Stamp collecting as a hobby began in 1840.
There are five ways to collect stamps:
General collecting:
you can collect stamps from all over the world
and of various subjects.
- © Canada Post. 1975.
Reproduced with Permission.
- © Copyright Australia Post. Alteration of this image
in any way is forbidden. National Philatelic Collection,
Australia Post.
- © United States Postal Service. Reproduced with permission.
All rights reserved.
National collecting:
you can collect stamps from one country.
- © Canada Post. 1998.
Reproduced with Permission.
- © Canada Post. 1970.
Reproduced with Permission.
- © Canada Post. 1985.
Reproduced with Permission.
Thematic collecting:
you can collect stamps depicting a particular theme.
- © Copyright Australia Post. Alteration of this image
in any way is forbidden. National Philatelic Collection,
Australia Post.
- © Copyright Australia Post. Alteration of this image
in any way is forbidden. National Philatelic Collection,
Australia Post.
- © Canada Post. 1993.
Reproduced with Permission.
Specialized collecting:
you can collect all the varieties of a single stamp or
collect stamps used for a special purpose.
Postal history collecting:
you can collect envelopes, postcards, or other pieces of mail 
to learn more about the rates, the routes, or the events
that caused disruption in a mail service.
Which stamps would you collect?
When you start out, you will probably collect every stamp you find,
but soon you may want to define your collection.
How do you decide which stamps to collect?
The stamps shown here will give you some ideas.
If you like to travel, collect stamps from the countries you want to visit.
Find out more about Canada by collecting Canadian stamps.
Collect stamps from the year you were born.
