Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Philatelic Society, Ghada Abd El-Kader ponders a hobby on the verge of extinction For years, collecting stamps was a popular hobby, especially among children and the young. With little more than a couple of national TV channels, comparing stamp collections was a widespread activity. With e-mail taking over the post, however -- and virtually unlimited entertainment opportunities made available by technology -- few take the time to wait for a new stamp on a letter to be received; and when they do receive a letter, few keep the stamp attached to the envelope. It was hardly surprising that, at the anniversary of the Philatelic Society of Egypt (PSE), founded in 1929, there should be only a handful of middle-aged to elderly aficionados. The society has 250 registered members, but it is trying hard to bring in newcomers. Its principal mandate is to provide information about stamps and propagate stamp collecting across Egypt. According to PSE President Sherif Samra, "the responsibility for spreading this hobby lies with the National Post. In developed countries, it is the post office that, as a representative of the government, assumes this responsibility." Over here it is the society that organises events and holds exhibitions, but they have such a hard time doing so that the stamp collection showcase celebrating the 75th anniversary was held -- two years late -- only a few weeks ago. Samra explained that it took that long to examine the use of postage in both national and international mail and to assess the importance of each stamp. Yet the PSE is not without support: the National Post issued a stamp and a postcard celebrating it, the British Thematic Association -- some of whose members are also members of the Egypt Study Circle in London, which has an interest in collecting and examining Egyptian stamps -- took part in the celebration. The exhibition featured three philatelists in possession of stamps from the earliest collection in Egypt, dated 1 January 1866; stamps -- each group of which was shown on 16 pages -- were issued at one penny to two piastres. This was one of the ways in which the exhibition provided an opportunity to review the history of Egypt -- in minute detail. One of the older collectors, Khaled El-Shammaa, who has been at it for 20 years, says, "collecting stamps has given me the chance to find out about the history of my country." There were popular and expensive items, including the two postcards for the 1956 Scouts Conference in Alexandria and a LE10,000-stamp celebrating the opening of Port Fouad in 1926, which shows King Fouad presiding over the navy with the words "Port Fouad" printed in English. These are the kinds of "gems" that engage El-Shammaa, who inherited the hobby from his father: "the most popular stamps I have collected are those of the Egyptian royal family." But it is not simply a question of their belonging to a bygone era. "It is their beautiful shapes, colours and rarity that make me love them." But there is more to philately than stamps. The show included old envelopes, which have become even more important than stamps in the last 30 years -- partly as a result of their including more, and more personal, information. In the past they could be presented as evidence at court, but now that it has been established that the postmark tends to be illegible, the practice was discontinued. Expensive as the hobby might seem -- and it often is very expensive -- it can also be very lucrative. As PSE member Mahmoud Salah, who began collecting at the age of 13 explains, "one rare LE7,000-stamp that I've been looking for was that of the 1938 wedding of King Farouk to Queen Farida, which was then issued at LE1, a very large sum at the time." People bought whole panes of them, he remembers -- a fortune. Like every other hobby, stamp collecting has its own tools: the tongs with which stamps are handled, protecting them from damage, dirt or skin oil, which are particularly efficient for handling large numbers of stamps; the stock book with clear pockets, a safe way to store stamps; the magnifying glass. It is also a hobby exclusive to people over 40 years of age. As Salah puts it, the hobby encourages patience and accuracy and presupposes some knowledge of history; it may not be as attractive or affordable to the young. For those who can't afford expensive stamps, says Samra, newly-issued and used stamps provide an affordable alternative. "In the last 20 years," he announces, "PSE members participated in many international stamp exhibitions. But travelling is expensive and the organisation works with a limited budget, so members travel at their own expense." Mohamed Selim, a 64-year-old electrician at a hospital, started his collection as a primary school student with a few fine albums -- pocket money he had secretly spent on cigarettes was now channelled into stamps. More recently Selim participated in competitions in Qatar, and has won many awards, notably a sport-stamps competition there. In the near future he hopes to hold his own exhibit of Pharaonic stamps.
