Why We Do What We Do - How Will You Complete The Following Sentences?

I first started collecting in [year].

I started because _________________ .

Currently collecting gives me _________________ .

I started collecting in 1956. A Cincinnati, Ohio kids television program did weekly segments on collecting U.S. stamps mounting those related to your topic of interest on a page to display on your wall. My grandfather was a rural mail carrier. Later, in about 1961 or 1962, my grandmother gave me a post card postmarked at her father's general store post office. I still collect today, mostly postal history, enjoying learning new things. The quest continues.

I also started collecting in 1956, by looking over my brother's shoulder. Collecting continues to give me new thrills, and stamps also give me an income; it's a perfect job.

Started collecting in 2000.
I started because I thought I found a $300,000.00 stamp at a garage sale. Didn't know what a 'grill' was at the time.
I currently collect so I might put together a decent book of Three Cent 1851-57's for my Grandson.

Started in 1976 because my father was a collector and gave me an album.

I currently enjoy tying stamps to the history of when and where they were used.

I started collecting stamps in 1957 and bought my first Scott Specialized U.S. Album with the money I got for my 7th birthday in 1958.

about 1974

my Dad collected

plenty of interesting paths to investigate

ca 1967

My father worked with a gentleman that collected stamps. He sent me a cigar box and said I could keep any duplicates that I could find.

I enjoy the little pieces of paper. The art, postmarks, filling spaces, researching the history, learning about others, and it is relaxing most of the time.

I first started circa 1961.
I started in part because it was a rite of passage for 9 yr old (mostly boys) and some stayed with it.
I considered myself an adult in 1970 and started collecting Ireland.
WHY?
Well I think a one-country stamp album is like a Greatest Hits album...History, Music, Literature, Fauna, Flora, Sport and the rest. So its very pargmatic and acceptable for of Ptriotism. Not only have I learned about the "400th Anniversary of......THIS" and the "Bicentenary of....THAT"....its a chronicle of how a Nation which is only 30 plus years older than I am has evolved.
I am a Historian (retired) but theres an aspect of Conservation that still thrills me.

Thirty years? You're forgetting Brian Boru.

I've just finished putting my Irish stamps in some sort of order, covering the period from the Free State to the (rather symbolic) declaration of the Republic in 1949. I've also set aside some later ones for a sort of "Republican figures" collection, although my selection is a bit on the thin side.

I started around 1959-60 when my old man brought home a paper-backed album and a packet of stamps from Woolies. I sat on his knee while we put in the stamps (I had the fun of licking the ines with gum).

Started collecting at the age of 10 in 1963 by following my brother's lead. Left it off about 8 years later as college, girls, work, life intervened and then started up again about ten years ago with kids grown, work winding down and disposable income became available. I collect now for pleasure, knowledge, admiration of the beauty of many stamps and peacefulness. Always learning something new either about philately itself or else from the subjects portrayed on stamps.

I started collecting in 1973, at the age of seven.

My initial impetus was the U.S. "Stamp Collecting" stamp (Scott #1474), but I'd have to say that I started collecting because (1) I've had an interest in history for longer than I can remember, and (2) I have the collecting gene, though I wasn't aware of it at the time. The fact that I stuck with stamp collecting is undoubtedly due largely to my uncle, a Serious Collector who mentored me, bought me my first album, took me to stamp shows, and gave me lots of stamps that I wouldn't have been able to afford.

Currently collecting gives me a way to satisfy the demands of the aforementioned collecting gene, as well as a distraction from various annoyances in my life.

I first started collecting in 1951 or 1952 while I was watching my father working on his collection.

Currently collecting gives me...education, enjoyment and relaxation; it's far more entertaining than television!

Started collecting: at age 10 1/2 in 1960.

Started: because my father introduced me to the hobby.

Currently collecting gives me: great pleasure after downsizing from the rat race of maintaining a world wide collection.Have much more focus now on my several special areas.

I started collecting in 1974.

I started because I spent a week with my grandparents while recovering from abdominal surgery and my grandmother bought a couple of paper stamp albums and a grab bag of worldwide stamps on paper...we spent the week soaking stamps and mounting them in our albums using glue sticks.

Currently collecting gives me joy and relaxation through researching everything from the production processes and history/stories behind stamps, designing and printing pages, maintaining my website, mentoring other collectors, and building my collection.

started because _________________ .

Because as a young boy, I saw stamps from romantic places for sale in a local store and thought they were really interesting. At the time, I didn't know anyone else who collected stamps, but it really appealed to me. That was when I was 8 years old in the mid-19505s.


Currently collecting gives me _________________ .

It gives me tremendous pleasure. I love organizing things, and I love finding out about history and people around the world. And there's an aesthetic pleasure in making albums and mounting and labeling stamps. It also gives me quiet time alone which everyone needs.