35-579: The British Library Philatelic Collections is the national philatelic collection of the United Kingdom with over 8 million items from around the world. It was established in 1891 as part of the British Museum Library, later to become the British Library , with the collection of Thomas Tapling . In addition to bequests and continuing donations, the library received consistent deposits by
70-614: A perforation gauge (odontometer) to measure the perforation gauge of the stamp. The identification of watermarks is equally important and may be done with the naked eye by turning the stamp over or holding it up to the light. If this fails then watermark fluid may be used, which "wets" the stamp to reveal the mark. Other common tools include stamp catalogs , stamp stock books and stamp hinges . Philatelic organizations sprang up soon after people started collecting and studying stamps. They include local, national and international clubs and societies where collectors come together to share
105-492: Is considered to be a postmaster going by the name Mansen, who lived in Paris , and in 1855 had sold his collection, which contained almost all the postage stamps issued by that time. The stamp merchant and second-hand book dealer Edard de Laplante bought it, recognizing the definitive collector's worth of the postage stamp. Due to the boom in popularity and news of this transaction, stamp merchants like Laplante began to emerge. Towards
140-649: Is interpreted in its widest sense and the more unusual artefacts include original unused artwork, horse licences and the pilot's licence of Captain John Alcock . A permanent exhibit of items from the Collections is on display in the British Library entrance area upper ground floor, which may be the best gallery of diverse classic stamps and philatelic material in the world. Approximately 80,000 items on 6,000 sheets may be viewed in 1,000 display frames; 2,400 sheets are from
175-478: The Crown Agency and has become a primary research collection for British Empire and international history. The collections contain a wide range of artefacts in addition to postage stamps , from newspaper stamps to a press used to print the first British postage stamps. The first notable philatelic donation was in 1890 by Hubert Haes of two albums of postage stamps collected by himself and Walter Van Noorden. It
210-466: The Department of Prints and Drawings and in 1946 there was a further proposal for the Department of Coins and Medals to take charge. No decision could be agreed and Printed Books continued to manage the Collections until they were passed to the newly formed British Library in 1973. From 1948, H.R. Holmes had been the curator but in the late 1950s had wished to relinquish the post. A replacement curator
245-744: The War of Independence in 1775 . The largest object in the British Library is the Perkins D cylinder press developed by Jacob Perkins and patented in 1819. This press was one of several used to print the first postage stamps of Great Britain and Ireland which were issued in 1840. The press was used for printing many early stamps for British Colonial territories from 1853 including for Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon , Mauritius, St Helena, Trinidad, Western Australia, Ionian Islands , New Brunswick, New South Wales, New Zealand and Victoria. The £1 stamp issued in Jamaica (1956–1958) in
280-507: The neologism "philatélie". As a collection field, philately appeared after the introduction of the postage stamps in 1840, but did not gain large attraction until the mid-1850s. In the U.S., early collectors of stamps were known as "stamp gatherers". The United States Post Office Department re-issued stamps in 1875 due to public demand for 'old stamps', including those from before the American Civil War . Some authors believe that
315-624: The British Museum Philatelic Collections on loan from the Crown Agents. The stolen progressive proofs (test prints of stamp designs) should have been returned to the Crown Agents for destruction and were valued at £7,600. Mackay had exchanged the proofs for Winston Churchill stamps worth £400. He was fined £1,000 and dismissed from the Museum. As a result of the thefts, security was improved by recruiting Bob Schoolley-West , one of
350-468: The Collections being in secure war storage, in 1951 it was announced that Mrs Augustine Fitzgerald had donated an extensive air mail collection. The Mosely and Fitzgerald collections were valued at the time at £30,000. The Department of Printed Books had been in charge of the Philatelic Collections by default rather than design. In 1936 there was an unsuccessful proposal to move the Collections to
385-469: The FIP brought together national societies from 57 countries, which held over 100 exhibitions, and in 1987, over 60 countries entered the FIP. Since the middle of the 20th century, philately has become the most widespread field of amateur collecting, which was facilitated by: Philately magazines, at this time, were published as far east as Poland, and as far west as North America. In Canada, Canadian Stamp News
