James A. Mackay
James Alexander Mackay (21 November 1936 – 12 August 2007) was a prolific Scottish writer and philatelist whose reputation was damaged by a criminal conviction for theft and repeated accusations of plagiarism. In an obituary by John Holman, Editor of the British Philatelic Bulletin, Mackay was described as a "philatelic writer without equal".[1] Mackay's output was broad and in philatelic works rivalled only by Fred Melville.
Education
Mackay was born in Inverness and educated in Glasgow where he also attended the university. Later in life Mackay was awarded a Doctor of Literature (D.Litt) degree by Glasgow University.
Scottish posts
Interested in stamps and the postal system from an early age, he wrote two acclaimed histories of the Scottish posts; one limited to St. Kilda and, in 1978, his History of Scottish Postmarks, 1693-1978, the definitive work on the subject. He became a prolific philatelic author, especially on English, Irish and Scottish postmarks and also produced popular Postal History Annuals and island series books. He wrote some 200 books and at least 10,000 articles. Mackay's interest in the postal history of St Kilda had been formed during his time stationed there during his army service in the 1950s.
Criminal conviction
In 1972 Mackay was dismissed from his job as an assistant keeper at the British Museum in London after he was convicted at the Old Bailey of stealing valuable proof stamps.[2] He had pleaded guilty to five charges of stealing progressive proofs from the Museum in 1965 and 1966 and was fined £1000. He had exchanged the proofs with dealer Clive Feigenbaum for Winston Churchill themed stamps.[3]
Writing
He was the editor of The Burns Chronicle from 1976 to 1992 which under his stewardship reached a level of quality and diversity it has not achieved before or since. He then turned to biography, where he was less successful. Through the 1980s he worked on a biography of Robert Burns which was published in 1992 to favourable reviews and which won the Saltire Award. Subsequent biographies of Allan Pinkerton and William Wallace received more mixed reviews.
1996 saw the release of Michael Collins: A Life, a work about the life of the famed Irish revolutionary which received excellent reviews.
Mackay also wrote books under a number of different pseudonyms including Ian Angus, William Finlay, Bruce Garden, Alex Matheson and Peter Whittington.[4][5]
Accusations of plagiarism
In 1998, he published a biography of Alexander Graham Bell. It was on the market briefly before Robert V. Bruce published a damning indictment, detailing sustained plagiarism of his own work, Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude. Far from being a little-known work, the latter had in fact won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. The indictment, published in the American Historical Association's house journal, counted instances of plagiarism on 80 percent of the pages published. Mackay paid his publishers to withdraw the book from circulation, and Bruce agreed not to sue.[6][7]
Mackay then published a biography of John Paul Jones, the founder of the US Navy. While initially well received, and the subject of flattering reviews in the trade press, it was soon discovered that it was practically a copy of what those same reviews had marked as the last work on the man, that by Samuel Eliot Morison in 1942. That biography too had won the Pulitzer.
Columbia University history professor David Armitage was quoted in the New York Times as saying that the book was "a spectacular and sustained act of plagiarism."[8][9]
Despite these accusations, Mackay continued to be commissioned to write articles for the philatelic press and it has been said that almost the entire text of some editions of Stamp & Coin Mart, a popular British magazine, were written by him.
Death
Mackay died on 12 August 2007 at the age of 70 in Glasgow.[10]
Publications
Philatelic
- The World of Stamps
- St Kilda; Its Posts and Communications, 1963
- The Tapling Collection of Postage Stamps and Telegraph Stamps and Postal Stationery, British Museum, 53 pp, 1964
- Tristan Da Cunha: Its Postal History and Philately, 72 pp,,Mackay & Crabb, 1965
- Commonwealth Stamp Design 1840-1965, British Museum, 32 pp, 1965
- Malta - The story of Malta and her stamps, Philatelic Publishers, 96 pp, 1966, ISBN 0900864109
- Money in Stamps, Johnson Publications, 240 pp, 1967, ISBN 0853070008
- The Story of Great Britain and her Stamps, Philatelic Publishers Ltd, 158 pp, 1967
- The Story of Éire and Her Stamps, Philatelic Publishers, 1968
- Cover Collecting - A Collecta Guide to First Day & Other Covers, Philatelic Publishers, 1968
- East Africa: The Story of East Africa and Its Stamps, Philatelic Publishers, 192 pp, 1970, ISBN 090086401X
- New Encyclopedia of Stamps, IPC Magazines, 1970
- Airmails, 1870-1970, Batsford, 216 pp, 1971, ISBN 0713403802
- The World of Classic Stamps; 1840-1870, New York: Putnam, 1972.
