Philately is the study of postage stamps, postmarks, and related materials otherwise known as stamp collecting. Recently, the Historical Collection has added an exciting medical philately collection to our holdings.

Donated by the late Anthony Golda (MPH ’73, Johns Hopkins University Graduate School of Public Health, Department of International Health), this new addition includes books on philately, medical stamps, and related materials. The centerpiece is indisputably Epidemiology, treatment, care, prevention and eradication of malaria and other tropical diseases : a philatelic retrospective, 1869-2011 an unpublished scholarly compilation by the donor. It includes not only a portion of Golda’s personal stamp collection, but also significant original research, and supplementary materials on the representation of tropical, especially mosquito-borne, diseases in postage stamps from around the world.

This collection would be useful for researchers interested in tropical disease, international response, and the unique and rare artistry present on the stamps themselves. Browse an incomplete collection of the stamps in the PDF below.