A serendipitous meeting on a boat at the recent Bournemouth Air Festival, held in the large resort town of Bournemouth on England’s south coast, earned the Postal History Society (PHS) the support of the town’s mayor.
The Bournemouth Echo reports Bournemouth Mayor John Adams and PHS President Claire Scott, who shared the fated meeting on the boat, recently opened their joint exhibition entitled “A Postal History of Bournemouth” on the second floor of Bournemouth Central Library. Things have gone so swimmingly, in fact, Adams has been invited to the 80th annual PHS Conference this Sept. 30-Oct. 2.
Postal History of Bournemouth exhibition of Centenary themed stamps & postcards. Bmth Library 2nd floor from 3rd May pic.twitter.com/VtUf8FWLLr
— BournemouthLibraries (@Bmthlibs) April 27, 2016
With the help of Scott’s husband as well as fellow philatelist Charles Kiddle, who loaned material from his “unique” collection, the exhibition explores the collection amassed by esteemed philatelist and famed Bournemouth stamp dealer and auctioneer Robson Lowe, who was also a founding member of the PHS.
After being acquired by former Bournemouth mayor Gordon Anstee, the collection was acquired by Kiddle in 1992. The PHS exhibition provides an analysis of Bournemouth’s postal service throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the story of the town’s first post office, established in 1839. It also shines light on key personalities such as Queen Victoria, whose correspondence sent from the Isle of Wight to former British prime minister Ben Disraeli belongs to the exhibition. It runs until May 26.