In this week’s Takimag column, our philatelistic doctor reminisces about his childhood days collecting stamps and how much the hobby taught him about the wide world out there.

Postage stamps are almost relics of the past, and I have long reached the age when relics of the past are more precious to me than hopes for the future. I derive almost as much pleasure from the stamps as from the books; and almost as much pleasure also as from receiving a handwritten letter, a rare occurrence indeed.