Crawford Library
Encyclopedia
The Crawford Library is a library of early books about philately
formed between 1898 and 1913 by James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford
. By the time of his death in 1913, Crawford was thought to have amassed the greatest philatelic library of his time. Today, the library is part of the British Library Philatelic Collections
.
in Haigh
near Wigan, had its origins in the sixteenth century and became world famous among scholars for its scope and the many bibliographies of its stock which exceeded 100,000 volumes.
, and which was thought to be the most complete formed up to that time. Tiffany's library was particularly strong on United States philatelic journals and he was calculated to have 97% of everything published on American philately by the time of his death, including dealer's price lists, society records and even stamp related music. Much of Tiffany's library was included in the work which he produced for the Boston Public Library in 1874 entitled The Philatelical Library. (Free download of The Philatelical Library here.)
The Tiffany Library was acquired for Crawford by Charles J. Phillips
, then Managing Director of Stanley Gibbons, who viewed it while travelling in America. He informed Crawford that the condition of the library was not good and the price of $10,000 (about £2,000 at the time) was too high but Crawford told him to buy it at that price anyway. The library consisted of 909 bound volumes and 136 unbound as well as an extensive card index to its contents which was valuable in itself. It was delivered to Crawford in 39 boxes at his London home of 2 Cavendish Square on 28 June 1901. Phillips charged a 5% commission for the negotiations.
After the purchase of the Tiffany Library, Crawford employed Edward Denny Bacon
as curator of the collection. Bacon worked from Cavendish Square, sorting and cataloguing the works and he was assiduous in tracking down missing philatelic periodicals with the help of Stanley Gibbons.
of Vienna. This library totalled 39 cases of books with surplus material being donated to the Royal Philatelic Society
for their library.
and following his death on 31 January 1913, the library was donated to the British Museum by a codicil
to his Will. The library was received on 17 March 1913. In 1973 it passed to the British Library
following a reorganisation.
(PLS). The Society republished the work as The Catalogue of the Philatelic Library of the Earl of Crawford, K.T., a work which won a Large Gold medal at the Postwertzeichen Ausstellung stamp exhibition in Vienna in 1911. A supplement to the catalogue was published in 1926 by the PLS and an addenda in the March 1938 edition of The London Philatelist
, both by E.D. Bacon.
In 1991, a new edition of the catalogue was published by the British Library with shelf marks and marginalia by E.D. Bacon included and a preface by David Beech
.
Not all the works mentioned in these books are included in the Library, as the original book was a bibliography of all known philatelic works, and not a catalogue of Crawford's library.
In addition, by February 2011, about 80% of the library had been rebound, with and without conservation work such as deacidification and lamination.
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
formed between 1898 and 1913 by James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford
James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford
James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford and 9th Earl of Balcarres was a British astronomer, politician, bibliophile and philatelist. A member of the Royal Society, Crawford was elected president of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1878. He was a prominent Freemason.-Family:The Earl was the...
. By the time of his death in 1913, Crawford was thought to have amassed the greatest philatelic library of his time. Today, the library is part of the British Library Philatelic Collections
British Library Philatelic Collections
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...
.
Formation and bequest
Crawford was a noted bibliophile long before he became interested in philately. The family library, the "Bibliotheca Lindesiana" located at Haigh HallHaigh Hall
Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Greater Manchester, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. The hall, built between 1827 and 1840 by James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, replaced an ancient manor house and was his family's home...
in Haigh
Haigh, Greater Manchester
Haigh is a village and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it is located next to the village of Aspull. The western boundary is the River Douglas which separates the township from Wigan. To the north a small brook...
near Wigan, had its origins in the sixteenth century and became world famous among scholars for its scope and the many bibliographies of its stock which exceeded 100,000 volumes.
The Tiffany Library
Not long after 1897, Crawford purchased the library of philatelic literature formed by John K. Tiffany of St. Louis, Missouri, the first president of the American Philatelic SocietyAmerican Philatelic Society
The American Philatelic Society is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting and organization of philately in the world, with almost 44,000 members from 110 countries...
