Complex sentence: During the 1870s and 1880s he purchased existing collections from a number of philatelists, including those of W. E. Image, and by 1887 his collection was second only to that of Philippe Ferrari de La Renotière.
Split into simpler sentences: During the 1870s and 1880s he purchased existing collections from a number of philatelists, including those of W. E. Image. By 1887 his collection was second only to that of Philippe Ferrari de La Renotière.