Harry Weiss of Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, 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...

 who spent most of his philatelic career writing on the subject of stamp collecting

Stamp collecting

Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with the number of collectors in the United States alone estimated to be over 20 million.- Collecting :...

.

Philatelic literature

From the 1930s to 1960, Weiss wrote extensively on the hobby aspect of stamp collecting. He wrote columns in a number of periodicals, such as in the Weekly Philatelic Gossip, where he was the editor and would describe to his readers new postage stamps being issued, philatelic gossip, stamps that he felt would be desirable to purchase, and so on. He also wrote several other columns for the Weekly Philatelic Gossip: Canadian Round Table and Inside Straight. In 1961 Weekly Philatelic Gossip ceased publication, and Weiss continued his discussion of stamp collecting in Stamps, where he maintained a column entitled Stamp Market Tips until he finally died in 1966. Weiss married Pearl Drucilla Rank (1885–1959) in 1919.

During his tenure as editor of Weekly Philatelic Gossip, Weiss re-published a number of philatelic books, including, in 1943, The Postage Stamps of the United States by John Nicholas Luff

John N. Luff

John Nicholas Luff of New York City was one of the important philatelists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, notable as an early user of scientific methods in the study of postage stamps...

, originally published in 1902.

Philatelic activity

Weiss established in 1946 the Midwest Philatelic Laboratory, which provided a number of philatelic services, such as verifying the authenticity of rare stamps, a process known as expertizing; and other services, such as guidance to collectors on the mounting of stamps to prevent damage; assessing the value of a collection, a process known as appraising; and, providing advice on the sale and disposal of stamp collections. In 1961, he merged with Dorothy Fleischli and the organization was renamed Dorhar Philatelic Enterprises.

Honors and awards

Harry Weiss 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 1967.