, and which was thought to be the most complete formed up to that time. Tiffany's library was particularly strong on United States philatelic journals and he was calculated to have 97% of everything published on American philately by the time of his death, including dealer's price lists, society records and even stamp related music. Much of Tiffany's library was included in the work which he produced for the Boston Public Library in 1874 entitled The Philatelical Library. (Free download of The Philatelical Library here.)
The Tiffany Library was acquired for Crawford by Charles J. Phillips
Charles James Phillips
Charles James Phillips , of London, England, and New York City, was a philatelist highly regarded in both England where he started his philatelic career and in the United States, where he emigrated to in 1922.-Philatelic activity in England:...
, then Managing Director of Stanley Gibbons, who viewed it while travelling in America. He informed Crawford that the condition of the library was not good and the price of $10,000 (about £2,000 at the time) was too high but Crawford told him to buy it at that price anyway. The library consisted of 909 bound volumes and 136 unbound as well as an extensive card index to its contents which was valuable in itself. It was delivered to Crawford in 39 boxes at his London home of 2 Cavendish Square on 28 June 1901. Phillips charged a 5% commission for the negotiations.
After the purchase of the Tiffany Library, Crawford employed Edward Denny Bacon
Edward Denny Bacon
Sir Edward Denny Bacon was a British philatelist who helped the enlargement and mounting of collections possessed by rich collectors of his time and became the curator of the Royal Philatelic Collection between 1913 and 1938.- Early life :Edward Bacon was the son of a malt producer of London,...
as curator of the collection. Bacon worked from Cavendish Square, sorting and cataloguing the works and he was assiduous in tracking down missing philatelic periodicals with the help of Stanley Gibbons.
The Fraenkel Library
A further addition was the library of the late Judge Heinrich Fraenkel of Berlin, a former librarian of the Berliner Philatelisten-Klub, which included strong holdings of German literature and also incorporated the library of Sigmund FriedlSigmund Friedl
Sigmund Friedl was one of the most famous Austrian philatelists, who misused his knowledge toward the end of his life to make forgeries harming the stamp collectors....
of Vienna. This library totalled 39 cases of books with surplus material being donated to the Royal Philatelic Society
Royal Philatelic Society
The Royal Philatelic Society London is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded in 1869 as The Philatelic Society, London.- Royal connections :...
for their library.
Donation
Crawford was a trustee of the British MuseumBritish Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and following his death on 31 January 1913, the library was donated to the British Museum by a codicil
Codicil
Codicil can refer to:* Codicil : An addition made to a will* Any addition made subsequent and appended to the original* Any addition or appendix, such as a corollary to a theorem* Codicil : A poem by Derek Walcott...
to his Will. The library was received on 17 March 1913. In 1973 it passed to the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
following a reorganisation.
Catalogues
In 1911, a catalogue of the library by Edward Denny Bacon was published by the Aberdeen University Press under the title Bibliotheca Lindesiana, Vol VII: A Bibliography of the Writings General, Special and Periodical Forming the Literature of Philately and in 1911 the rights to the work were assigned to the Philatelic Literature SocietyPhilatelic Literature Society
The Philatelic Literature Society was a short-lived society to promote the cause of philatelic literature among philatelists at a time when information about philately could be hard to obtain and philatelic books expensive.-Formation:...
(PLS). The Society republished the work as The Catalogue of the Philatelic Library of the Earl of Crawford, K.T., a work which won a Large Gold medal at the Postwertzeichen Ausstellung stamp exhibition in Vienna in 1911. A supplement to the catalogue was published in 1926 by the PLS and an addenda in the March 1938 edition of The London Philatelist
The London Philatelist
The London Philatelist was first published in January 1892 and is the journal of the Royal Philatelic Society London.It is published ten times annually and includes coverage of worldwide philatelic and postal history topics...
, both by E.D. Bacon.
