The Philatelic Society of India was formed in 1897 by a group of, mainly, expatriate Englishmen resident in the country as the first all-India philatelic society. During its first fifty years the society included most of the important Anglo-Indian philatelists and had a particularly strong publications record with two award-winning books.

History

The idea of an all-India philatelic society arose at the Philatelic Society of Bengal in 1896 and an open letter was published by Charles Stewart-Wilson

Charles Stewart-Wilson

Sir Charles Stewart-Wilson KCIE was Barrister and an official in the Indian Civil Service who rose to become the Indian Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs....

 in Calcutta calling for expressions of interest. The first meeting took place at 6 Middleton Row, Calcutta on 6 March 1897 where Charles Stewart-Wilson was appointed the first President and Lady Collen, Professor O.V. Muller and Major C.H.I. Hopkins were each appointed Vice-Presidents. The first Treasurer was Wilmot Corfield

Wilmot Corfield

William Wilmot Corfield was a British philatelist who was an important figure in Anglo-Indian philately. He was an accountant by profession.-Early life:Corfield was born in Birmingham in 1859 and educated at King Edward's School...

 and the Secretary Mr. P. Aylwyn Selfe of the Bank of Bengal.

In March 1957 an exhibition was held in Bombay to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of the society and in 1997 India Post issued two commemorative stamp

Commemorative stamp

A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event or person. The subject of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike definitive stamps which normally depict the subject along with the...

s to mark the centenary of the founding of the society. It is unclear, however, if the society is still in existence.

Members

This is a partial list of members of the society:

• G.A. Anderson
• Walter Dorning Beckton
  Walter Dorning Beckton
  Walter Dorning Beckton was a British philatelist who signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921. He was a Manchester Solicitor by profession in the firm of Hockin, Beckton & Hockin.-Collecting:...
  
  
• Lady Collen
• Wilmot Corfield
  Wilmot Corfield
  William Wilmot Corfield was a British philatelist who was an important figure in Anglo-Indian philately. He was an accountant by profession.-Early life:Corfield was born in Birmingham in 1859 and educated at King Edward's School...
  
  
• C.S.F. Crofton
  C. S. F. Crofton
  Charles Stanhope Foster Crofton was a British philatelist and a member of the Indian Civil Service.-Early life:Crofton was the only son of Major Henry Crofton R.A. . He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge.-Philately:Crofton specialised in the philately of India and Ceylon...
  
  
• L.E. Dawson
  L. E. Dawson
  Lionel Edward Dawson was a philatelist who won the Crawford Medal from the Royal Philatelic Society London for his work on the One Anna and Two Annas Postage Stamps of India, 1854-55...
  
  
• C.K. Dutt (First Indian member 1907)
• Capt. Hancock
• Lieut.-Col. G.F.A. Harris
• Leslie L. R. Hausburg
  Leslie L. R. Hausburg
  Leslie Leopold Rudolph Hausburg was a British philatelist who was one of the "Fathers of Philately" entered on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921. He was also a leading tennis player.-Early life:...
  
  
• Mr. T. Hoffmann
• Maj. C.H.I. Hopkins
• John Ernest Buttery Hotson
  John Ernest Buttery Hotson
  Sir John Ernest Buttery Hotson, KCSI, OBE, VD was an administrator in India during the British Raj. Born in Glasgow to Hamilton and Margaret Hotson, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy and Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating BA in 1899, and MA...
  
  
• Mr. C.F. Larmour
• 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...
  
  
• Lieut.-Col. C.P. Lukis
• A.A. Lyall
• Lieut. T.E. Madden
• Sir David Parkes Masson
  David Parkes Masson
  Sir David Parkes Masson CIE VD was a British philatelist who was one of the "Fathers of Philately" entered on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921...
  
  
• Maj. du Moulin
• Prof. O.V. Muller
• F.N. Schiller
• Mr. P. Aylwyn Selfe
• E.A. Smythies
  E. A. Smythies
  Evelyn Arthur Smythies, CIE , was a distinguished forester and philatelist, born of British parents in India. Smythies was an expert on the ecology of Uttarakhand and Nepal...
  
  
• Sir Charles Stewart-Wilson
  Charles Stewart-Wilson
  Sir Charles Stewart-Wilson KCIE was Barrister and an official in the Indian Civil Service who rose to become the Indian Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs....
  
   (Subsequently Indian Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs.
• Mr. E.W. Wetherell

Publications

The society had a particularly strong publishing record with Martin and Smythies The Four Annas Lithographed Stamps of India, 1854-55 and L.E. Dawson's The One Anna & Two Annas Postage Stamps of India, 1854-55 both winning the Crawford Medal

Crawford Medal

The 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....

 from the Royal Philatelic Society London (1932 and 1950 respectively). The first seven books produced by the society each received volume numbers, although they did not form part of any coherent work. The society's journal, the Philatelic Journal of India, was published from 1897.

• Stewart-Wilson, Charles. British Indian Adhesive Stamps Surcharged for Native States. Part I. Calcutta, 1897. (Vol. 1)
• Stewart-Wilson, Charles. British Indian Adhesive Stamps Surcharged for Native States. Part II. Calcutta, 1899. (Vol. 2)
• Anderson, G.A. Notes on the Postage Stamps of Bhopal. Calcutta, 1899. (Vol. 3)
• Masson, Sir David Parkes. Jammu and Kashmir. (Two parts bound together) Calcutta & Lahore: 1900 & 1901. Online excerpts. (Vols. 4 & 5)
• Crofton, C.S.F. & Wilmot Corfield. The Adhesive Fiscal and Telegraph Stamps of British India. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co., 1905. (Vol. 6)
• Wilson, Charles Stewart & B.G. Jones. British Indian Adhesive Stamps surcharged for Native States. Calcutta, 1904. (Revised edition) (Vol. 7)
• Crofton, C.S.F. & L.L.R. Hausburg & C. Stewart-Wilson. The Postage and Telegraph Stamps of British India. London: Stanley Gibbons for the society, 1907.
• Masson, Sir David Parkes & B. Gordon Jones. The Postage Stamps of Afghanistan. Madras: Higinbotham & Co., 1908. (From notes originally prepared by Gilbert Harrison
  Gilbert Harrison (philatelist)
  Gilbert Harrison was a British philatelist who was one of the "Fathers of Philately" entered on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921....
  
  .)
• Crofton, C.S.F. The Fiscal and Telegraph Stamps of Ceylon. Ed. B. Gordon Jones. London: Bridger & Kay for the society, 1911.
• Martin, D.R.
  Denys R. Martin
  Colonel Denys Richard Martin . ranks among the most distinguished philatelists of the Twentieth century. As a systematic scholar and prolific writer, Martin illuminated some of the most difficult topics and set a high standard for the study of the postage stamps and postal history of India and...
  
  & E.A. Smythies. The Four Annas Lithographed Stamps of India, 1854-55. Stanley Gibbons for the society, 1930.
• Smythies, E.A. & Dawson, L.E. The Postage Stamps of Jammu & Kashmir Simplified. Lahore, 1937. Online excerpts.
• Roberts, Col. G.L. & E.A. Smythies. The Japanese Occupation Stamps of Burma. 1947.
• Dawson. L.E. The One Anna & Two Annas Postage Stamps of India, 1854-55. Birmingham: H. Garratt-Adams & Co. for the society, 1948.
• Giles, D. Hammond. Companion to the handstruck postage stamps of India. Bombay: Arvind M. Pakvasa, 1967.