Stamp of approval for Telford man's hobby
It has been a hobby that has spanned decades. Ever since he was a little boy, philatelist Richard Camp has been fascinated by these "mini works of art".
Now, even at the age 70, Mr Camp's love of stamps has shown no signs of abating.
Today he is chairman of the Telford Stamp and Card Club and is one of about 150 serious stamp collectors in Telford.
Mr Camp, of Wellington, says he has been collecting stamps since he was about six or seven years old.
In those days, says Mr Camp, many children took up stamp collecting as a hobby.
He says "Like many people I started collecting as a youngster. In my day quite a high percentage of children collected stamps because there were relatively few other hobbies.
"People collect all sorts of things antiques, records and pictures. There is a whole realm of collecting going on out there."
He started off collecting "the whole world" before he settled on the stamps of Great Britain as a teen.
"I also collect stamps of France," he says. "It has been a long-term hobby and I am still collecting stamps today.
"Sometimes when I am busy, it does get put on the back burner but then my interest is always sparked again by something."
One of his most treasured items is an envelope which dates back to 1588 which was sent from a merchant in Italy to an address in London.
Another is his favourite stamp.
"One of my favourites is a £1 King George V 'Sea horse'. It has a lovely view of a horse and chariot coming out of the sea.
"Early stamps like these were really lovely works of art," says Mr Camp."People often think the Penny Black is the best, but I would really quite like the Queen Victoria £5 Orange. I did find one for sale but it was £7,000 so there is going to be a hole in my collection!"
He said that stamp collecting was very well organised as an organisation and there were a lot of things that people could get involved with from schemes to encourage children to start collecting right through to national and international exhibitions. "Here in Telford. the stamp club is open to anyone and we even welcome non collectors. They can visit us once or twice without paying to see if they would like to join" he says.
He adds: "I would certainly say that stamp collecting is certainly very educational.
"It is what you make it. It can be as cheap or as expensive as you want to make it."
The Telford Stamp and Card Club meets on the second Monday of every month at the Ketley Community Centre at 7.30pm. Contact (01952) 247783 or email mail@richardcamp.co.uk
