Stamp collection is a serious hobby and
you can travel the world by
just looking at stamps, if you know how. Ninety-year-old Seby M De Souza from
Panjim has been collecting stamps since the 1970s and yet he feels that he
started late. His collection spans from India across to Africa and Europe,
including the former Portuguese colonies. “I started collecting stamps after
the ‘70s. I used to meet friends and exchange stamps and many family members
also helped me. Initially, my wife had a collection of stamps from Zimbabwe but
she wasn’t really interested in collecting stamps, so took over and developed
it. I have visited post offices in Goa, Bombay, Germany, France, Italy,
Portugal, United Kingdom, Malawi and even Geneva, Switzerland. When I was in
Switzerland, I had gone to collect stamps called the Universal Postal Union.
During the war, they used to issue stamps of 10p + 3p currency. I told the lady
in charge that I had paid her a lesser amount and she replied that the sum mentioned
was collected from soldiers only during the war and she wouldn’t take that
money from me now. I was impressed by their honesty,” says Seby.
Speaking about the history of stamp collection, Seby says, “The
first stamp, ‘Penny Black’, came into existence only in May 1840, with the
printing of Penny Black and the effigy of Queen Victoria introduced by
Parliamentarian Nomad and school teacher Sir Rowland Hill. This then roused the
interest of a British lady from the Isle of Wight (UK) who started collecting
stamps to decorate her wall by pasting the ‘Penny Black’ irremovably.
Collectors all over the world are willing to pay a four digit sum for a copy of
this much sought after stamp. In Goa, we have the first stamp, called ‘Service
Postale’, which was issued somewhere in the year 1861.”
After serving in the Kuwait Oil Company, Seby moved back to Goa
and visited ‘Asiana’, an international stamp exhibition in Bangalore, in 1977,
which then gave him inspiration and motivation to start his own stamp collection.
Today, his collection includes stamps from Australia, New Zealand, Germany,
France, Italy, Portugal, Timor, San tome Principe, Macau, Cape Verde, Angola,
Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Pakistan. “The German collection is my favourite. I
was born in 1926 and I was in my teens when the Second World War was going on.
But living in Goa, we didn’t learn much about the outside world. Now, through
the stamps, I am learning about the different world events. The first stamp I
collected was the Sydney Bridge Stamp and my favourite stamp is the Air Ships
Zeppellin from Germany,” he explains.
People that know about his collection, visit his home to learn
more about stamps. “I have made many friends over the years, who are interested
in stamps. Researchers also have visited to see my collections. As stamp
collectors, we either buy or exchange or buy an entire collection. I was the
President of the Goa Stamp Club and we used to exchange and ask the student
community to participate for free till the age of 15, to encourage and motivate
them. This is very hard work. I used to sit up till 3am to work on my
collection,” says Seby, who suffers from Polymyalgia Rheumatica, an
inflammatory disorder of the muscle.
“Stamp collection is knowledge that not only guides you but
shows you what is happening in the world. It gives you a lot of knowledge about
a country and its customs, landmarks. It also helps to supplement your income.
Stamp collection is known as the King’s hobby and Queen Elizabeth’s father,
George VI was a serious collector. US President Franklin Roosevelt was a
stalwart in Philately during World War II,” he adds.
To
conclude, his message for today’s philatelists is to encourage and motivate the
student community to collect stamps. “It increases their knowledge of history,
geography and current world affairs and stimulates interest in their minds as
well as provides an outlet for youngsters. Overseas surveys indicate that
children who collect stamps obtain far higher examinations grades than
non-collector students.”
