ll be difficult for him to make a
choice which he may not have cause to regret. As a general collector
he will gather together a general knowledge of stamps in all their
peculiar varieties, which can scarcely fail to be immensely useful to
him even should he subsequently drift into specialism. Indeed, it is
an accepted truism that the man who starts as a general collector
invariably makes the best specialist in the end.

Starting, then, as a general collector, the beginner purchases an
album--for choice say the "Imperial," published by Stanley Gibbons,
Ltd., which on one page has a printed and illustrated list of the
stamps of a country, and on the opposite page ruled and numbered
spaces for every stamp mentioned in the printed list. A catalogue,
setting forth the prices at which stamps may be purchased, should also
be obtained.

One of the very first questions to be settled at the start will be the
choice that must be made between the collection of used and of unused.
The general collector who wishes to collect economically should
certainly start with what is cheapest; and as the common stamps are
cheapest in the used condition, used should be selected. When a
collector can afford to spend his money liberally, the best and
safest, and cheapest in the long run, will be stamps unused and in the
pink of condition. Such stamps generally turn out to be a safe and not
unfrequently a splendid investment.

The beginner will find that he can fill up a large proportion of the
spaces in his album with comparatively common stamps, and these are
much more economically purchased in the form of cheap packets. The
blanks that remain will then represent stamps worth searching for
separately, and buying singly as good opportunities occur. Many may be
obtained in exchanging duplicates with other collectors.

After some experience as a general collector, preferences will
gradually materialise, and the utter hopelessness of making a thorough
collection of the postal issues of the world will be apparent. At this
stage the collector generally sells the bulk of his collection,
reserving only a few countries to be followed up in future on
specialist lines. The remedy and the change are drastic, and, like
most drastic remedies, are much too sweeping. Wiser and keener
Philatelists nowadays retain their general collections, so far as they
have gone with them, and upon their basis give play to their
specialist inclinations. That is to say, th