Sunday 15 / December / 2024
Letters, messages, and scrolls have long been sent across long distances, but it wasn’t until 1840 that the postage stamp, a proof of pre-payment for the service of carrying this message, was introduced (prior to this, it was the recipient who had to bear the cost).
With the introduction of the postage system, a new hobby was also born: Philatelics, also known as stamp collecting. Some attribute the birth of this pastime to an Irish stamp dues collector named John Bourke, but no matter who started the trend, by the 1860s there were thousands of collectors all over Europe.
The hobby involves learning about the stamps and their history, seeking out rare or unusual stamps to add to the collection, and examining the stamps collected in an album using a magnifying glass so as to be able to see and fully appreciate the tiny works of art.
So what makes a stamp rare? Stamps with errors, like the famous upside-down stunt plane in the USA; collectible stamps that commemorate events or influential people; Chinese stamps, thanks to the fact that the hobby was banned in Maoist China, only resurging in the 1980s; Indian Colonial stamps, as the colonial era stamps from the subcontinent have great historic value. The search for particular stamps naturally lead collectors to fascinating histories and lores from around the globe, making it a mind and world-expanding activity.
Postal services here in Oman were introduced to Oman by the Indian government in 1856 when they opened the first post office in Muscat. The earliest recorded postmarked stamps, emblazoned with a date and “Muscat”, have been found from 1867. The Omani Philatelic Association was created on 21st of May, 2014, with the aim of documenting the history of postage stamps in Oman and to represent Oman in international exhibitions and help to spread their love of the hobby in Oman. Since then, around 37 people joined the association, one of which was Hatim Al Attar.
Hatim began collecting stamps while he was in school and joined the association at the beginning of 2015. For three years, Hatim worked to collect and document data in order to release his book about the history of the country’s postal services which is called “Sultanate of Oman Postal System 1966-2016”. He is now the association’s coordinator for both national and international exhibitions.
The group’s first ever exhibition was a celebration of the association’s one year anniversary at which they launched their official logo. According to Hatim, the association makes sure to participate in most of the exhibitions that they’re invited to.
The annual Gulf Philatelic exhibitions and the Regional exhibitions are two of the many exhibitions they have attended so far.
The most recent was the 32nd Asian Exhibition, which was held in Thailand where the OPA took home four different medals for the Sultanate. Next, the Omani Philatelic Association is set to participate in the International Stamp Exhibition, which will be held in China this October.
Stamp collecting in Oman offers the opportunity to start regionally targeted collections. Try for a GCC collection, or a stamp from a particular year from every country in the Middle East. And the Omani Philatelic Association offers its members the chance to participate in exhibitions and continuing education on the importance of stamp collecting. Though stamp collecting is a naturally solitary activity, philatelic associations, like this one, are great way to make it a more social hobby, and exhibitions are a great excuse to travel the world.
Join the Club
Omani Philatelic Association
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Hatim (Association Coordinator): +968 9944 4545
