Label (phylately)

A label is a small piece of paper that is attached to a stamp, also known as a “cinderella stamp”. This is much like a name tag that someone might wear to a party, but for stamps.

In phylately (stamp collecting), labels are often used to identify the stamp’s purpose or origin. For example, a label might indicate that the stamp was used for a specific event, such as a music festival or a scientific conference.

But labels in phylately can also be used for more humorous purposes. Collectors have been known to create labels that spoof famous stamps, replacing the queen’s head on a British stamp with a picture of a cat or a celebrity, for example.

Some collectors also use labels to mark their own personal milestones or to commemorate their favorite hobbies. So, if you come across a stamp with a label that reads “I finally completed my collection of miniature spoons”, now you know why.

Perhaps the most bizarre use of labels in phylately, however, comes from a group of collectors known as “label freaks”. These collectors create intricate label designs that are completely unrelated to the stamp itself, and then attach these labels to their stamps just for fun.

So, if you ever see a stamp with a label featuring an alien in a UFO, playing basketball with a unicorn, you can be sure you’ve stumbled upon the work of a label freak. And if you’re lucky, they might just invite you to their next stamp club meeting, where you can share your own label creations and marvel at the weird and wonderful world of phylately.