Small Paper, Big World: The Story of Stamp Collecting

Small Paper, Big World

1In Great Britain in the early 1800s, mailing a letter was complicated. The person who received a letter usually paid for it, not the person who sent it. The price depended on how far the letter had traveled and how many sheets of paper it had. Some people refused to pay when the carrier knocked, so the carrier had made the trip for nothing.

2A schoolteacher named Rowland Hill suggested a simpler plan. The sender would pay ahead of time, and a letter would cost the same amount no matter how far it went inside the country. To show that the fee was paid, the sender would stick a small printed label on the letter. In 1840, Great Britain sold the first postage stamp. It was black, it showed the face of Queen Victoria, and it cost one penny, so people called it the Penny Black.

3The plan worked so well that other countries copied it. The United States printed its first stamps in 1847. Before long, nations around the world were making stamps in many colors and shapes.

4Almost as soon as stamps appeared, people began saving them. Children and adults pasted them into notebooks and traded them with friends. Over time, stamp collecting became one of the most popular hobbies in the world.

5Serious collectors handle stamps with care. They use tongs, which look like tweezers with flat tips, so that oil from their fingers does not stain the paper. A magnifying glass helps them spot tiny details, such as a printing mistake. To take an older stamp off an envelope, many collectors soak it in water until it slides off and then let it dry flat. Finally, they store each stamp in an album so it stays clean and does not bend.

6Many collectors say their stamps teach them about the world. A single stamp might show a country's animals, its famous buildings, or an important event in its history. Some collectors pick a theme, such as birds, ships, or space, and look for stamps from many countries that fit it. In this way, a small piece of paper can open a window onto a big world.