I should also be omitting a very important duty if I failed to acknowledge the general readiness of collectors, and especially of my colleagues the members of the Junior Philatelic Society both at home and abroad, in keeping me constantly _au courant_ with new information connected with the pursuit of Philately. Without such assistance in the past, this work, and the score of others which have come from my pen, could never have been undertaken; and perhaps the best token of my appreciation of so many kindnesses will be to beg (as I now do) the favour of their continuance in the future. FRED J. MELVILLE. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE 7 PHILATELIC TERMS 21 CHAPTER I THE GENESIS OF THE POST 55 The earliest letter-carriers--The Roman _posita_--Princely Postmasters of Thurn and Taxis--Sir Brian Tuke--Hobson of "Hobson's Choice"--The General Letter Office of England--Dockwra's Penny Post of 1680--Povey's "Halfpenny Carriage"--The Edinburgh and other Penny Posts--Postal rates before 1840--Uniform Penny Postage--The Postage Stamp regarded as the royal _diplomata_--The growth of the postal business. CHAPTER II THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDEA 77 Early instances of contrivances to denote prepayment of postage--The "Two-_Sous_" Post--_Billets de port payé_--A passage of wit between the French Sappho and M. Pellisson--Dockwra's letter-marks--Some fabulous stamped wrappers of the Dutch Indies--Letter-sheets used in Sardinia--Lieut. Treffenberg's proposals for "Postage Charts" in Sweden--The postage-stamp idea "in the air"--Early British reformers and their proposals--The Lords of the Treasury start a competition--Mr. Cheverton's prize plan--A find of papers relating to the contest--A square inch of gummed paper--The Sydney embossed envelopes--The Mulready envelope--The Parliamentary envelopes--The adhesive stamp popularly preferred to the Mulready envelope. CHAPTER III SOME EARLY PIONEERS OF PHILATELY 113 "Hobbyhorsical" collections--The application of the term "Foreign Stamp Collecting"--The Stamp Exchange in Birchin Lane--A celebrated lady stamp-dealer--The Saturday rendezvous at the All Hallows Staining Rectory--Prominent collectors of the first period--The first stamp catalogues--The words _Philately_ and _Timbrologie_--Philatelic periodicals--Justin Lallier's albums--The Philatelic Society, London. CHAPTER IV ON FORMING A COLLECTION 133