What shall we call it?

Article "What shall we call it?"

Le mot anglais philately apparaît pour la première fois le 1er décembre 1865 dans un article intitulé "What shall we call it?" publié dans la revue anglaise The Stamp Collector's Magazine. Cet article, dont le texte intégral est donné dans cette page, est un bon commentaire de texte de l'article Baptême de G. Herpin lançant un an plus tôt le mot philatélie en France.

L'article n'est pas signé, mais il a probablement été écrit par un des frères Smith –Henry Stafford Smith ou Alfred William Smith– ou par Charles William Viner qui publient cette revue. H. S. Smith et C. W. Viner lanceront d'ailleurs dès l'année suivante (1866) une autre revue justement nommée The Philatelist, la première revue au monde dont le titre utilise le mot philatélie.

Belle couverture de la collection reliée de The Stamp Collector's Magazine, année 1865.

Auparavant, dans The Stamp Collector's Magazine, alors que des mots anglais se basant sur stamp auraient pu être employés, ce sont les mots timbromania et timbrophily, déjà d'origine française, qui sont ceux utilisés en ce début d'année 1865 :

The bare fact of the existence of all these means and appliances for postage stamp collections, and the varied discussions, arguments, criminations, and recriminations, are indubitable vouchers for the rise, progress, wide-spread, and -notwithstanding the outcry of some at its decadence- increasing spread of Timbromania, or, to use the more aptly designative newly-invented term, TIMBROPHILY.
(The Stamp Collector's Magazine, Jan. 1, 1865, p.2)

Mais la proposition en France du mot philatélie par Herpin va rapidement donner ce premier écho où l'étymologie grecque est quelque peu fantaisiste par rapport à celle initialement donnée par Herpin, en réponse à un lecteur nommé Herod :

HEROD, Bodmin. - For the derivation of the most recent term for postage stamp collecting, philatelie, you may take your choice among the following. The former part of the word, of course, simply implies friend or lover ; the latter you may fancy as from atelier, the French term for a general place of meeting for artistic amateurs. If you prefer the Greek, choose between the adverb τηλε, from afar, allusive to the distant habitats of our specimens; τελος, a tax, which word may figuratively mean a postage stamp; τελειος, perfect, because its votaries wish to get a perfect collection; or ατελης, endless, for there really seems no end to it, if you go in for everything; and this last derivation we ourselves incline.
(The Stamp Collector's Magazine, July 1, 1865, p.112)

Un correspondant de Londres qui signe "A Philatelist" écrit ensuite au magazine. Peut-être était-ce John M. Stourton qui se dit –le même mois– philotelist avec un o ? (voir notes (4) à (6) en bas de cette page). Ou Philbrick ?

In your answer to an inquirer regarding the derivation of the term philatelie 'I concur in the selection of the root, but not in the same sense you so sarcastically applied it. It implies 'a lover of endless [pleasure],' for the pleasure of stamp collecting lasts for ever, or at least as long as new issues of postage stamps continue. I must not, however, allow this letter to be endless ; I therefore subscribe myself ever
A PHILATELIST.
London.
(The Stamp Collector's Magazine, August 1, 1865, p.127)

Août 1865 : probablement le première personne au monde qui se disait philatéliste.
August 1865 : probably the first person in the world who called himself philatelist.

Alors que ces premiers échos de 1865 utilisent directement le mot français philatelie (mais sans accent), le mot anglais philately apparaît pour la première fois le 1er décembre dans l'article intitulé "What shall we call it?".

The Stamp Collector's Magazine, December 1, 1865, pages 182 et 183.

Article "What shall we call it?" (cliquer pour agrandir une page)

WHAT SHALL WE CALL IT?