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#1733202934968420-546: The Tapling Collection. Other material, which covers the whole world, is available to students and researchers by appointment. The British Library Philatelic Department Photograph Collection is a collection of photographs of philatelic material not in the Library's collections. Mostly composed of material donated by philatelic auctioneers, the collection is an important resource for researchers. As well as these collections,
455-525: The World Stamp Championship was held for the first time in the history of world philately in Singapore. Traditional philately is the study of the technical aspects of stamp production and stamp identification, including: Expanding range of activity: Philately uses several tools, including stamp tongs (a specialized form of tweezers) to safely handle the stamps, a strong magnifying glass and
490-613: The bequest as the most valuable gift since the Grenville Library in 1847. In 1900 the Crown Agents for the Colonies sent three albums of postage stamps made on their order for colonial governments and then sent specimens of all future stamps commissioned. In 1913, the Crawford Library was received which forms the cornerstone of the British Library's philatelic literature collection, containing about 4500 works. The Crawford Library
525-524: The creation of the die of which this image is one. The engraving was used on the high value stamps 2/6 , 5/-, 10/- and £1. The Collections feature these rarities which demonstrate international scope: References Sources Philately Philately ( / f ɪ ˈ l æ t əl i / ; fih- LAT -ə-lee ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history . It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and
560-683: The defence of the American Colonies from the French. The tax applied to legal documents, licences, newspapers, pamphlets and almanacs in the American Colonies , Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Florida, the Bahamas and the West Indian Islands . The taxes resulted in public protest and rioting. The tax was abandoned after a few months due to its unpopularity but the political damage contributed to
595-517: The development of philately. In 1968, Cuba dedicated a postage stamp for Stamp Day with an image of G. Sciltian's "El filatelista". In 1926, the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) was founded, where international philatelic exhibitions have been regularly organized since 1929. The first World Philatelic Exhibition in Prague was held between August and September 1962; in 1976,
630-583: The early 1880s, "collector experts" appeared, specializing their collection to only one part of the world, a group of nations, or even only one. Philately as one of the most popular types of collecting continued to develop in the 20th century. Along with the " Scott ", " Stanley Gibbons ", and " Yvert et Tellier " catalogs, the " Zumstein " (first published in Switzerland, 1909), and the "Michel" (first published in Germany, 1910) catalogs began publication. In 1934,
665-414: The end of the 19th century, stamp collecting reached hundreds of thousands of people of all classes. Some countries had collections of postage stamps – for example, England, Germany , France , Bavaria , and Bulgaria . In countries which held national collections, museums dedicated to the nation's history with philately were founded, and the first such appeared in Germany, France, and Bulgaria. Allegedly,
700-492: The famous private collections are those of the Royal Philatelic Collection , F. Ferrari (Austria), M. Burrus (Switzerland), A. Lichtenstein , A. Hind , J. Boker (U.S.), and H. Kanai ( Japan ). In the mid-1970s, national philately organizations and associations existed in most countries, and 150–200 million people were involved in philately during meetings established. From 28 August to 1 September 2004,
735-535: The first of these museums housed the collection of the British Museum , curated by MP Thomas Tapling and bequeathed to the Museum in 1891. The Museum für Kommunikation Berlin also had an extensive collection of stamps. The largest private collection of the time belonged to Philipp von Ferrary in Paris. As the number of postage stamp issues increased every year, collection became progressively difficult. Therefore, from
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#1733202934968770-714: The first philatelist appeared on the day of the release of the world's first postage stamp, dated to 6 May 1840, when the Liverson, Denby and Lavie London law office sent a letter to Scotland franked with ten uncut Penny Blacks , stamped with the postmark "LS.6MY6. 1840." In 1992 at an auction in Zürich , this envelope was sold for 690,000 francs . Already in 1846, cases of collecting stamps in large numbers were known in England . However, without reason for collection, stamps at this time were used for pasting wallpaper. The first philatelist
805-442: The idea to celebrate an annual Postage Stamp Day was suggested by Hans von Rudolphi, a German philatelist. The idea was adopted rapidly in Germany, and gained later adoption in other countries. Stamp Day is a memorial day established by the postal administration of a country and annually celebrated, which is designed to attract public attention to, popularize the use of, and expand the reach of postal correspondence, and contribute to
