Šime Martinić Vrandečić, originally from Pučišća, started his philatelic activity in Bolivia in 1920. He became an expert in that field, so he was often chosen as an international selector of stamp series that were displayed at world philatelic exhibitions. In 1957, he founded CEFILCO, a philatelic society in Cochabamba. CEFILCO published the first catalog of Bolivian stamps in 1960, which saw its eighth edition in 1993. In the same year, Bolivia dedicated a postage stamp to Simon (Šime) Martinić, not only as the then president of CEFILCA but also as the founder of organized philately.
Author: Branka Bezić Filipović