We must premise that this is a very free rendering of the original title, which is more in accordance with French than English notions of propriety. The talented author⁽¹⁾ of the article⁽²⁾ commences with the natural wonder that during the six or seven years, in which so many have busied themselves in postage-stamp collecting, no one has thought upon a proper designation for a pursuit so fascinating to some, and so profitable to others. He objects to the word 'timbromania' as being rather sarcastic and susceptible of a wrong interpretation ; and proposes, therefore, henceforth, as it had been hitherto employed only in default of a better term, to banish it from common parlance, and forget that so odious an appellation ever existed.
Supposing then, he proceeds to say, that the beast is dead and its venom powerless, we must look out for a successor, having none of its defects, but more than all its good qualities. Where seek for this rara avis? Any one is entitled to offer advice on the subject, and fortune ever favouring the bold, he ventures to suggest something quite applicable.
In the article from which we quote, the term 'timbrophily' and its derivatives timbrophilic, &c., are totally ignored; of course according to the received law that a compound word must not draw from two languages at once. Adhering strictly to this rule, we ought to discard such accepted and acceptable words as fire-arms, steam-engine, picture-frames, &c., and where is the impropriety of calling our ingenious friend a name-giver?

1er décembre 1865 : la toute première apparition du mot philately, anglicisme de philatélie
December 1st 1895 : the very first appearance of the word philately, anglicism of philatélie

After a few remarks on the universality of borrowing scientific compounds from the classic tongues, he proposes the word philatélie, which we anglicise into 'philately' for our pet pursuit. He derives the word from φιλος, friend or amateur, and ατελης, the adjective, or ατελεια, the substantive, the latter word implying exception from tax. A philatelist, then, is one who is fond of these rounds, ovals, squares, or other forms which bring your epistles free of postage to your doors.
Twelve months have glided on since the substance of this little dissertation was penned; and the French terms philatéle⁽³⁾ and philatélie, as well as their English equivalents 'philately', 'philatelist,' and 'philatelic,' launched into life have become household words in the postage-stamp collecting world. We would go farther than our Parisian friend, and suggest 'Philatelia' as an elegant name for a young lady infant. Some score or so years hence, the first column of the Times may announce the marriage of Timbrophilus Blank, Esq., to Philatelia, daughter of Stamp Collector, Esq., of Postage Place!
It was in consequence of being unaware of the correct derivation of the word philatelist that the corrector of the press misspelled the word in the preface to Mr. Staunton's work⁽⁴⁾, reviewed in this number⁽⁵⁾ ; believing it came from φιλος; and τηλε, from afar. The word thus spelt philotelist⁽⁶⁾ would be alike applicable, only we could scarcely collect our own issues with propriety in this case, and we fancy amateurs would object to banish them. Moreover, Mons. Herpin's coinage will serve equally to designate the collection, which, no doubt, the roll of years will eventually bring into vogue, of receipt, bill, and other commercial labels whose presence clears from any further tax.

Notes sur l'article What we shall call it?

(1) G. Herpin.
(2) "Baptême", dans Le Collectionneur de Timbres-Poste, 1864.
(3) Erreur d'accent. Herpin avait proposé philatèle.
(4) Erreur de nom. Il s'agit du livre Postage-Stamp Forgeries, or the Collector's Vade Mecum de John M. Stourton, et non pas Staunton.
(5) En pages 189 et 190 de ce même numéro.
(6) Merci à Herbert Trenchard, de l'American Philatelic Society, qui a accès à ce très rare ouvrage qui semble impossible à trouver en France. Il me communique ce que Stourton a exactement écrit dans sa préface :
                       "Having myself been a Philotelist (I believe that is the last new cognomen for those engaged in the interesting study of stamp-collecting) since the commencement of 1862, ..."
    Comme indiqué dans le paragraphe origine de ma note 6, c'est peut-être une coquille du correcteur : le mot Philotelist est effectivement mal écrit, avec un o à la place du a.
    La préface de Stourton est datée d'août 1865, donc exactement la même date que le mystérieux signataire "A Philatelist" cité plus haut !