- The Dictionary of Stamps in Colour, Michael Joseph, 296 pp, 1973, ISBN 0718111249
- An Illustrated History of Stamp Design, Peter Lowe, 187 pp, 1974, ISBN0856546097
- Encyclopedia of World Stamps, 1945-1975, Lionel Leventhal Ltd, 160 pp, 1976, ISBN 0070445958
- Scottish Postmarks 1693-1987, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 68 pp, 1978
- The Circular Name Stamps of Scotland, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 1978
- The Skeleton Postmarks of Scotland, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 1978
- Stamp Collecting, Park Lane Press, 80pp, 1980
- British Post Office Numbers 1924-1969, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 50 pp, 1981
- Telegraphic Codes of the British Isles, 1879-1924, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 90 pp, 1981
- The Parcel Post of the British Isles, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 232 pp, 1982
- Registered Mail of the British Isles, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 395 pp, 1982
- Irish Postmarks Since 1840, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 222 pp, 1982
- The Guinness Book of Stamps: Facts and Feats, Perseus Distribution Services, 225 pp, 1982, ISBN 0851122418; 2nd Edition, Guinness Publishing Ltd, 225 pp, 1989, ISBN 0851123511
- Official Mail of the British Isles, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 349 pp, 1983
- The Postal History of Glasgow, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 1984
- British Stamps, Longman, 247 pp, 1985, ISBN 058240620X
- Sub Office Rubber Datestamps of Ireland, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 1985
- Postal History of Dumfries, 1986, self published,120 pp, ISBN 0906440386
- English Provincial Krags (Machine Cancellations) 1987
- Postmarks of England and Wales, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 352 pp, 1988, ISBN 0906440467
- Philatelic Terms Illustrated, Stanley Gibbons Limited, 4th edition, 2003, 173 pp, ISBN 0852595573
- The World Encyclopedia of Stamps and Stamp Collecting, 2005, Lorenz Books, 256 pp, ISBN 0754815307
- 1800 Stamps of the World: A Stunning Visual Directory of Rare and Familiar Issues, Organized Country by Country with over 1800 Images of Collectables from up to 200 Countries, Southwater, 160 pp, 2007, ISBN 1844763463
- The Floating Post Offices of the Clyde, J.A. Mackay: self-published
- Scottish Twin-Arc Postmarks with Stampers Numbers 1894-1963, J.A. Mackay: self-published
- Sub Office Rubber Datestamps of Scotland, J.A. Mackay: self-published
- English and Welsh Postmarks Since 1840, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 254 pp
- Surcharged Mail of the British Isles, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 138 pp
- Irish Slogan Postmarks 1919-1983, J.A. Mackay: self-published, 76 pp
- Dátstampái Rubair na bhFo-Oificí an Phoist in Éirinn, J.A. Mackay: self-published
- Postal History Annual 1979 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1979
- Postal History Annual 1980 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1980
- Postal History Annual 1981 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1981
- Postal History Annual 1982 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1982
- Postal History Annual 1983 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1983
- Postal History Annual 1984 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1984
- Postal History Annual 1985 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1985
