded

for the perfect condition and completeness of Stamp Collections, and

for general excellence in Stamp Albums, Catalogues, and Handbooks.

* * * * *

Rare

Stamps

Bought, Sold, or Exchanged.

* * * * *

_LARGE NEW PROSPECTUS_

(_Seventy-six Pages_),

With full details of all

STAMP ALBUMS,

CATALOGUES, HANDBOOKS,

and List of nearly

2,000 SETS and PACKETS

at Bargain Prices,

_sent post-free on application_.

* * * * *

STANLEY GIBBONS,

LIMITED,

New Announcements.

_ANNUAL SALE OVER THIRTY THOUSAND PACKETS._

NOW READY, the following Popular Series of

PACKETS OF FOREIGN POSTAGE STAMPS

_All the Stamps contained in the following Packets are warranted

absolutely genuine, free from reprints. They are also in good

condition and perfect._

These Packets cannot be sent by book post to Postal Union Countries.

The cost by letter rate is 2-1/2d. for every 100 Stamps. The amount

required for postage can therefore be reckoned, and should be added

when remitting.

* * * * *

_New and Improved Packets of Used and Unused Stamps._

No. 1.--The Sixpenny Packet of Mixed Continental Stamps contains 100,

including many obsolete and rare. (This packet contains duplicates.)

Post-free, 7d.

No. 2.--The Sixpenny Packet of Used Foreign Stamps contains 50

varieties, all different, including Egypt, Spain, Chili, New South

Wales, Transvaal, Roumania, Porto Rico, Argentine, Sweden, Brazil,

Turkey, &c. Post-free, 7d.

No. 3.--The Sixpenny Packet of Used Colonial Stamps contains 12

varieties, including Natal, Ceylon, India H.M.S., Cape of Good Hope,

British Guiana, Mauritius, Tasmania, New South Wales Service,

Victoria, Jamaica, South Australia O.S., &c. All different. Post-free,

7d.

No. 4.--The Shilling Packet of Used and Unused Foreign Stamps contains

50 varieties, including French Soudan, Spain, Bulgaria, Portugal,

Sandwich Isles (head of King), Italy, Turkey, Finland, Brazil,

Roumania, Portugal, Argentine Republic, Ecuador, Salvador, Greece,

Mexico, Shanghai, Philippine Isles, Japan, and others rare. All

different and warranted genuine. Post-free, 1/1.

No. 5.--The Shilling Packet of Colonial Stamps contains 25 varieties,

including Cyprus, Natal, Jamaica, provisional South Australia,

Victoria 1/2d. rose, surcharged Ceylon, Straits Settlements, India

Service, Queensland, Hong Kong, Barbados, Swan River, South Australia,

Centennial New South Wales, Mauritius, Malta, and others rare. All

different and warranted genuine. Post-free, 1/1.

No. 6.--The Eighteenpenny Packet of Used Foreign Stamps contains 100

varieties, including Mauritius, Hong Kong, Finland, Japan 15 and 25

sen, Barbados, Chili, Brazil, Greece, Russia, Porto Rico, India

envelope, Jamaica, Belgium, Spain, Canada, &c. All different and

warranted genuine. Post-free, 1/7.

No. 7.--The Two Shilling Packet of Rare Used and Unused Foreign Stamps

contains 100 varieties, including Porto Rico, Colombia, New Zealand,

registered Canada, rare Turkish, Dutch Indies, Ceylon, Mozambique,

Mauritius, Portugal, French Colonies, O. F. State, Cyprus, Norway,

Sardinia, Belgium, West Australia, Chili, Egypt, Bavaria, and others

rare. All different and warranted genuine. Post-free, 2/1.

Approval Sheets and Collections of Stamps.

NEW SHEETS OF STAMPS FOR BEGINNERS AND MEDIUM COLLECTORS.

We have just been arranging our Approval Sheets of Stamps on an

entirely new and much simpler plan than formerly. The Stamps are

mounted on Sheets, containing an average of 100 Stamps per Sheet. They

are all arranged in the order of our New Catalogue. First, Great

Britain and the Colonies, then all Foreign Countries. These Sheets

contain about 5,000 different Stamps, and a Sheet of any particular

country will be sent on demand. The Sheets arranged to date are over

forty in number, and contain all Great Britain and the Colonies, and

all Foreign Countries.

TO ADVANCED COLLECTORS.--For Collectors more advanced we have an

assortment of many hundreds of small books of Choice picked Stamps of

every Country or District in the World. Most of these special books

contain twenty pages (5×3-1/2 inches), and can be sent by post in an

ordinary registered envelope to all parts of the world. These books,

as a rule, include Used and Unused Stamps, but Special Approval Books

will be made up to suit individual requirements. Collectors writing

for such should state if they wish for Used or Unused Stamps; if

singles, pairs, or blocks of 4 are required; also, in Used Stamps, if

special Postmarks are sought for. In all cases, in these books, we

shall lay ourselves out to meet the special requirements of each

individual client, whether the amount required be large or small.

Great Rarities are our Speciality. We have a large number of Stamps on

hand from £100 to £750 each, and shall be pleased to give prices and

particulars to advanced Philatelists.

We purchase really Rare Stamps at a much higher Cash Price than that

paid by any other Stamp Merchant.

Grand Collection Packets.

NEW AND GREATLY REDUCED PRICES FOR 1902.

No. 64 CONTAINS 100 VARIETIES,

Including used and unused. Price 6d.; post-free, 7d.

No. 65 CONTAINS 250 DIFFERENT VARIETIES,

Both used and unused Stamps, Envelopes [box] and Post Cards [box] and is

well recommended as a capital start for a collector. Price 3/-;

post-free, 3/1.

No. 66, 500 VARIETIES,

And is strongly recommended as the cheapest collection of 500

different Stamps ever offered--the Stamps could not be bought

separately for three times the marvellously low price at which it is

now offered. The Stamps, &c., are clean, picked specimens fit for any

collection. The best 500 varieties in the trade.

Price 6/-; post-free, 6/1.

No. 67, 1,000 VARIETIES.

Generally speaking, the best countries from an investment point of