Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-01-26

from. an infant paStlme to the status
of an exact science, an art of authen-
tic esthetic significance. The contri-
button which he himself quietly and
almost surreptitiously made toward
that development he probably did not
realize, certainly never would have
admitted His influence was felt In
directly The mere fact that the most
powerful ruler In Christendom was q
stamp enthusiast meant much to both
collectors and non-collectors.
But the King on occasion gave def
mite proof of the depth and intensity
of his interest. He joined the Royal
Philatelic Society, March 10, 1888; was
elected president. May 20. 1896; and
was patron from 1910 until his death.
In 1897, he opened stamp exhibition
in London: in 1904, read a paper on
THE Postal Issues of the United
Kingdom During the Present Reign"
in 1921, headed the roll of distinguish
ed philatelists instituted by the Phil
atelic Congress of Great Britain, and
in 1923, received 100 philatelic guests
at Buckingham Palace.
His gratitude to his assistant In
philately took the form of a knight
hood bestowed on Mr.. Bacon in 1882.
The King usually kept his 800 al
buns at the palace, but now and then
few volumes were carried to Wind
scr or to Sandringham for examina-
ton or study as desired.
OF rarities, MS majesty possessed
the prize pearls of the collections Of
the Earl of Crawford, Leslie Haus-
burg and Henry Duveen. He owned
fine copies Of the Id and I'd post ofIice
stamps Of Nautilus: the Cape of Good
Hope woodblocks, Id plus 4d, sc ten
nant, in both red and blue; Western
Australia. I'D, frame inverted; British
Guiana, 1856, i'd, on sugar paper:
and New South Wales, Sydneys, Id,
plate /. block Of four, mint. He also
had many fine uncut and reconstruct
ed sheets Of nineteenth century var
ieties; also Rowland Hills original
watercolor sketches for the first ad-
hesives ever issued and William Null
ready's original sketch for the famous
envelopes which bear his name.
The King at least once-during the
World War-tried to abandon collect
ing. But after a few weeks he de-
cided to resume. He needed the re-
Taxation from work and worry, he
said.
Probably in that statement lay the
correct explanation of his majesty's
practice OF philately He was a man
heavily turdened with duty and re-
sponsibility But he found freedom
as well as fellowship in stamps and
was grateful
King Georges name may fade from
the memory Of others. Never from
that Of collectors.
The Star, May last. said: mo
other NAH has been so frequently por-
trayed in philatelic compositions. The
King . Is the most widely famous
parsonage ever depicted in stamps.
Uncounted millions of individual
representations of his visage have been
used for their proper postal purpose
of authenticating the prepayment
Of carrying charges. In that charac-
ter, he has travelled to the uttermost
ends of the earth, entered the grandest
palaces ana the humblest cottages, be-
come part Of the records Of all govern
ments, accompanied armies and fleets
into battle. personifled the might of
those forces and transcribed the ordi-
nary boundaries of time.
"Philatel:sts especially are certain
to appreciate the historical impor-
lance of King Georges role in the
drama Of the past quarter century.
They understood how his reign has
been reflected in stamps. The era
probably will be called the Georgian
period, and that will be an ape
propriate tribute In the circum-
stances"
An official release. received from the
Post ONCE Department Thursday,
reads as follows: "Since its establish
ment in 1921, it has been the consis-
tent policy of the Philatelic Agency
to render worth while and impartial
service to the rank and file Of stamp
collectors throughout the country by
providing source Of supply for stamps