- Postal History Annual 1986 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1986
- Under the Gum – Background to British Stamps 1840–1940, James Bendon, 536 pp, 1997, ISBN 9963579760
Scottish Islands Postal History Series
-
- No. 1: Harris & St Kilda J.A. Mackay: self-published 80 pgs
- No. 2: The Uists & Barra J.A. Mackay: self-published 57 pgs
- No. 3: Lewis J.A. Mackay: self-published 62 pgs
- No. 4: Skye and the Small Isles J.A. Mackay: self-published 70 pgs
- No. 5: Arran & Cumbrae J.A. Mackay: self-published 39 pgs
- No. 6: Bute J.A. Mackay: self-published 38 pgs
- No. 7: Orkney & Stroma J.A. Mackay: self-published 64 pgs
- No. 8: Shetland J.A. Mackay: self-published 70 pgs
- No. 9: Mull, Iona, Coll & Tiree J.A. Mackay: self-published 37 pgs
- No. 10: Islay, Jura and the other Argyll Isles J.A. Mackay: self-published 39 pgs
- No. 11: Scottish Islands Supplement & Catalogue J.A. Mackay: self-published 64 pgs
- No. 12: Isle of Wight J.A. Mackay: self-published 112 pgs
Biographies
- Vagabond of Verse: Robert Service - a Biography, Trafalgar Square ISBN 1851587047 1996
- Allan Pinkerton: The First Private Eye, John Wiley & Sons, Somerset, NJ ISBN 0471194158 1997
- Michael Collins: A Life, Trafalgar Square ISBN 1851588574 1997
- Alexander Graham Bell: A Life, John Wiley & Sons, Somerset, NJ ISBN 0471240451 1998
- William Wallace: Brave Heart, Mainstream, ISBN 185158823X 1995
- The Man Who Invented Himself: a Life of Sir Thomas Lipton, Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh ISBN 1851588310 1998
Robert Burns
- The Complete Letters of Robert Burns, 1987, Alloway Publishing, 862 pp, ISBN 0907526322
- The Complete Works of Robert Burns, 1988, Hyperion Books, 704 pp, ISBN 0907526233
- Burns A-Z: the Complete Word Finder, 1990, (self published), 774 pp, ISBN 0906440513, ISBN 0906440505
- Burns: A Biography of Robert Burns, 1992, Mainstream Publishing, 672 pp, ISBN 1851584625
- Robert Burns, the Complete Poetical Works, 1993, Alloway Publishing Ltd, 640 pp, ISBN 0907526624
- Burns, A Biography, 2004, Alloway Publishing Ltd, 749 pp, ISBN 0907526861
Other subjects
- Antiques of the future; a guide for collectors and investors, 1970, Universe Books, 208 pp, ISBN 0876631170
- Glass Paperweights, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1973, 136 pp, ISBN 0706311027
- The Animaliers: A Collector's Guide to the Animal Sculptors of the 19th & 20th Centuries, Dutton, 1973, 160 pp, ISBN 0525054987
- Dictionary of Western Sculptors in Bronze, 1973, Antique Collector's Club, 1977, 414 pp, ISBN 0902028553
- Coins: Facts and Feats, 1993, Spink & Son Ltd, 276 pp, ISBN 1852640693
- Clans and Tartans of Scotland, 2000, ISBN 0517162407
- Glasgow's Other River : Exploring the Kelvin, 2000, Fort Publishing Ltd, 240 pp, published under pseudonym Alex Matheson, ISBN 0953657620
- Soldiering on St Kilda, 2002, Token Publishing Ltd, 180 pp, ISBN 1870192486
- The St Kilda Steamers, 2006, The History Press Ltd, 192 pp, ISBN 0752438786
References and sources
- Notes
- Sources
- John Holman, Obituary: James Alexander Mackay: Philatelic writer without equal, Gibbons Stamp Monthly, October 2007, p.16.
External links
Persondata |
Name |
Mackay, James A |
Alternative names |
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Short description |
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Date of birth |
21 November 1936 |
Place of birth |
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Date of death |
12 August 2007 |
Place of death |
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