David Feldman is a professional philatelist

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...

, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and auctioneer, chairman of David Feldman SA, a Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

 based philatelic auction company that has attained record prices for some of the most famous postage stamps of the world. In 1993 Feldman auctioned the "Bordeaux Letter" with both the 1d Orange-red and the 2d Deep Blue "Post Office" Mauritius stamps on cover

Cover (philately)

In philately, the term cover pertains to the outside of an envelope or package with an address, typically with postage stamps that have been cancelled and is a term generally used among stamp and postal history collectors. The term does not include the contents of the letter or package, although...

; this brought 5,750,000 Swiss Franc

Swiss franc

The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...

s (roughly $4 million USD, GB£ 2.64 million), the highest price ever paid for any philatelic item.

Ireland

His early life was in Dublin, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, where he started a stamp exchange scheme with school classmates at eight years of age. By 1958 this had become The Shamrock Stamp Club, a mail order

Mail order

Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...

 sales business promoted by advertising in Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...

 comics. Irish philately was his speciality; the first specialised stamp catalogue, Stamps of Ireland debuted in 1964 and in 1967 he held his first specialised Irish stamp auction. When the Handbook of Irish Philately was published in 1968, Feldman presented a copy to the President of Ireland

President of Ireland

The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...

, Éamon de Valera

Éamon de Valera

Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...

.

By the 1970s, a bullish stamp market led to a great increase in stamp prices; so much so, that Feldman states: "You just could not get enough stamps to sell." During this period he started David Feldman Ltd., became an auctioneer and philatelic author, and published the DF Newsletter, an Irish philatelic publication along with other specialised books. He also promoted three public stamp exhibitions in Dublin before becoming chairman of Stampa 1972, the first Irish National Stamp Exhibition. David Feldman was a member of the Irish Minister for Posts and Telegraphs

Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Ireland)

The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was a senior post in the government of the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland from 1924 to 1984, when the post and the department was abolished....

' Philatelic Advisory Committee from 1975–1981 with Robson Lowe

Robson Lowe

John Harry Robson Lowe , Robbie to his friends, was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer.- Life and career :...

 and other distinguished philatelists.

Switzerland

Later, having met a Swiss girl who was on a cycling holiday to Ireland, he moved to Switzerland in 1973. He has continued to operate as a stamp auctioneer and publisher since then, starting a new auction business and running his first auction there in 1976. Some of the record prices achieved by David Feldman SA have been for the Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 Treskilling Yellow ($2.2 million in 1996), for which his photo appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

, and the Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

 Two Pence Blue ($1.4 million in 1993) stamps.

In 1997, David Feldman was invited to sign the Irish Roll of Distinguished Philatelists for his support and contributions to Irish philately. David auctioned off one of his personal collections in May 2003; The 'Emerald' Collection of Destination Mail of the World contained mail to and from Ireland dating from 1714–1913 accumulated over about forty years. The collection realised around $2 million.

Two auctions have been surrounded by some controversy. The disposal of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 Stamp Archive in May 2003 for more than $3 million was still under investigation in 2006 and "may well have taken place without the permissions required by the regulations of the U.N. Secretariat for the disposal of such important U.N. property" because no official consent forms seem to exist as required under Secretariat 1991 rules for the disposal of archival material. The material was the archive United Nations Postal Administration

United Nations Postal Administration

The United Nations Postal Administration is the postal agency of the United Nations. It issues postage stamps and postal stationery, denominated in United States dollars for the United Nations offices in New York, in Swiss francs for the offices in Geneva and in euros for the offices in Vienna...

, UNPA, apparently regarded as surplus to the requirements of the UN Postal Museum. The purchase of the complete archive as one auction lot by Arthur Morowitz, CEO of Champion Stamp Collection, and the subsequent sale of a small portion of the archive by Greg Manning Auctions, for about $1.2 million considerably more than the original Feldman sale raised questions about the disposal. There has not been any allegation of impropriety on Feldman's part.

Part of the Hélio Courvoisier, Swiss stamp printing company, archive auctioned in April 2007 by Feldman included five lots of San Marino

San Marino

San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...

imperforate stamps, drawings and print proofs. The San Marino philatelic bureau expressed their surprise that these items appeared at auction because "archives prove that Hélio Courvoisier SA had destroyed all the print proofs and other print material relating to our products". They allege the material "may belong to the Republic of San Marino" or "may have dubious origin." Feldman assured Stamp & Coin Mart that the consignor had both the title and right to sell the material.

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