This page is courtesy of Arjay Books, a subsidiary of Arjay Enterprises. It collects links to philately--that is to the study of postage stamps (especially those of Canada, and in particular British Columbia). If you have a resource you would like to see listed here, contact us.

History:

The word "philately" is and English language rendering of the French philatlie, coined by Georges Herpin about 1864 from the Greek root word phil or philo, meaning an attraction to or love for something, and ateleia, meaning "exempt from duties and taxes". The latter was a reference to the fact that in the hands of the receiver of mail, no charges need be paid any longer, as they were now prepaid by the sender.

Definition:

Philately has to do with the study of postage stamps and related subjects, and may or may not include collecting said stamps. Besides being a professor of computing science and mathematics, and the author of World of the Timestream, part of his Alternate History SF series, Rick Sutcliffe has a modest stamp collection, and got tired of hunting for links to the hobby, so put the ones he uses here in a handy place. Enjoy.