Best Books on Philately

Several parents are not fully aware of the steps involved to sustain the initial interest kindled when introducing kids to philately. Books and other media resources available on the Internet step up to fill that void. Again, with the heavily commercialized aspect of philately, it is easy to far exceed one’s budget on books, catalogs, and other media. A frugal approach on the other hand, allows philatelists get more mileage out of their funds and enjoy their leisure pursuit in earnest.
  • Always opt a for a used book in place of a new one – as philately is a relatively old hobby, numerous books are in circulation and one can easily find a vintage version for far less – even if money is not an issue, such a simple step will leave more trees standing,
  • Local libraries usually carry books on philately and can provide a head start (the ISBN is included to help with a philately book search in the library).
The spreadsheet below is our list of the best books and media available with a worldwide or US scope:


Book, PDF doc, or other MediaThumbnailISBNList PriceBest PriceComments
The Official Stamp Collector's Bible by Stephen Datz

978-0609808849$49$38Philatelic advice on every aspect of collecting and trading.
Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and Stamp Collecting (Hardcover)

978-1886513983$40$26.40Introduces the collector to the full scope of United States stamps and stamp collecting – 730 pages of full-colored quality content.
The World in Stamps (Hardcover) by Laurent Lemerle

978-0810955196$3527.303500 stamps organized thematically to show how it documents world history spread over 256 pages.
Fundamentals of Philately (Hardcover) by L.N.Williams APS 1971 republished June 1990

978-0933580138$49$39Targets the “serious” collector – details on machinery, materials used, and production details make it unique.
The International Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Philatelics by R. Scott Carlton

978-0873414487$35$15Covers details on inscriptions in stamps with translations.
Stamp Collecting for Dummies by Richard L. Sine

978-0764553790$20$10A classic from the Dummies series that avoids the bane of most philatelic books - getting classified as too dry!
All About Stamps: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Philatelic Terms by Wayne L. Youngblood

978-0873419635$15$4Focused on Terms - Chats on postage stamps covers most terms but this one adds some newer terms and details.
Stamp Collecting by Stephen R. Datz

978-0882190303$20$10A good introduction to the absolute beginner.
Chats on postage stamps (1920 printing) Melville, Fred J. (Frederick John), 1882-1940















NAPublic Domain - FreePublic Domain - FreeAn amazing account of early philately and the history of stamps starting from the 1600s spread-out over 300 pages of high quality content.
13.5 minute Stamp History Video – World Through Stamps, The story behind postage stamps, 1957















NAPublic Domain – Free Public Domain - FreeA fascinating TV episode from 1953 about stories on stamps. This episode focuses on aviation and Lindberg’s flight.
What philately teaches – A lecture delivered on February 24, 1899















NAPublic Domain – Free Public Domain - FreeA succinct early account of philately with a focus on subjects used, how they are made, and the widely used terms.
American Philatelic Society PDFs: a) Ten low-cost ways to start collecting stamps, and b) Three Tips for stamp collectors















NANoneNoneGood introduction for absolute beginners.


The following sources provide a tremendous amount of media publications:
  1. Stamp Catalog Publishers: On an annual basis several stamp catalog publishers release volumes containing details on stamps published globally over the previous years. These huge volumes are not at all environment friendly, given the majority of the information are repeated. We will look into Stamp catalogs and options for philatelists in an upcoming post,
  2. Philatelic Bureaus of the World’s Postal Services – this will be covered in detail in another post,
  3. Philatelic websites, societies, and forums – we will go into the specifics of what they offer in another post as well, and
  4. Stamp Dealer Catalogs and related media – these usually arrive with subscription and approvals automatically and hence are best avoided – also the catch with stamp dealer approvals in general is that return postage is the recipients responsibility.
  5.  
     
Last Updated: 09/2015.

16 comments :

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I really consider your blog a very useful information for starting collectors such as myself. I hope to win the free stamps contest also.

Sincerely,

John
attorneyatwork@hotmail.com

scootsah said...

Hi. Hoping to win some stamps for the kids! Thanks. pjkata@gmail.com

Angel said...

My son would love to win this, we're finding your site very helpful in learning about his collection!

noreen said...

Stamp collecting is a great hobby
nor_lou at hotmail dot com

Leah said...

There is magic in stamp collecting and discovering the world beyond. : )))

Thanks so much for this give~away! : )))

leahita[at]gmail[dot]com

Marilyn said...

Oh, awesome giveaway!! I love sending stuff abroad, so the stamps will come in handy!!

gymnastics0922[at]yahood[dot]com

Oh, and check out my giveaway- win one of three Banana Nut Cheerios Gift Baskets!! (ends March 1)

http://romanianescapade.blogspot.com

Crystal said...

Would love this to start a collection with my son. Learning new things to collect and learn about for school. Thanks!

Mikki said...

Stamp collecting is a great hobby!! Thanks for the info about the books. My 6 year old daughter has become interested in collecting at a much earlier age than I did!! I started in the 3rd grade!!!

~~Mikki
cajunlady77@gmail.com

dctm said...

I would love to win this for my husband

dctm at bellsouth dot net

Ashley said...

Super giveaway! I would love to add these stamps for my collection.

kyfriedhome at insightbb dot com

:)

Anonymous said...

Hi...Hope to win some stamps

RJ
resterbackup@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hello,

I would love to win this for my nephew and niece.

resty
nonator@uchastings.edu

techyone said...

Your blog has excellent information for collectors. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

i have just started collecting world wide stamps and love to win this...thankyou from Australia

Anonymous said...

hi i just started collecting world world stamps and love to win. Thanks from Australia

bperkins81@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

hi my name is loredana and i am only 11 but i have been collecting for a few years and i think this is a great website and gives lots of people an opperchunety to win stamps
my email

is loredana_888@hotmial.com

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