Chats on Postage Stamps

by Frederick John Melville

(In the collection of H.M. the King.)

Comparatively little is known of the stamp-collections of other monarchs, but both King Alfonso of Spain and King Manuel are known to have formed collections of the stamps of their respective realms. The Spanish King's expressed desire to add the stamps of Portugal to his collection led to the reprinting of certain of the obsolete stamps of which the dies were on hand at the Lisbon Mint; these are the stamps known as the "King of Spain Reprints," a complete set of which was presented by King Manuel to the Reference Collection of the Royal Philatelic Society.

His Imperial Highness the late Grand Duke Alexis Michaelovitch was a member of the Philatelic Society. His early death lost to Philately a collector with a keen sense of the beauty of condition. Although only nineteen at the time of his death, he had been engaged for some years on a semi-official work on the history of the postal issues of Russia, and his collection was strong in the stamps of his own country and in Russian proofs and essays. His collection covered a very broad field, and he acquired the Peru section of the Koster collection en bloc. When the first Castle collection of Australians came on the market, the young Grand Duke acquired a number of its choicest copies, including some plated items. Some of the rarities he showed in London on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Philatelic Society (1894) were brilliant used copies of the 2 reales Spain of 1851 and 1852; the Poste Locale of Switzerland unused; the "1 Pranc", error for "1 Franc", on the 37¹/₂-centime bistre, Luxemburg; the Hanover 10 gr. used; Oldenburg ¹/₃ gr. black on green; Nevis 6d. lithographed (in two shades); Trinidad 1858 6d. and 1s. unused; Uruguay, Diligencias 60c. and 80c. unused; entire sheets of Bergedorf essays in green of all values; and a beautiful and much admired group of thirty-two Russian essays.

Prince Doria Pamphilj, of Italy, is another of the devotees of the "royal" hobby of stamp-collecting, and his British Empire collection contained an Archer roulette and many choice items in English and colonial stamps. Of the stamps of other countries he has also had a very comprehensive collection; and at the Manchester Exhibition of 1899 he displayed some rarities of these, including the United States 1861 30 cents with grille, and the 1869 15 cents with frame inverted; the 5 cents Confederate local of Petersburg; Spain, 1851 10 reales unused and 2 reales used, 1865 12c. with inverted frame; France, 1849 1 franc vermilion; the double Geneva, types of the Zurich, the 4c. Vaud and the Poste Locale 2¹/₂ rappen with cross unframed in used condition. The Prince has made a speciality of the Italian States. Although His Royal Highness sold his chief collection in 1904 for £2,000, he is, I understand, still to be numbered amongst the active philatelists.

A SPECIMEN PAGE FROM THE "TAPLING" COLLECTION AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

Probably the most valuable page, showing the Hawaiian "Missionaries." The two stamps at the top have been removed from the cases, and are now kept in a safe in the "Cracherode" Room.

Of National collections, Great Britain possesses the finest, in the bequest of the late Mr. T. K. Tapling, M.P. Mr. Tapling died in 1891, and since then the great collection which he had formed of the postage-stamps and postal stationery of the world has been arranged for exhibition purposes, in specially constructed cases, in the King's Library of the British Museum. It is estimated to contain 100,000 specimens, the total market value of which would probably not be much short of £100,000. Since the complete collection has been available to the public for inspection, there has been no one feature at the Bloomsbury institution which has attracted more visitors; and it is good to know that philatelic students are freely using the magnificent opportunities the collection offers for study. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive official guide to this important collection, but by the courtesy and assistance of the officials I was able to compile a fairly detailed index[23] to its beauties, which was published, together with a history of the formation of the collection, by Messrs. Lawn & Barlow. To detail the gems is but to recount the Mauritius, the British Guianas, the Hawaiians (these are particularly fine), the Moldavias, Newfoundlands, Reunions, &c., to most of which frequent reference has already been made in these pages. There is here one of the copies of the famous Fourpence blue of Western Australia with the centre inverted. Unfortunately the copy is a damaged one, but the stamp is rarer than the Mauritius "Post Office," and a celebrated and fine copy fetched £400 at auction.

It is a very real misfortune to Philately that the Trustees of the British Museum have taken no steps to continue the collection beyond 1890, or to add items which are lacking prior to that date. It is, I understand, simply a question of money, and the Trustees would not be unwilling to allow the necessary space for the growth of the collection if money were forthcoming for that purpose. It is now twenty years since Mr. Tapling died, and the loss of that period in the collection is almost irretrievable. Yet the collection as it stands is the most comprehensive treasure store of the first half century of stamp-issuing, and students in this country are fortunate indeed in having such a wealth of material at their disposal for comparison and for reference.