Generalize? Specialize?

The topic of whether to collect everything, or to specialize in just a few things, has been discussed in stamp-collecting circles since at least 1894. In that year, an article in the Canadian Philatelic Weekly by Lewis G. Quackenbush began, 

"Though I am still treading the old paths and gathering in impartially the issues of all five continents, as well as the islands of the sea, I find it useless to shut my eyes to the fact that specialism is gradually strengthening its position. The methods of specialism, however, may be infinitely varied, and thus there are immense opportunities for discussion as to the most fruitful fields for philatelic study. No one can dictate what shall be collected."

His concluding sentence, dramatic but not definitive (no pun intended) continues the philatelist's inner angst and hobby-wide discussions on this topic. I intend to keep this post alive, adding thoughts and reasoning behind both positions as I come across them. 

The illustration at top shows the province of the generalist. Australian Kristie Corr decided to create a home feature wall as a pandemic project, beginning in July, 2020. In-progress photos:

Reminiscent of the early years of stamp-collecting, tiny definitives were glued to walls, pitchers, vases and many other objects as a form of self-expression by folks who had no artworks to hang on their walls. The number and type of stamps available at that time begat no specialists. In a field such as medicine, specialization is everything today. No medical resident worth his salts would dare to stand in front of a hall of colleagues and present a talk on 'Cancer'. More likely, a tailored topic relating to a specific target organ, highly-specific research or even personalized medicine would receive a much better response. 

If I say I collect 'worldwide', the specialist might consider me a gourmand or a generalissimo. But to my general mind, specialists are like surgeons or snipers. I can honestly say there is no stamp I won't consider for my collection. My current interests include:

• British Commonwealth
• polar philately
• maps, militaria, flags, medals
• transportation
• stamp-on-stamp