Welcome to the definitive site for collectables relating to world exploration.  This site will illustrate every collectable as they are progressively listed over time.  The initial focus will be on paper ephemera which has been my personal collecting interest for many years.  However representative philatelic and numismatic collectables will also be added, particularly those relating to Captain James Cook (the first featured explorer).

Note that this is NOT a commercial site.  The material listed is not for sale.  Rather, the site represents a living, dynamic catalogue of exploration collectables, to assist collectors around the world in the sharing of information.

This site covers world exploration from ancient times through to the reaching of the north and south poles.  It does not cover the modern era of exploration such as space travel.  There are two main areas in this site.  The first is the database containing the illustrations and details for every listing under each explorer.  Further information on how to use this powerful database can be found on the World Explorers page.  The second is the Exhibits and Articles pages, where national & international exhibits are illustrated along with relevant articles on the theme of exploration.  An exploration time-line and index of ships used in exploration will be added to the Articles section in the future.

THE COLLECTABLE TYPES

A collectable is merely something that is suitable for being collected.  Each individual will have a different and varied interest regarding what they collect.  This site focuses on the three main fields of collecting:

1. Cartophily (Paper Ephemera)

Ephemera is literally things of only short-lived usefulness.  Paper ephemera falls under the collecting class of cartophily, which means love of cards.  While cartophily is mainly associated with picture postcards, cigarette and trade cards, it is also applied to many other areas such as matchbox labels, stickers/transfers, menus and playing cards.

2. Philately

Philately is the collecting and study of postage stamps and related material.  This includes stamp booklets, postal stationery, maximum cards, postmarks and meter slogans.

3. Numismatics

Numismatics is the collecting and study of coins (including paper currency) and medals.

Each collectable listed on this site will be illustrated, including obverse/reverse of coins and medals, and front/back of philatelic and cartophilic material where important.  The focus is on the design of the material.  Each different design will be chronicled, including known reprints.  No attempt is made to provide a detailed study of the production techniques and differences in the material.  This is left for the student.  For example, differences in paper types, perforations, watermarks, metals, are not provided. 

Each listing has been given a Type code to aide in the identification of the material.  A summary of the Type codes used in this site are: