Last year was the 175th anniversary of the issuing of the first postage stamp. In February of this year, we discovered the main events that will be held to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Royal Philatelic Society London.
The Royal Philatelic Society London, which was founded on 10th April 1869 under the title The Philatelic Society London, is an organisation devoted to collecting and studying the oldest stamps in the world.
Permission to use the term “Royal” was granted by King Edward VII of Great Britain, in November 1906. Since then, in accordance with tradition, the British Royal family has maintained and enlarged the collection bequeathed by Edward VII (1841–1910). Unfortunately, his great grand-daughter and current monarch of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain, is not known for her interest in the subject of philately.
The Royal (the name by which the body is now known) is made up of a total of 2,200 members from 80 different countries. As well as periodically organising activities and exhibitions, The Royal regularly publishes The London Philatelist, a publication featuring articles and specialist bibliographical reviews on the topic of stamps and the postal service. Meanwhile, every year since 1920, the Society has awarded the prestigious Crawford medal to encourage research into the field of philately. The medal takes its name from James Lindsey (1847 – 1913), 26th Count of Crawford and chairman of the historic organisation in 1878. Every year, the award is given to the most important publication in the area of historical and scientific research in the world of philately. Past medal-winners have included such works as the Guia del Coleccionista de Sellos de Correos de España 1855-69 (1948), The Cherry Blossom Issues of Japan 1872-1876 (1966) and The Postal History and Stamps of Mauritius (1991).
During the month of February, The Royal announced the commemorative events that have been planned for 2019, the year when the Society will be celebrating its 150th anniversary. One of the most important events is the organisation’s participation in STOCKHOLMIA 2019, the international philately fair that will be held in Stockholm from 29th May to 2nd June 2019. This will be a unique occasion that will represent one of the most important philatelic events in the world. As well as looking through the many exhibitions with the most important stamp collections and attending lectures, visitors will also have a great opportunity to find out more about this London-based institution.
And so we at the Gabinet Postal of Barcelona would like to congratulate the Royal Philatelic Society London for its contribution to the study and promotion of philately and postal history, and to wish the Society the best of luck with its preparations for the celebratory events. And to all those of you who are interested in philately – you should make a note in your diaries: STOCKHOLMIA 2019.
