Topical stamp collecting

File:Stamp Falkland Islands 1929 2.5p.jpg

Both collectors of whales and penguins on stamps would want this 1929 issue from the Falkland Islands.

Topical or thematic stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps relating to a particular subject or concept. Topics can be almost anything, from stamps on stamps, birds, trains and poets on stamps, to famous physicians and scientists, along with historical people and events on stamps, which is often a standard theme for many stamp issuing countries.

Background

Ships on Stamps
USS Constitution

The earliest stamps simply depicted busts of reigning monarchs, important figures, or coats of arms, but as time went on stamps started to have a wider range of designs. Bears appeared on provisional stamps of St. Louis in 1845, while the beaver was featured on the earliest stamps of Canada. More than 150 years later, the variety of designs on stamps is enormous, giving topical collectors plenty of scope to find stamps for their chosen theme. In fact, so many stamps have been issued that some popular themes, such as "ships" or "birds", have become nearly impossible to complete, and topical collectors may specialize further, such as by looking for only square-rigged sailing ships, or only flightless birds.

Collecting

Since most types of stamp designs are commonly available and inexpensive, acquiring them is mostly a matter of poring over the stamp catalog looking for relevant types, and learning enough about the topic to recognize subtle connections. The American Topical Association and others have published handbooks and lists of larger topics.

Competitions

Topical collecting is a recognized category for competitive exhibitions and has its own Commission with the FIP (Fédération Internationale de Philatélie).

Topics

File:Nyassa 1901 stamp.jpg

This 2½ real value from the 1901 Nyassa Company stamp issue was the first stamp ever printed to feature a giraffe.

Some topics include:

• Birds on stamps
• Fish on stamps
• Insects on stamps
• Dinosaurs on stamps
• People on stamps
• Presidents on stamps
• Ships on stamps
• U.S. space exploration history on U.S. stamps
• Soviet space exploration history on Soviet stamps
• Stamps on stamps

Stamps on an anarchist theme were issued during the Spanish Civil War by the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo.

Further reading

• Bold, W.E.J. van den. Handbook of Thematic Philately. Limassol: Published by James Bendon for The British Thematic Association, 1994 ISBN 996-357-970-1 215p.
• Branston, A. J. Thematic and Topical Stamp Collecting: A practical and comprehensive handbook for thematic, topical, and subject collectors. London: Batsford, 1980 ISBN 0-7134-1974-1 176p.
• Griffenhagen, George and Jerome Husak. Adventures in Topical Stamp Collecting. Tucson: American Topical Association, 1997 96p.
• Gupta, V.K. A Handbook on Thematic Philately. Delhi: B.D. Gupta, 1989
• Lee, Alma. Introducing Thematic Collecting. London: National Philatelic Society, 1983 34p.
• Martin, M. W. Topical Stamp Collecting. New York: Arco Pub. Co., 1975 ISBN 0-6680-3754-7 159p.
• Morris, Margaret. Thematic Stamp Collecting. London: Gibbons, 1977 ISBN 0-85259-920-X 32p.

• Handbooks of the American Topical Association.

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• American Topical Association
• LearnAboutStamps.com A resource for stamp collectors

Websites for particular themes

• Catstamps
• Scouts on Stamps Society International
• Stamps on Stamps Collectors Club
• Bird stamps by country
• PaleoPhilatelie - web site about Paleontology and its representation in Philately
• List of all stamps depicted fossils, dinosaurs, prehistoric animals and palaeontologists