840-598: The investigating police officers. The Crown Agents withdrew their agreement for lending new stamps for display in the King's Library. David Beech joined the British Library as a philatelic curator in 1983 and was appointed Head of the Philatelic Collections in 1991. Beech is a former President of The Royal Philatelic Society London and joint founder of the International Philatelic Libraries Association , he retired in 2013. Paul Skinner (philatelist)
875-540: The library actively acquires literature on the subject. This makes the British Library one of the world's leading philatelic research centres. The Collections include a unique proof sheet of 26 Revenue 1765 Newspaper and Pamphlet one penny impressions showing the registration certificate, held in the Board of Inland Revenue Stamping Department Archive . These were issued to apply the Stamp Act of 1765 intended to raise taxes to fund
910-572: The reign of King George VI shows Tobacco Growing and Cigar Making. The first stamp for Queen Elizabeth II was to be in the same design (chocolate and violet) but was abandoned after printing. There are only seven examples in existence. The cover of the British Library pocket guide Treasures in Focus - Stamps features the 1913 King George V seahorse master dye proof, part of the Harrison Collection. The engraver, J.A.C. Harrison, took proofs during
945-449: The study of postage, it is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare or reside only in museums. The word "philately" is the English transliteration of the French " philatélie ", coined by Georges Herpin in 1864. Herpin stated that stamps had been collected and studied for the previous six or seven years and a better name
980-786: The various aspects of their hobby. The world's oldest philatelic society is the Royal Philatelic Society London , which was founded on 10 April 1869, as the Philatelic Society. In North America, the major national societies include the American Philatelic Society ; the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada ; and the Mexico-Elmhurst Philatelic Society, International . Local clubs and societies have been established in many cities of
1015-583: The world. The International Philatelic Federation was formed in 1926 which is originally based in Zürich, Switzerland but is now known to be the world federation for philately. International Philatelic Libraries Association The International Philatelic Libraries Association (IPLA) was formed in 1996 at the Capex 96 stamp exhibition in Toronto . Delegates from many countries attended including Virginia Horn from
1050-712: Was appointed Curator in 2004 and became Lead Curator on the retirement of David Beech. Richard Morel joined as Curator in 2014. He is overseeing the digitization of the Philatelic Collection’s holdings. The material is organized in 50 collections and archives which have been acquired by donation, bequest, or transfer from Government Departments. The Collections include postage and revenue stamps , postal stationery , essays , proofs , covers and entries, " cinderella stamp " material, specimen issues, airmails , some postal history materials and official and private posts for almost all countries and periods. Philately
1085-456: Was donated by the Earl of Crawford in his Will and was the foremost collection of philatelic books in the world at the time. In 1944 Mrs A. Cunningham donated her father's collection (Edward Mosely) of African stamps and in 1949 Mrs. Clement Williams donated her late brother's collection ( H. L'Estrange Ewen ) of railway letter stamps , valued at £10,000. After being offered in 1942 but delayed due to
British Library Philatelic Collections - Misplaced Pages Continue
1120-526: Was donated with the request that the British Museum library (now the British Library) would create a philatelic collection. The following year the Collections were established with the bequest of the Tapling Collection. The probate value of the Tapling Collection was set at £12,000 but on arrival Richard Garnett (Assistant Keeper of Printed Books) estimated their value at more than £50,000 and described
1155-666: Was established in 1976 as an off-shoot to Canadian Coin News , which was launched about a decade earlier. Philately was largely advanced by the USSR and nations within its sphere of influence, and the United States, France, the UK, and Austria. The British Library Philatelic Collections and the postal museums in Stockholm , Paris , and Bern had unique national philately collections at that time, and among
1190-436: Was not easily found and the care of the Collections was managed on a part-time basis. A security crisis in 1959 developed after it was discovered that the contents of one of the frames in the Tapling Collection was missing. In 1961 James A. Mackay was recruited as a research assistant to take care of the Collections. In 1971 the police arrested Mackay (promoted to Assistant Keeper in 1965) and charged him with stealing items from
1225-469: Was required for the new hobby than timbromanie (roughly "stamp mania"), which was disliked. The alternative terms "timbromania", "timbrophily", and "timbrology" gradually fell out of use as philately gained acceptance during the 1860s. Herpin took the Greek root word φιλ(ο)- phil(o)- , meaning "an attraction or affinity for something", and ἀτέλεια ateleia , meaning "exempt from duties and taxes", to form
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