DISTINGUISHED PHILATELISTS

The names Edward Denny Bacon, Marcellus Purnell Castle and Edward Benjamin Evans may mean little to the modern philatelist but these individuals were the philatelic celebrities of the late 19th centry and early 20th centry. Bacon became keeper of the Royal Collection in 1913, Castle sold parts of his stamp collection in 1894 and 1900 for the then massive sums of £10,000 and £27,500 respectively and Evans published his first article on stamp collecting in 1864 giving us an idea of the extent of the hobby when it can have been no more than a couple of decades old. Why mention these individuals? The Straits manufscript surcharge mentioned earlier comes with a Philatelic Society of London certificate signed by these then famous philatelists with the document dated 1894 and bearing the number 61. Could this be the oldest surviving certificate from the organisation which later was to become the 'Royal', in its way the certificate could be rarer than the stamp which it certifies.