The Hidden Passion Of Stamp Collecting
Hobbies are the most wonderful pastime to have, harboring personal interest and enjoyment. Every person has a passion for something that he or she engages in leisure time. This activity of passion gets termed as hobbies. Hobbies help us to relax through the pursuit of some commitment that brings about personal accomplishment. Unwinding in contentment is the ultimate aim. Stamp collecting allows for this to happen on a daily basis if the person wanted it.
Stamp collecting is collection of postage stamps. It is world’s most popular and oldest hobby. You can usually find people who are so engrossed with their collection that it sometimes will take them to all corners of the world in order to find “that stamp”, a stamp of such uniqueness, to find one would be the happiest moment of that person’s life. The first postage stamp was issued in Britain in 1840 featuring the photo of the Queen.
This stamp was without perforations and required scissors in order to be removed from the sheet. Stamp collecting started in 1860’s with teenagers who started to collect stamps. Towards the onset of 20th century, many of those young teen collectors were adults and they began systematic study of the stamps. This passion has been around for a very long time!
It was not until the 1920s that publicity about valuable stamps encouraged a large increase in the number of stamp collectors. Franklin Delano Roosevelt –or more popularly known as “F.D.R.”— was a leader, in many respects. Being the thirty-second president of the United States of America, It’s no surprise that a man who ran the country with such passion and dedication would pursue his personal hobbies with the same spirit. Ever since he was eight years old, F.D.R. had a passion for stamp collecting that traveled with him his entire life, giving him renowned status in the world of philately. Roosevelt’s parents were involved in the business of shipping and trading with countries all over the world. Naturally, this exposed him as a young boy, to countless varieties of stamps. This is, essentially, what sparked his interest in collecting, which included any and every type of stamp he came across. He was known for constantly bothering his relatives to send him all sorts of stamps, from all over the world.
In 1921, Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio, after visiting a Boy Scout camp. One of the major things that got him through his trying time of hardship, pain, and suffering was his intent focus on his stamp collection.
Having a passion, any passion, for something you enjoy can help one out in even the toughest of times. Some say it gives them the ability to think through problems and discover answers, while others say that their passion for Stamp Collecting has brought many other joys into their lives. How passionate you are about your stamp collection will determine how far your collection will go, or how far it will even take you. It can be quite fun having a secret passion for something, and knowing that the people you know will never fully understand or feel that same kind of passion that you do.