The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921 to honour those who have advanced philately through research, expertise, or service. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their names. New honorees continue to be added annually.
Selection of the signatories Those who have assisted the development of philately through their research, expertise or giving their time can be candidates to sign the Roll if they are sponsored by one of the existing signatories. The following four years, the candidate is examined once a year with the other current ones by a Board of election.Arthur Ronald Butler, The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, The British Philatelic Federation Limited, 1990
The ceremony of signature of the Roll happens at the annual Philatelic Congress of Great Britain. Under the Congress' rules, the signatories can talk and vote during the Congress.Arthur Ronald Butler, "The Beginning", chapter one of The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, The British Philatelic Federation Limited, 1990, page 7.
Forty-two philatelists were honoured posthumously on the first page of the Roll as "Fathers of Philately".Arthur Ronald Butler, "The Roll and the 'Fathers of Philately'", chapter 2 of The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, The British Philatelic Federation Limited, 1990
Four other names were added in the 1950s at the bottom of the first page. In 1951, Edward R. Woodward (died 1931) and J. Stanley Telfer (died 1938) were honoured by the Board of election because they were two important philatelists and member of the Board. In 1956, because the Board was sure they would have been called to sign the Roll if they would have lived longer, United States citizen Clarence W. Hennan and A. Tort Nicolau of Spain were added too.
History of the Roll On 30 October 1919, Percy C. Bishop, a member of the London Stamp Club, proposed the institution of an "Philatelic Order of Merit" to honour philatelic writers. This order would be given more importance than existing philatelic prizes and would have an international importance. In late 1919, F. H. Vallencey, president of the club, presented the idea to the readers of his Stamp Collecting paper. In March 1920, a jury of fiveThe members of the jury were Percy C. Bishop, Derek Ingram, Fred J. Melville, G. L. Tinker and F. Hugh Vallencey ; in Arthur Ronald Butler, The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, 1990, pages 3-4. published a list of twenty-five names who the jury selected from the ninety-one names sent by the readers and British associations.Arthur Ronald Butler, "The Beginning", chapter 1 of The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, The British Philatelic Federation Limited, 1990, pages 1—5.
However, to gain official recognition, the London Stamp Club let the associative members of the 1920 Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in Newcastle upon Tyne decide the future of Bishop's idea. A sub-committee was constituted to find a new name and write rules of the award.Arthur Ronald Butler, "The Beginning", chapter 1 of The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, The British Philatelic Federation Limited, 1990, pages 5—6.
At the 1921 Congress in Harrogate, the "Roll of Distinguished Philatelists" was created without any discussion."Not only was the Roll presented as a fait accompli", wrote Arthur Ronald Butler, in « The Beginning », chapter 1 of The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, The British Philatelic Federation Limited, 1990, page 6. The subcommittee has already got the signature of King and philatelist George V on the printed parchment, the twenty-four of the selected by the first jury and fifteen other philatelists were already invited to sign the Roll on the last day of the Congress.Arthur Ronald Butler, "The Beginning", chapter 1 of The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, The British Philatelic Federation Limited, 1990, pages 6—7.
Starting in 1922, the selection of the signatories was annual except between the Congresses of 1940 and 1946 because of World War II.Arthur Ronald Butler, The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, The British Philatelic Federation Limited, 1990, page 89.
The "fathers of philately" The names of forty-two deceased philatelists are printed on the Roll page that was signed between 1921 and 1935. They were placed in the ribbons that ornate the two columns on each side of the page. They were included as "fathers of philately".
James H. Abbott (1851–1914, United Kingdom),Background notes on The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists September 2011, Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Trust, London, 2011. Archived here. pioneer of the overprint collection. Sir William Beilby Avery (1854–1908, United Kingdom), director of W & T Avery Ltd., great collector."Death of Sir W.B. Avery, Bart." in The London Philatelist, Vol. XVII, No. 203, November 1908, pp. 256-7. François Georges Oscar Berger-Levrault (1823–1906, France), printer and collector, author of the first stamp catalogue in 1862. Friedrich Andreas Breitfuss (1851–1911, Russia), one of the collectors of essays and proofs. Mount Brown (1837–1919, United Kingdom), author of a stamp catalogue between 1862 and 1864. Maitland Burnett (1844–1918, United Kingdom), editor of The Philatelic Record. Gustave (1848–1894) and Martial Caillebotte (1853–1910, France), artists and stamp collectors. Marcellus Purnell Castle (1849–1917, United Kingdom), President of the Royal Philatelic Society London from 1913 to 1917, editor of The London Philatelist. Daniel Cooper (1821–1902, United Kingdom), first President of the Philatelic Society, London from 1869 to 1878.Note biographique dans l'index « Who was Who? » (« qui fut qui ? ») sur le site du British Philatelic Trust, page consultée le 17 août 2007. Henry J. Crocker (1861–1912, United States), great collector. J. A. Dunbar-Dunbar (1849–1905, United Kingdom), a Scottish reverend, his Australian collection went to the Museum of Science and Art in Edinburgh."Death of the Rev. J.A. Dunbar-Dunbar" in The London Philatelist, Vol. XV, No. 169, January 1906, pp. 11-12. Henry J. Duveen (born in the Netherlands), important collector. Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (1844–1900, United Kingdom), King George V's uncle, Honorary President of the Philatelic Society, London of 1890 to 1900. Philip la Renotiere von FerraryAs printed in Arthur Ronald Butler, "The Roll and the 'Fathers of Philately'", chapter 2 of The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, The British Philatelic Federation Limited, 1990, page 14. (c. 1859 – 1917, Austria), rich buyer of stamps and stationery from many countries. Douglas Garth (15 May 1852 – 6 January 1900 United Kingdom), Honorary Secretary of the Philatelic Society, London from 1888 to 1894, collector of India."The Late Mr. Douglas Garth." in The London Philatelist, Vol. IX, No. 97, January 1900, pp. 2-3. John Edward Gray (1800–1875, United Kingdom), zoologist at the British Museum, author of A Hand Catalogue for the Use of Collectors. Gilbert Harrison (1858–1894, United Kingdom), specialist of Afghanistan and Portuguese India. Leslie Leopold Rudolph Hausburg (1872–1917, United Kingdom), Honorary Secretary of the Royal Philatelic Society London from 1913 to 1917, spécialist of plating. Andrew Houison (1850–1912, Australia), specialist of the postal history of New South Wales. Henry King-Tenison, 8th Earl of Kingston (1848–1896, United Kingdom), President of the Philatelic Society, London from 1892 to 1896. Jacques Amable Legrand (1820–1912, France), pioneer of philately in France, inventor of the perforation gauge. Gerald FitzGerald, 5th Duke of Leinster (1851–1897, United Kingdom), important Irish collector. James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford (1847–1913, United Kingdom), President of the Royal Philatelic Society London from 1910 to 1913, bibliophile, one of the first to include essays and proofs in his collections.Biographic note on the Hall of Fame of the American Philatelic Society, 1931 ; page retrieved 15 April 2009. Pierre Mahé (1833–1913, France), stamp dealer in Paris, in charge of Philipp von Ferrary's collection. David Parkes Masson (1857–1915, United Kingdom), specialist of India. Arthur Maury (1844–1907, France), stamp dealer in Paris, philatelic author and journalist, editor of Le Collectionneur de timbres-poste. Paul Mirabaud (1848–1908, France), specialist of Switzerland. Jean-Baptiste Moens (1833–1908, Belgium), stamp dealer in Brussels and philatelic author. Edward J. Nankivell (1848–1909, United Kingdom), journalist founder of The Postage Stamp in 1907, collector of China, New Zealand and Transvaal. Maria Pardo de Figueroa (1828–1918, Spain), one of the first specialist of postal markings. Edward Loines Pemberton (1844–1878, United Kingdom), stamp dealer and philatelic author, founding member of the Philatelic Society, London. Frederick Adolphus Philbrick (1835–1910, United Kingdom), founding member of the Philatelic Society, London. Dr. José Marcó del Pont (1851–1917, Argentina), specialist of Argentina and Latin America. Arthur de Rothschild (1851–1903, Belgium), collector of unused stamps issued between 1860 and 1880. Harold Row (1840–1919, United Kingdom),collector of Siam. Gordon Smith (1856–1905, United Kingdom), specialist of South Australia and director of Stanley Gibbons. Thomas Keay Tapling (1855–1891, United Kingdom), pioneer of stamp collecting. John Kerr Tiffany (1842–1897, United States), first President of the American Philatelic Society, specialist of the United States and bibliophile. John Alexander Tilleard (1850–1913, United Kingdom), Honorary Secretary of the Royal Philatelic Society London from 1894 to 1913, Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection from 1910 to 1913. Charles William Viner (1812–1906, United Kingdom), already a collector in 1860, writer for philatelic papers, founding member and Honorary Secretary (1871–1874) of the Philatelic Society, London. William Amos Scarborough Westoby (1815–1899, United Kingdom), philatelic journalist. Hastings Elwin Wright (1861–1897, United Kingdom), collector of British stamps in high quality state.
In 2021, two new names were added to the "fathers of philately" to represent the many German and Austrian philatelists who were omitted due to anti-German feeling when the roll was created immediately after the end of the First World War: Alfred Moschkau (1848–1912, Germany) Victor Suppantschitsch (1838–1919, Austria)
List of signatories
1921 Among the forty first signatories are twenty-four out of the twenty-five proposed by the initial jury in 1920:Arthur Ronald Butler, "The Beginning", chapter 1 of The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, 1990, pages 4-5.
Peter John Anderson (1853–1926, United Kingdom), bibliophile and historian of philatelic literature.Biographies of the 1921 signatories in Arthur Ronald Butler, The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, 1990, pages 46-64. Dr. Justus Anderssen (1867–1938, Norway), specialist of the stamps of Norway. Edward Denny Bacon (1860–1938, United Kingdom), President of the Philatelic Society London from 1917 to 1923, Curator of the Royal Philatelic Collection from 1913 to 1938.André Hurtré, "L'Académie de philatélie a 80 ans - son histoire - ses membres", Documents philatéliques #197, Académie de philatélie, 3rd trimester 2008, pages 5–44.Biography on the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame website, years 1970–1974. Arthur Thomas Bate (c. 1850–1922, New Zealand), specialist of the stamps of New Zealand. Walter Dorning Beckton (1866–1931, United Kingdom), precursor of the "scientific philately" and of the "Manchester School", President of the Manchester Philatelic Society, of the first Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1909 and of the Royal Philatelic Society London from 1929 to 1931.Biographical note , Who was Who?, British Philatelic Trust website ; retrieved 17 August 2007.