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Stamp Clubs
The first philatelic club was founded in 1856 in the United States of America, and its name was The Omnibus Club. In 1866, The Excelsior Stamp-Association was founded in St John’s, Canada. Towards the end of the 1860s, the Suddeutscher Philatelisten-Verein was founded in Heidelberg. Most of these old philatelist organizations did not exist for long and were eventually superseded by other associations.
The oldest and most famous philatelic organization in the world has its headquarters in London. The Philatelic Society, London was founded in April, 1869. In 1906, King Edward VII gave permission for the society to use the prefix ‘Royal’. In 1896, HRH Duke of York (later King George V) became President of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, an office which he continued until his accession to the throne in 1910, when he was pleased to announce that he would act as its patron. This royal patronage has continued, and today the society is honoured by the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
It was the philatelic societies who organized contacts between stamp collectors and provided them with the necessary conditions for their hobby. First of all, meetings of members were held. There they could buy, sell or exchange stamps. The first approval booklets appeared and the societies undertook their circulation. In many cases, societies sponsored the publication of stamp magazines and assisted in the publication of stamp albums and catalogues. Later, stamp exhibitions were held and the societies appointed experts to assist their members. Philatelic clubs and organizations became a permanent institution.
The place of philatelic clubs which were dissolved or gave up their activities for various reasons was taken by new ones, and today there is hardly a city in the civilized world where some organization of stamp collectors does not exist. The need for closer contacts, the exchange of stamps and also the exchange of knowledge and experience brought philatelists closer together and led eventually to the formation of larger bodies and national federations. In some countries, these federations have a membership of hundreds of thousands. One of the great tasks of philatelic clubs and societies is the education of the next generation of stamp collectors.
Long ago, proposals were put forward to establish a world wide organization of philatelists. These suggestions materialized in 1926 when a conference of representatives of national philatelic societies was held and The International Federation of Philately (FIP) was founded. At present, FIP counts among its members over forty national philatelic societies from countries in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. The headquarters of FIP are in Geneva. FIP looks after international contacts between philatelic organizations of different countries, co-ordinates international philatelic activities, for instance, international stamp exhibitions, organizes an international fight against stamp forgers and propagates philately. Furthermore, FIP is doing its best to facilitate the international exchange of stamps, ensure philatelic documentation and take an interest in the education of young philatelists.
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