The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is now accepting nominations for its annual Crawford Medal through the end of May.
The world’s oldest stamp society, founded in 1869, the RPSL awards the Crawford Medal “for the most valuable and original contribution to the study and knowledge of philately in book form, whether physical or electronic,” according to Jon Aitchison, RPSL honorary secretary. Because this year’s selection meeting was postponed until July 7 due to COVID-19, the RPSL is seeking nominations until May 31 for any book on a philatelic subject published (and available for sale) in 2019 or 2020.
The honour is open to all authors, whether they’re RPSL members or not, and nominations are accepted from any person or group even if they have no RPSL affiliation.
Nominations should be sent to Nicola Davies, RPSL Head of Collections, 15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW, or emailed to her at librarian@rpsl.org.uk. A non-returnable copy of the nominated book must be supplied to the RPSL library by that date if it does not already have one.
The silver-gilt Crawford Medal features a portrait of the Earl of Crawford, a noted bibliophile. It was instituted in 1914 but not awarded until 1920 and “has been awarded in most of the 101 years since,” Aitchison added.
CANADIAN CONNECTION
In 1962, Nicholas André Argenti (1896-1961) was posthumously awarded the Crawford Medal for his work, The Postage Stamps of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which was published after his death.
Argenti was a British stockbroker who served as a captain in the British Army during the First World War and a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. In 1963, two years after his death, Argenti’s collection was sold by Harmer, Rooke & Co., realizing £42,214 altogether.
In 1947, Winthrop Smillie Boggs (1902-74) was awarded the Crawford Medal for his work, The Postage Stamps and Postal History of Canada, which was published to much acclaim in 1945. Another of Boggs’ works, The Postage Stamps and Postal History of Newfoundland, was published in 1942.
Boggs was a long-time member of the Collectors Club of New York, which he served in a variety of roles. From 1945-61, he also served as the first executive director of the Philatelic Foundation.