| Although this document is only intended to exist in electronic form, I find it very convenient to have a hard copy to hand. It is easier to refer to a book than wait the five or ten minutes it takes to start up and close down a computer, just to obtain a single reference or check a fact. Books also give you the big picture of the document as a whole, rather than the small-screen glimpses we have all got used to. Accordingly, I printed and had bound a copy of this document in January 2002, which I have called the First edition, for convenience. Henceforth, I will have a copy bound each January, or thereabouts, provided the document has increased in size by at least ten percent since the previous printing. (From the fifth to the ninth editions, I only required an increase of at least a hundred pages before replacing the volume in my library. However, by the 10th edition, I was running out of major libraries to which I could donate obsolete volumes, so I reverted to requiring a ten percent increase in pages prior to binding.) At the same time I will send an update to the web files on http://fipliterature.org, where the electronic version of this document is hosted. Since printing and binding is quite an expensive undertaking, I donate the obsolete bound volumes to important philatelic libraries round the world.
of December 2010 1st edition, January 2002 2nd edition, November 2002 3rd edition, May 2003 4th edition, January 2004 5th edition, January 2005 6th edition, January 2006 7th edition, January 2007 8th edition, January 2008 9th edition, December 2008 10th edition, January 2010 11th edition, December 2010 Brian John Birch |
FOREWORDThis document comprises Sections 5.2 & 5.3 of my masterwork:- Section 5.2 Biographies of Philatelists and Dealers Section 5.3 Biographies of Bibliophiles and Literature Dealers This document began its life as a simple listing of my ad hoc collection of copies of published biographies of philatelists and dealers. Apart from the books and pamphlets on individual philatelists which I purchased specifically, I came across the majority of these items whilst perusing philatelic handbooks and periodicals as I was carrying out research for my other interests. It is by no means a systematic listing or true bibliography. The entries were originally linked only in that virtually every one included a portrait of the subject in question. Even there, my treatment was uneven in that persons of interest to my own bibliographic researches were included without there necessarily being a portrait in attendance. Conversely, some portraits of philatelists, important to my researches, were included with virtually no accompanying biographical details. Late in 1999, I purchased the biographical files of the noted American bibliophile William Hagan, which were particularly strong in references to bibliophiles. The following year, Jim Negus retired from philatelic life after over fifty years as a philatelist and writer, which included editing the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue from 1977-81. Subsequent to his retirement in 2000, I was the grateful recipient of two large parcels of philatelic literature ephemera, which he came across as he sorted his library for sale, and a third parcel in 2003, once he had compiled all of his unpublished works onto a CD which he then distributed to certain individuals and libraries. During the sale of his library by Cavendish Philatelic Auctions in April 2001, I purchased all of his bibliographic material including his extensive files of cuttings and ephemera. That same year, Harry Hayes both donated and sold to me many items relating to philatelic literature which included much of a biographical nature. The death of Ron Negus in 2009, lead to my receiving, under his instructions to his wife, several boxes and files of material, some of which had been compiled by this brother Jim. All of the biographies found in the above material were incorporated into this Bibliography irrespective of whether or not they included a portrait. Where I found a series of biographies published together, I have included them all irrespective of whether they included a portrait or not. Inevitably, news of my compilation spread and some people were kind enough to donate material to me. Even if it did not meet my then current criteria for inclusion, this material has invariably been incorporated in my work, in gratitude for, and recognition of their kindness. As the biographical work grew, I found increasingly that it was helpful to include “biographies” of philatelic companies, in many cases virtually inseparable from a single philatelist e.g. Stanley Gibbons Limited or C. H. Mekeel & Company, although almost always accompanied by a portrait of the premises or founder. In 2002, I began to incorporate my small collection of company brochures into this Bibliography in order to enhance the corporate sector of this resource. Sometimes snippets of personal information caught my fancy and I have occasionally included these under the appropriate person, in order to pique the interest of browsers. For those intrigued already, a typical and fascinating example can be found under John Reginald Hooper. In the middle of 2003, I succumbed to the inevitable and began to collect and therefore list all significant biographies and obituaries I came across and quietly dropped the requirement for an accompanying portrait. In this respect, it is important to remember that many of the minor references included in this bibliography, which seem only to swell its bulk and make its use more-difficult rather than improve its quality, were included before a significant biography was to hand. When I use the biographical data on a subject for another project, I will purge the listings of minor material, the content of which is included elsewhere. It had always been my intention that Section 5.3 Biographies of Bibliophiles and Literature Dealers would build up into individual biographies of all of the bibliophiles and literature dealers I came across. By 2007, I had become frustrated with the extent of the duplication between this document and Section 5.3, which meant that I had to look in two of my own documents to retrieve the required information. Accordingly, I incorporated the biographical data from Section 5.3 into this document under the relevant entries. The inclusion of short biographical notes into a hitherto pure bibliography was so successful in breaking up the monotony of the entries that, at the same time, I began to add short biographical notes to some of the other entries to make the work a little more interesting both to myself and those who make use of it. I can only trust that users get as much enjoyment from using this Bibliography as I have had reading the many biographies it includes. Finally, I must thank Francis Kiddle who offered to host this and other unpublished documents relating to my long-term projects, on the FIP Literature Commission web site at http://fipliterature.org. Brian John Birch THE BIOGRAPHIESNow the file has been converted into a so-called PDF file which easily can be read by using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Get the PDF-file biographies.PDF (NB. 5 Mb) |