holes; these are obtainable from dealers at a cost of sixpence each.

We said at the commencement of this chapter that Great Britain offered the greatest opportunities to the specialist. Let us now see how the stamps of our own country should be treated in a specialized collection. First of all, it should be the aim of the philatelist to procure not merely one specimen of any particular label, but specimens in pairs and in blocks of four or more. Individual copies of the early penny black are worth about two shillings, but four copies in one block would fetch as much as ten to twelve shillings; also a fine copy on a postal wrapper would be much more valuable than a loose specimen. The moral, therefore, is clear: we should never separate costly stamps nor tear them from their envelopes. Young collectors seem to dislike the plan of admitting entire envelopes to their albums, but this is a prejudice which should be overcome.