JOAQUIN ORTIZ
By Carolina B. Clements
(Philippine Journal of Philately, Mar-April 1951)
Founder of the Asociacion
Filatelica de Filipinas, the oldest philatelic club in the
Philippines, and dean of the local stamp collectors, Don Joaquin
Ortiz is now recognized as one of the foremost philatelists in the
country.
The tale of his philatelic adventures gives an interesting proof of the
irresistibility of the hobby, which had carried him through
vicissitudes and adversities in his life.
Young Joaquin was first attracted to stamp collecting while he was a
student at Ateneo de Manila where he saw the beautifully mounted
stamps of his classmates consisting of different effigies and
multicolored landscapes. Fascinated by them he right away started to
make his own collection, and with unusual zeal in hunting for stamps
his own collection grew faster than that of other boys.
A childhood friend of his saw his fine collection and offered him a good
price for it. It was difficult to part with his stamps; it was
equally difficult to resist the tempting offer. It finally resulted
in giving up his stamps.
Stripped of his precious collection and desirous to replace it he again
started to collect stamps. This time he bought stamps from Mr. Wicks
whose office was then at the Escolta, and from the Manila Filatelica
in Dulumbayan Street which is now Rizal Avenue.
At the age of 17, by force of necessity, he once again sold his stamps.
For years he deserted the hobby and devoted his time to working for his
livelihood.
He worked and took to life earnestly, and at the age of 26 married a
pharmacist. After seven years
of happy married life his wife died, and to console himself he
frequented the "Typist Club" of his late friend, E. Bayani, at
Intramuros. This club sold books and stamps for collection. Here his
love for stamps with the old zeal was revived. He offered Mr. Bayani
seven hundred pesos for his stamps which the latter accepted. Thus
he became a stamp dealer. He
used the "Typist Club" as his office.
With increasing interest he now devoted most of his time to reading
philatelic journals. This inspired him to edit a philatelic
magazine, the "Revista
Filatelica Filipina", first philatelic magazine printed in the
Islands. It was a quarterly Spanish journal. Later, in one of
the apartments on Potenciana Street, Intramuros, he organized the
now popular stamp club, the “Asociacion Filatelca de Filipinas”.
And, the “Revista Filatelica Filipinas” became its official
organ.
It may be said that from the AFF originated the great Filipino stamp
collectors of today. All this took place about the year 1925. Don
Joaquin is proud to say that this journal was the first official
organ of the Asociacion Filatelica de Filipinas.
In 1926 he noted that there was a marked push in stamp business so he
transferred his office to the "Cosmopolitan" at the foot of the Sta.
Cruz bridge, later known as the "Paterno Building" which was
demolished in the recent war. The Bureau of Posts was then on Helios
Street, a stone throw from his office. The stamp collectors,
especially the members of the AFF, finding his
spacious office a very
convenient meeting place, they made it the headquarters of the
Asociacion Filateliea de Filipinas.
In 1929 he married for the second time and again deserted the hobby and his
stamp business. He turned his attention to a bazaar of photographs,
and cloths which proved to be one of his great mistakes in life, for
he lost thousands of pesos in this enterprise. He realized that had
he invested his money in stamps he would have been by now one of our
prosperous businessmen. Moreover, he realized how much pleasure he
had missed in giving up the hobby.
Having therefore suffered reverses in business, Don Joaquin, the truant
lover of philately, again sought consolation in the hobby.
Fortunately he came across Colonel Inocencio M. Delgado who owned a pawn
shop on Trabajo Street, Sampaloc, and he (Col. Delgado) proposed to
him to be his partner in his philatelic establishment known as the
"Ortiz Stamp Company" of pre-war, situated at the famous Crystal
Arcade at the Escolta.
This "Ortiz Stamp Company" did not only sell stamps but also propagated the
hobby of stamp collecting through a weekly radio broadcast. They had
charming Carmen Rosales as their vocalist in the philatelic aircast
.
World War II came. The Office of the "Ortiz Stamp Company" moved from one
place to another until finally just before the liberation Don
Joaquin transferred it to his own house at F. B. Harrison, Pasay.
Here his stock of stamps, including the rare ones, were reduced to
ashes.
After sometime he succeeded in obtaining a good quantity of various stamps
- stamps of the Spanish time to the present - to add to the stamps
of his old partner, Colonel Delgado, and with them they started anew
their business at the Escolta.
He who tried hard in the past years to desert philately always found
himself back to it, and now he happily confesses that in the ups and
downs of his life, stamps have been his most intimate and loyal
friends.
