Davies Collection
Encyclopedia
The Davies Collection is a collection of Libya
n revenue stamp
s from 1955 to 1969, formed from material from the Bradbury Wilkinson Archive, and presented to the British Library Philatelic Collections
by John N. Davies in 1992.
Davies became interested in Libyan stamps while carrying out his national service
in Libya between 1954 and 1956, though he bought little material at that time. From 1956 he was able to develop his collection by buying Libyan postal history
and postage stamp
s which no-one else seemed interested in. In some cases he was able to buy almost the complete Libyan stock of dealers such as Urch Harris and Proud Bailey
who had no other buyers for the material. He left the Army in 1963 and worked subsequently at the British Post Office
(1967 -1986) in the Controller's Office and the National Postal Museum. In 1986 he became a curator at the British Library where he was assistant to David Beech
. He retired in 1993. Davies is a former Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London.
. The archive was in poor condition and required extensive conservation work.
The material purchased by Davies was composed solely of file copies of the final issued revenue stamps produced by Bradbury Wilkinson for the Kingdom period. Most of the stamps were for consular fees and all were gummed and unused. All were in full sheets of 10 x 10 although some had became part separated through poor storage. No proofs, essays
, specimens
or similar material was included, nor was any material from after the 1969 Libyan Revolution.
In 1992, Davies donated horizontal strips of five of each stamp to the British Library. The balance of the archive was retained by Davies and none has been sold as of July 2011. No mint examples of the stamps in the archive have been reported and none should be available on the philatelic market. The only mint examples known are in the British Library collection and those retained personally by Davies.
The stamps include requisition (order) numbers in the selvedge but the numbers of each stamp printed are not known as the Bradbury Wilkinson requisition books showing that information are missing.
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n 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 from 1955 to 1969, formed from material from the Bradbury Wilkinson Archive, and presented to the British Library Philatelic Collections
British Library Philatelic Collections
The British Library Philatelic Collections is the national philatelic collection of the United Kingdom with over 8 million items from around the world. It was established in 1891 as part of the British Museum Library, later to become the British Library, with the collection of Thomas Tapling...
by John N. Davies in 1992.
John N. Davies
John Neville Davies (Born 1935) states that he began to collect stamps on 2 September 1940 when his mother paid a bill for £2 and received a receipt bearing a stamp from the British Postal Centenary set of that year which showed both Queen Victoria and King George VI. The stamp was to pay the tax on receipts then current and was therefore used as a revenue stamp.Davies became interested in Libyan stamps while carrying out his national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in Libya between 1954 and 1956, though he bought little material at that time. From 1956 he was able to develop his collection by buying Libyan postal history
Postal history
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of postage stamps and covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems...
and postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s which no-one else seemed interested in. In some cases he was able to buy almost the complete Libyan stock of dealers such as Urch Harris and Proud Bailey
Ted Proud
Edward Wilfrid Baxby Proud is a pioneering British postal historian and philatelic writer who in 2008 was invited to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists....
who had no other buyers for the material. He left the Army in 1963 and worked subsequently at the British Post Office
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
(1967 -1986) in the Controller's Office and the National Postal Museum. In 1986 he became a curator at the British Library where he was assistant to David Beech
David Beech
David Richard Beech is the curator of the British Library Philatelic Collections. He is also a Fellow and former President of the Royal Philatelic Society London ....
. He retired in 1993. Davies is a former Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London.
The Collection
In 1991, the printers Bradbury Wilkinson sold part of their archive including revenue stamps produced for the government of Libya from 1955 to 1969. The whole of that part of the archive was purchased personally by John Davies who was at time employed as a curator in the Philatelic Department at the British LibraryBritish Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
. The archive was in poor condition and required extensive conservation work.
The material purchased by Davies was composed solely of file copies of the final issued revenue stamps produced by Bradbury Wilkinson for the Kingdom period. Most of the stamps were for consular fees and all were gummed and unused. All were in full sheets of 10 x 10 although some had became part separated through poor storage. No proofs, essays
Essay (philately)
In philately, an essay is a design for a proposed stamp submitted to the postal authorities for consideration but not used, or used after alterations have been made. By contrast, a proof is a trial printing of an accepted stamp....
, specimens
Specimen stamp
A specimen stamp is a postage stamp or postal stationery indicium sent to postmasters and postal administrations so that they are able to identify valid stamps and to avoid forgeries....
or similar material was included, nor was any material from after the 1969 Libyan Revolution.
In 1992, Davies donated horizontal strips of five of each stamp to the British Library. The balance of the archive was retained by Davies and none has been sold as of July 2011. No mint examples of the stamps in the archive have been reported and none should be available on the philatelic market. The only mint examples known are in the British Library collection and those retained personally by Davies.
The stamps include requisition (order) numbers in the selvedge but the numbers of each stamp printed are not known as the Bradbury Wilkinson requisition books showing that information are missing.
Further reading
- "Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co." by Robson LoweRobson LoweJohn Harry Robson Lowe , Robbie to his friends, was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer.- Life and career :...
in The Revenue Journal of Great BritainRevenue SocietyThe Revenue Society was formed in 1990 and is the only international philatelic society which covers revenue stamps of the whole world...
, Vol. III, No. 4, March 1993, pp. 81-85. (Continued in Vol. IV, Nos. 1 & 2.) - "Libia e Cirenaica." by John N. Davies in Fiscali, No. 24, 1995, pp. 207-212.
- "Libya: Duty/Revenue stamps since 1880." by Mohamed Ali Siala in The London PhilatelistThe London PhilatelistThe London Philatelist was first published in January 1892 and is the journal of the Royal Philatelic Society London.It is published ten times annually and includes coverage of worldwide philatelic and postal history topics...
, Vol. 105, No. 1239, October 1996, pp. 271-274. - "Libya: More about the revenue issues." by John N. Davies in The London Philatelist, Vol. 105, No. 1241, December 1996, pp. 330-334.