Much the same story might be told of the literature of stamp
collecting in other countries. In the United States, in France, and in
Germany there are numbers of robust periodicals, some stretching back
into the early days, and there are scores of volumes of philatelic
lore, many of which find a well-deserved place on the shelves of
English collectors.

As an indication of the value attached to philatelic literature, I may
mention the fact that an English collector recently paid over L2,000
for a by no means complete collection of works relating to stamp
collecting.

[Illustration:]

XII.

Stamps as Works of Art.

Some artists scout the idea of attempting anything that may be
considered a work of art in the ridiculously limited space of a
postage stamp. The restriction of a postage stamp when viewed
alongside a canvas measuring several yards in length and height is
probably hopeless enough. Nevertheless, many a stamp collector who is
not devoid of art can find stamps which seem to him to be entitled to
rank high even in the art world. In beauty of design, in the exquisite
workmanship of the best modern steel engraving, aided by the most
delicate machinery, and in unequalled printing, there are many gems
within the very limited space of a postage stamp that excite and
deserve, and not unfrequently win, the admiration of the most exacting
critics. There are scores of little medallions, mostly on the postage
stamps of foreign states, that surely would pass muster with an
impartial judge of art. They are not the rarities of the stamp album.
Some are even regarded as weeds in the philatelic garden. They are too
often made to serve the revenue-producing necessities of the issuing
state, and for that reason probably, more than for any other, they
are made as attractive as modern art applied to stamp production can
make them.

Great commercial countries, producing their postage stamps by hundreds
of millions, are as contemptuous in their consideration of the art
possibilities of a postage stamp as the cynical artist whose days and
years are devoted to the disfigurement of wall space. This country has
no cause to be proud of the designs or the printing of its postage
stamps. The chief consideration seems to be a low contract price for
the production of recognisable labels for the indication of the
prepayment of postage. That is the commercial view. And yet there are
some foolish people who believe that an arti