How far is it from an initial collecting effort to a full experience of the pleasures of stamp collecting? No distance at all. Unlike most other hobbies, a stamp collector experiences all the thrills and pleasures right from the beginning.

True, the enjoyment continues for as long as he collects, but for him there was no waiting. Each new acquisition, every examination of a stamp and all the minutes spent with them have “paid off,” in relaxed and painless learning.

The collection itself may have great or little philatelic value. The builder may even be uninformed about the regular methods of collecting. Still he enjoys it. The mystical factors that make up our fascinating pursuit are difficult to pin down. Let it be sufficient that they are there and that we all gain from them in the way most suited to our individual temperaments. So long as this is so, the future of stamp collecting is assured.