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Philately-king of all hobbies

Philately (pronounced /fɪˈlætəliː/ fi-LA-tə-lee) is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps.^[1] For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare, or reside only in museums.

Origins of the word

The word "philately" is the English version of the French word "philatélie", coined by Georges Herpin in 1864.^[2] Herpin stated that stamps had been collected and studied for the previous six or seven years and a better name was required for the new hobby than timbromanie, which was disliked.^[3] He took the Greek root word phil or philo, meaning an attraction or affinity for something, and ateleia, meaning "exempt from duties and taxes" to form "philatelie".^[4] The introduction of postage stamps meant that the receipt of letters was now free of charge, whereas before stamps it was normal for postal charges to be paid by the recipient of a letter.
The alternative terms "timbromania", "timbrophily" and "timbrology" gradually fell out of use as philately gained acceptance during the 1860s.^[3]

Origins

The origins of philately lie in the observation that in a number of apparently similar stamps, closer examination may reveal differences in the printed design, paper, watermark, colour, perforations and other areas of the stamp. Comparison with the records of postal authorities may or may not show that the variations were intentional, which leads to further inquiry as to how the changes could have happened, and why. To make things more interesting, thousands of forgeries have been produced over the years, some of them very good, and only a thorough knowledge of philately gives any hope of detecting the fakes.

Types

• Traditional philately is the study of the technical aspects of stamp production and stamp identification, including:
• The stamp design process;
• The paper used (wove, laid, etc., and including watermarks);
• The method of printing (engraving, typography, etc.);
• The gum;
• The method of separation (perforation, rouletting);
• Any overprints on the stamp;
• Any security markings, underprints or perforated initials ("perfins"); and,
• The study of philatelic fakes and forgeries.

• Thematic philately, also known as topical philately, is the study of what is depicted on the stamps. There are hundreds of popular subjects, such as birds on stamps, and ships, poets, presidents, monarchs, maps, aircraft, space craft, sports and insects on stamps. Interesting aspects of topical philately include design mistakes and alterations, for instance, the recent editing out of cigarettes from the pictures used for United States stamps, and the stories of how particular images came to be used.

• Postal history studies the postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of postage stamps and covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems both before and after the introduction of the adhesive stamps. It includes the study of postmarks, post offices, postal authorities, postal rates and regulations and the process by which letters are moved from sender to recipient, including routes and choice of conveyance. A classic example is the Pony Express, which was the fastest way to send letters across the United States during the few months that it operated. Covers that can be proven to have been sent by the Pony Express are highly prized by collectors.

• Aerophilately is the branch of Postal history that specializes in the study of airmail. Philatelists have observed the development of mail transport by air from its beginning, and all aspects of airmail services have been extensively studied and documented by specialists.

• Postal stationery includes stamped envelopes, postal cards, letter sheets, aérogrammes (air letter sheets) and wrappers, most of which have an embossed or imprinted stamp or indicia indicating the prepayment of postage.

• Cinderella philately is the study of objects that look like stamps, but aren't postal stamps. Examples include Easter Seals, Christmas Seals, propaganda labels, and so forth.

• Philatelic literature documents the results of philatelic study and includes thousands of books and periodicals.

• Revenue philately is the study of stamps used to collect taxes or fees on such things as, legal documents, court fees, receipts, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses and newspapers.

• Maximaphily is the study of Maximum Cards. Maximum Cards can be defined as a picture post card with postage stamp on the same theme and a cancellation, with a maximum concordance between all three.

 Tools

Philately uses a number of tools, including stamp tongs (a specialised form of tweezers) to safely handle the stamps, a strong magnifying glass and a perforation gauge (odontometre) to measure the perforation gauge of the stamp.
The identification of watermarks is important and may be done with the naked eye by turning the stamp over or holding it up to the light. If this fails then watermark fluid may be used, which "wets" the stamp to reveal the mark.
Other common tools include stamp catalogues, stamp stockbooks and stamp hinges.

Organisations

Philatelic organisations sprang up soon after people started collecting and studying stamps. They include local, national and international clubs and societies where collectors come together to share their hobby.

History of The Department of Posts

The Department of Posts, trading as India Post, is a government-operated postal system in India; it is generally referred to within India as "the post office".
As of 31 March 2011 (2011 -03-31)^[update], the Indian Postal Service had 1,54,866 post offices, of which 1,39,040 (89.78 percent) were in rural areas and 15,826 (10.22 percent) in urban areas. It had 25,464 departmental Post Offices and 1,29,402 Extra-Departmental Branch Post Offices. At the time of independence, there were 23,344 post offices, primarily in urban areas. The network has registered a sixfold growth since independence, with the expansion's focus primarily in rural areas. On average, a post office serves an area of 21.23 square kilometres (8.20 sq mi) and a population of 7,114; it is the most widely-distributed postal system in the world.^[1] The large number is a result of a tradition of disparate postal systems, which were unified in the Indian Union after independence. Because of this far-flung reach and its presence in remote areas, the Indian postal service is also involved in other services (such as small-savings banking and financial services).
The postal service is under the Department of Posts, which is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Government of India. The apex body of the department is the Postal Service Board, consisting of a chair and six members. The six board members govern personnel, operations, technology, postal life insurance, human-resource development (HRD) and planning. The joint secretary and financial adviser is also a permanent invitee.
India has been divided into 22 postal circles, each circle headed by a chief postmaster general. Each circle is divided into regions, headed by a postmaster general and comprising field units known as divisions (headed by SSPOs and SPOs). These divisions are further divided into subdivisions, headed by ASPs and IPOs. Other functional units (such as circle stamp depots, postal store depots and mail motor service) may exist in the circles and regions. In addition to the 22 circles, there is a base circle to provide postal services to the Armed Forces of India. The base circle is headed by a Director General, Army Postal Service (with a rank of major general).
The highest post office in the world is in Hikkim, Himachal Pradesh, India at a height of 15,500 ft (4,700 m) (postal code 172114).