[Philately in the service of rehabilitation (author's transl)]

The first stamps to draw attention to physical impairment were surcharge stamps issued during and after World War 1. A 1931 charity issue offered by the Netherlands post office was made up of postage stamps indicating to the public some of the problems involved in the care of handicapped children. Depiction of the concept of rehabilitation on stamps have been substantiated after 1945 by special cancels and first-day covers, and will be amply complemented in 1981, the International Year of Disabled Persons. Stamp and postmark collection is a hobby. If done with a view to specific design themes, it is a systematic hobby. The author describes the principal lines along which topical collection of disability-related stamps can be organised.