Vancouver Island fair putting final stamp nearly 200 years of history?

Before 1840, if you wanted to send a letter overseas, pretty much the only option you had was to find a willing captain, explained vice-president of the Victoria Stamp Club Jan Hofmeyr. “They would informally collect letters, and when the bag would be filled, they would sail off, and then try to collect payment from the person receiving it,” he said. “It made communication really difficult.” To fix this haphazard system, the British government created the first adhesive postage stamp for public use. Called the Penny Black, it featured a profile of Queen Victoria and allowed letters to be delivered at a flat rate of one penny, regardless of distance. “The whole concept was you buy a stamp that proves you’ve paid,” said Hofmeyr. “The government does the business of collecting and distributing. After that, communication exploded and letter writing went through the roof.” This unassuming invention would end up revolutionizing the world of communication, making it more reliable, efficient and fast. At the same time, a new kind of hobbyist emerged, collecting these small, unassuming pieces of paper, and philately was born. Nearly a century after the invention of stamps, the Vancouver Island Philatelic Society was founded in 1931, offering a space for philatelists and casual collectors to gather and exchange. Shortly after their inception, the group began hosting quarterly stamp and postcard fairs. Now celebrating more than 90 years of tradition, the renamed Victoria Stamp Club held its annual fall fair at the Sandman Hotel on Nov. 16, where more than 28 collectors showcased their best material to attendees. Among them was stamp dealer Terril Leishman. Sitting among his countless three-inch ring binders filled with sheets of stamps, the Alberta native explained that he and his wife have built their collection over a lifetime of travels to more than 86 countries. Yet the man’s passion began long before he met his wife, starting at the young age of 11 during his first job as a paper deliverer for the Edmonton Journal. “Every Saturday morning we’d have to go to where they’re printing everything,” he said. “We had to go back there to get paid for our rounds. “Right next to this building, there was a little stamp store, so you’d come out with a pocket full of quarters and I’d spend it on stamps.” The self-described history buff said the appeal of collecting stamps lies in connecting with and learning about other cultures, beyond the act of letter writing. “I love nations, I’ve travelled extensively around the world and I love to be able to look at stamps and kind of source what they’re about and their history,” he said. “A lot of the older stamps tell you a story. “You learn about geography, about countries, and you end up talking to like-minded people.” Among his most prized finds is an American stamp featuring George Washington. Unbeknownst to him, Leishman bought the collectible from a German seller on eBay for $15, only to later discover it was worth $5,000. “People over there didn’t know and I didn’t know until I got it here,” he said. “I had it expertised and there you go.” However, these days, profit isn’t on Leishman’s mind, as he says that all proceeds from his stamp sales are going to the Peace Arch Hospital. For him, the fair was an excuse to get out, meet like-minded folks and share his stories worthy of being immortalized in an epic novel. Among them is the time he travelled down China’s Yangtze River and ended up in a small rural village to buy Cultural Revolution-era stamps that had survived Mao Zedong’s regime. Although the stamps later proved to be forgeries, it was the adventure that mattered to Leishman, who is flying to Cambodia this February. While both Leishman and Hofmeyr mentioned that stamp collecting is a fading hobby, following its golden era in the ’70s and ’80s. “This younger generation doesn’t know what a stamp is,” said Leishman. “They’ve never written a letter because this is a technical age, and that’s understandable.” With the advent of social media, which in itself revolutionized communications like stamps nearly 200 years ago, the nature of philately has evolved through the ages. “Stamps used to be a natural collectible because they just turned up in your postbox,” said Hofmeyr. “Now, I think they’ve become more like a conventional antique collectible.” And perhaps witnessing things changing, coming and going, ebbing and flowing, is just a part of life that needs to be accepted, concluded Leishman. “This might be the last group here today because collectors are aging out,” he said. “We’re just turning the page on history.”