Hiram Edmund Deats
Encyclopedia
Hiram Edmund Deats of Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,581. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County....

, was a 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...

 especially acclaimed for his collection of revenue stamp
Revenue stamp
A revenue stamp, tax stamp or fiscal stamp is a adhesive label used to collect taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other things...

s.

Collecting interests

As a youth, Deats started collecting postage stamps of the United States and the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 and eventually created one of the finest collections of his era, eventually selling the collection.

Deats specialized in the collecting of United States revenue stamps, and his collection, which in 1888 included the revenue collection of Edward Boker Sterling
Edward Boker Sterling
Edward Boker Sterling , of Trenton, New Jersey, was a philatelist who specialized in the study of United States postage stamps, postal stationery, and revenue stamps.-Collecting interests:...

, was unsurpassed. George L. Toppan and Alexander Holland used this collection as a basis for writing, in 1899, An Historical Reference List of the Revenue Stamps of the United States Including the Private Die Proprietary Stamps, which was re-printed in 1979 as The Boston Revenue Book.

Deats also formed one of the finest libraries of philatelic books and literature
Philatelic literature
Philatelic literature is written material relating to philately, primarily information about postage stamps and postal history- Background to philatelic literature :...

 in the United States, which, in 1952, he donated to the Free Library of Philadelphia
Free Library of Philadelphia
The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:History of the Free Library of Philadelphia: Initiated by the efforts of Dr...

.

Philatelic activity

At the age of 16, Deats joined the American Philatelic Association (later renamed the American Philatelic Society
American 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 served the society in various ways, including serving as president and generally attending at conventions.

Honors and awards

Deats signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists
Roll of Distinguished Philatelists
The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists is a philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921...

 in 1933 and was named to the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame
American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame
The American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame award honors deceased philatelists who have contributed significantly to the field of national and/or international philately.-History:...

in 1963.
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