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As we have seen from Chapter 2 there are a great
many different kinds of postage stamps. The problem
arises just what should you, or I, as individuals decide to
collect? Shall we collect the stamps of the world without
discrimination? Or should we limit our fields of endeavor?
In a previous chapter where we have outlined the steps
in starting a collection, we have advised that the beginner
should start out collecting "the world." This is good
advice, for the tyro needs to learn about stamps and not
just about some particular kind of stamp. The first few
thousand stamps should be world wide in variety and
cover all kinds of issues. They will, of course, be stamps
of very low cost. Indeed their individual cost may not be
determined. But they will supply the basic knowledge
that every advanced collector has to have before he can
build a worth-while collection of any description. The
term "worth-while" is used for lack of a better description. Every collection is worth while no matter how embryonic. From the very beginning we start to learn
about things that are of interest and will stand us in good
stead as we progress.
We crawl before we walk, we attend grade school
before high school, high school before college, go
through "basic training" on entering the Army, and apprenticeship before the trade is learned, and we must
be born before we can die. There is no short cut to anything. Life must be lived and stamps must be collected
to bring full enjoyment.

Stamps of Austria mounted on a page of The New
World-Wide Album.
Many collectors, however erudite, never entirely give
up general collecting.
Related terms include australian stamps and collecting dealer stamp.
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