In 1991, a new edition of the catalogue was published by the British Library with shelf marks and marginalia by E.D. Bacon included and a preface by David Beech
David Beech
David Richard Beech is the curator of the British Library Philatelic Collections. He is also a Fellow and former President of the Royal Philatelic Society London ....
.
Not all the works mentioned in these books are included in the Library, as the original book was a bibliography of all known philatelic works, and not a catalogue of Crawford's library.
Preservation
In 1985 a major project started to microfilm the library as many of the works were found to have deteriorated with age. This has now been completed.In addition, by February 2011, about 80% of the library had been rebound, with and without conservation work such as deacidification and lamination.
Viewing the library
The works may be viewed in the British Library's Rare Books & Music Reading Rooom.Contents
The library includes approximately 4500 volumes and is notable for containing:- Early postal notices of China.
- Frederick BootyFrederick BootyFrederick William Booty was an artist, living in Brighton, England, who was also the author of the first postage stamp catalogue in English, and the first illustrated stamp catalogue anywhere.- Education :...
's Aids to Stamp Collectors, 1862. The first postage stamp catalogue in English. - The notebooks of Judge F.A. PhilbrickFrederick PhilbrickFrederick Adolphus Philbrick was a lawyer and an early British philatelist.He was one of the founders of the "Philatelic Society, London", which later became the Royal Philatelic Society London...
, one of the first philatelists. - Literature and ephemera from the early Philatelic Congresses of Great Britain.
- Mount Brown'sMount Brown (philatelist)Mount Brown was an early British philatelist and the compiler of only the second published stamp catalogue in the English language...
Catalogue of British, Colonial, and Foreign Postage Stamps, 1862. The second stamp catalogue in English. - The earliest known Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue.
- Dr J.E. Gray'sJohn Edward GrayJohn Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
A Hand Catalogue of Postage Stamps for the use of the Collector, 1862. One of the first stamp catalogues. Free download here. - The first fifteen editions of the catalogue by J.W. Scott & CoScott catalogueThe Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Co, a subsidiary of Amos Press, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the entire world which its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in six large volumes and is also produced in...
. - A.C. Kline's Stamp Collectors' Manual. First edition.
- Material from Oscar Berger-LevraultOscar Berger-LevraultOscar François George Berger-Levrault was a French philatelist. The invention of the stamp catalogue is attributed to him and to the Englishman, John Edward Gray.-Life:...
, Jean-Baptiste MoensJean-Baptiste MoënsJean-Baptiste Philippe Constant Moens was a Belgian philatelist recognized as the first dealer in stamps for collectors. He was one of the original philatelic journalists.- Youth :...
and Pierre Mahé & SonPierre MahéPierre Marie Mahé was French stamp dealer who was acknowledged as one of the Fathers of Philately on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists-Association with Philipp von Ferrary:...
. - A drawing by Adolph Reinheimer depicting the first recorded public display of postage stamps at the Vandermaelen Museum in Brussels (1852).
See also
- The Crawford MedalCrawford MedalThe Crawford Medal is a vermeil medal awarded by the Royal Philatelic Society London for the most valuable and original contribution to the study and knowledge of philately published in book form during the relevant period....
. A medal awarded by the Royal Philatelic Society London for philatelic literature. - List of philatelic libraries
- Philatelic literaturePhilatelic literaturePhilatelic literature is written material relating to philately, primarily information about postage stamps and postal history- Background to philatelic literature :...
- The Crawford Collection at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.
Further reading
- Bacon, Edward DennyEdward Denny BaconSir Edward Denny Bacon was a British philatelist who helped the enlargement and mounting of collections possessed by rich collectors of his time and became the curator of the Royal Philatelic Collection between 1913 and 1938.- Early life :Edward Bacon was the son of a malt producer of London,...
. Catalogue of the Crawford Library of philatelic literature at the British Library. Revised edition. New York: Printer's Stone in association with the British Library, 1991. ISBN 0941480100