National Philatelic Society

The society logo.

The National Philatelic Society is one of two national philatelic societies in Great Britain. The other is the Royal Philatelic Society London.

History

Fred Melville, as pictured in Gibbons Stamp Weekly, February 1905, at the time of the Junior Philatelic Exhibition.

The National, as it is known, was formed in 1899 by Fred Melville and the first meeting is believed to have been at a shop in Clapham, South London.[1] Melville had applied for membership of the Philatelic Society, London, now The Royal Philatelic Society London, but was rejected as he was under 18 years of age. This led to him forming The Junior Philatelic Society (now The National Philatelic Society) that same year.

The society was a huge success, capitalising on pent-up demand for a philatelic society that anyone could join and the new society soon had to seek a larger meeting place. In 1906 Melville formed a Manchester branch of the society. Branches were also formed at Brighton and Liverpool.[2]

The success of the J.P.S. in its early years has been attributed to the partnership between Melville as propagandist and writer, and Herbert "Johnny" Johnson as businessman and organiser.[3]

Aims

The Constitution of the society (1997) states: [4]

The cover of Stamp Lover, the society's magazine.

"The Aims of the Society shall be:

(a) To promote, encourage and contribute to the advancement of the practice of philately in all its branches.
 (b) To encourage and undertake the preparation and publication of books, catalogues, guides, journals and papers bearing on philately.
 (c) To provide facilities for the practice of philately and to assist and encourage young philatelists.
 (d) To encourage the detection and prevention of philatelic fakes, forgeries and spurious material and to give assistance in the prosecution of offenders.
 (e) To establish and maintain a permanent centre for philately."

Today

Today the society is still going strong, and continues to hold regular meetings and to publish its journal Stamp Lover, as it has since 1908.[5] The society also has an extensive philatelic library. The NPS had a stand at the Ideal Home Show in November 2011 in an attempt to revitalise interest in philately among the general public.[6]

The society was based at the British Postal Museum & Archive in Clerkenwell, London. As the Archive is moving to new premises in Calthorpe Street[7] many of their meetings are now held at the nearby Welsh Centre, 157-163 Gray's Inn Road, LONDON WC1X 8UE.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mackay, James. The Complete Guide to Stamps and Stamp Collecting. London: Hermes House, 2005, p.75. ISBN 1-84477-726-X
  2. ↑ Furnell, Michael., ed. National Philatelic Society Centenary Handbook. London: National Philatelic Society, 1999, pp.16-17. ISBN 0-906291-02-X
  3. ↑ "Herbert Johnny Johnson 1884-1966" by Michael Goodman in Furnell, Michael., ed. National Philatelic Society Centenary Handbook. London: National Philatelic Society, 1999, p.11. ISBN 0-906291-02-X
  4. ↑ http://www.ukphilately.org.uk/nps/officers/constitution.htm NPS Constitution.
  5. ↑ The Philately of the Edwardian Era as shown in its Literature by David Beech, Barnet & District Philatelic Society, 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  6. ↑ http://nationalphilatelicsociety.co.uk/index.php/news Press Release
  7. ↑ http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/page/new-postal-museum
  8. ↑ http://www.ukphilately.org.uk/nps/about/about.htm

External links