Friday, February 07, 2014
Singapore Philatelic Museum 6th Feb 2014
Seeing is Believing!
At Singapore Philatelic Museum, I discovered stamps made of unusual
materials such as bead, pearl, plant seed, wood, cork, lace, silk, cloth and
genuine gold. There are also diamond/crystal studded stamps and scented stamps
that smell of chocolate, rose, tea, herb etc.
China even printed a ‘smell and taste’ stamp –it smells like sweet &
sour pork and when licked, it supposedly tastes like the famous dish! Bhutan
circulated an unusual ‘record stamp’ containing native folk songs and can be
played on a record player!
The word Philatelic (ˌfɪl.əˈtel.ɪk) is derived from Greek
words philos (‘love’) and ateleia (‘paid’ or ‘tax-free’). Stamps are symbols
that postage or tax has been paid. They are the icons of a society – its
culture, its people, its history and its development. An avid stamp collector, Former US President
Franklin Roosevelt said ‘Stamp collecting
dispels boredom, Enlarges our vision, Broadens our knowledge, Makes us better
citizens, And in innumerable ways, Enriches our lives.’ Visiting the museum reminded me of a
Malaysian I met in Bhutan - he got to know Bhutan from his stamp collection in
his younger days and since then, has always wanted to visit the country!
‘Window to the World’ exhibits stamps from around the world.
Having just read ‘Angels of a Lower Flight’, I zoomed into Haiti and discovered
stamps depicting crystal clear blue sea and various Chinese inventions – a
rather unusual illustration, I guess it got to do with Sino-Haiti relationship.
Currently, Singapore Philatelic Museum also showcases ‘Spice
is Nice’ where visitors understand various types of spices and get to ‘shop’
for vegetables and spices in a ‘market’ – definitely not a ‘boring’ place for
visitors especially the children!
