Philately dates practically from the moment that Great Britain issued the world�s first postage stamps, on May 6th 1840: the Penny Black and the Twopenny Blue. They were a great success and soon other countries followed suit and issued their own stamps.

Even then users were encouraged to collect them: some letters bore the legend "Keep this letter. The stamp may some day be an interesting curiosity" to encourage stamp collecting. The first recorded collector was Dr John Edward Gray, a British Museum official, who placed an ad in the newspaper The Times asking for stamps. Professor Santiago �ngel Saura from Barcelona, who started collecting around the year 1850, is thought to be the first stamp collector in Spain,.

In 1860 catalogues began to appear with descriptions of all the postage stamps in existence, along with albums designed to keep them in and magazines specialising in philately. It wasn�t long before it became difficult to get hold of certain specimens, which meant some stamps started to be worth much more than others. This trend has continued to the present day: the price of a stamp does not depend only on its age, but also on its rarity and, of course, its condition. [Marisa: He a�adido esta frase porque me parece importante. Si no te gusta, qu�tala.]

Different kinds of collectors
Stamp collecting is a very popular hobby all over the world and there are serious collectors who dedicate years to the research and study of their chosen subject, and organise their collections so as to make them easier to understand for the uninitiated. There are many ways to collect stamps, and each collector tends to have their own particular method. The most popular ways of collecting stamps are:

- Traditional: This consists of collecting the stamps of a particular country and organising them by their period of circulation.

- Topical: Collecting stamps which all share the same motif (cars, birds, actors, ships, flowers, etc.) or theme (Christmas, history or football world cups, for example).
�
Where to get them
Nowadays there are traders who specialise in the sale of stamps and legally established firms whose business is buying and selling stamps and all kinds of philatelic equipment. They are usually run by experts in the field who can offer novice and experienced collectors alike all sorts of advice and also guarantee that what they sell is in good condition.

Trading in stamps takes place both in premises open to the general public and by mail. You can also buy stamps at the different fairs that take place annually in cities like Madrid and Barcelona.

When you buy stamps for a collection, it is important to bear in mind a few basic tips. The stamp should be undamaged, and if it�s a used stamp it should be clean. The postmark should not blot out the stamp�s design and the perforations should be intact and the stamp well centred; that is, the design should be equidistant from the stamp�s edges.

Your first collection
Once you have decided on the type of stamp collection you want to build up, you will need some basic equipment to get started. The first thing you need is an album, which can be a simple binder or a proper stamp album with interchangeable pages.

Other useful things to buy are special mounting strips, with a black background and transparent protective film which you stick in your album to provide an attractive and convenient way to show off your stamps; hinges, which are folded rectangular pieces of transparent paper, gummed on one side, which are stuck to the back of the postage stamp by the shorter part of the hinge, while the longer part is stuck to the page (NB: hinges should never be stuck on unused stamps); a stockbook with transparent mounting strips to keep your stamps in until you put them in your album; a magnifying glass for close studying of the design, printing, errors; a perforation gauge to measure the number of perforations on the stamps and philatelic tongs to handle the stamps with so you don�t damage or mark the stamps with your fingers.

Basic vocabulary
As with any science worth its salt, philately has its own specialised vocabulary which you need to learn before you get started. Here are some of the most important terms:

Catalogue: a book which lists in chronological order the stamp issues of a country, a group of countries or of all the stamp issuing bodies. It will include useful information to help collectors track specimens down.

Classic: this term refers to the first stamps of a given country, generally prior to the year 1900. A collector of such stamps is known as a classic philatelist.

Commemorative: a stamp issued in limited edition paying tribute to a famous person or commemorating a historic event.

Demonetised: a stamp with no legal value due to it having been withdrawn from circulation by the issuing body.

Definitive: a normal stamp issued to meet the everyday needs of a country�s postal service. Issued in very large quantities and over a long period of time.

Postmark: the mark on a stamp made by the post office showing the date and place of posting to prevent the stamp from being reused.

Mint: a stamp which is in exactly the same state as when it was issued: perfect colour and perforations and original gum.

Printer�s mark: legend identifying the printer of a stamp, year of issue and designer, found on a sheet of stamps, not on the stamp itself. [Marisa: He a�adido esta frase porque me parece importante. Si no te gusta, qu�tala.]

Face value: the value established by the issuing post office and valid until the stamp is demonetised.

Philatelic value: the value that stamps acquire on the philatelic market which will vary according to the law of supply and demand.

Vignette: this refers to the portrait or main theme of the stamp, often the head of a monarch.