Robson Lowe
Robson Lowe | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 January 1905 London, England |
| Died | 19 August 1997 (aged 92) Bournemouth, England |
| Occupation(s) | Philatelist, stamp dealer, auctioneer |
| Known for | Pioneer of postal history, founder of Robson Lowe Ltd. |
John Harry Robson Lowe (born 7 January 1905 in London, died 19 August 1997 in Bournemouth) was a distinguished English expert in philately, as well as a renowned stamp dealer and auctioneer specializing in stamps.
Life and career
Robson Lowe is widely acknowledged as the pioneer of postal history, a field he helped define through his seminal publications. He coined the term itself in his 1948 work Handstruck Postage Stamps of the Empire 1680–1900. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Lichtenstein Medal by the Collectors Club of New York in 1970.
His philatelic journey commenced at Fox & Co. in 1926, the same year he established Robson Lowe Ltd. on Regent Street, London. The business moved to 50 Pall Mall in 1940, and from 1945 onwards, he managed an auction operation based in Bournemouth. Due to health constraints, he was exempt from military service during World War II. Notably, Lowe refused to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists because it included Adrian Albert Jurgens of South Africa, whom Lowe accused of being a forger.
Renowned for his charismatic and larger-than-life character, Lowe was said to have won an orange farm in South Africa through a card game, which he subsequently traded for a stamp collection.
In addition to his focus on postal history, Lowe was an early proponent of revenue philately, an area largely overlooked at the time. He became the inaugural President of The Revenue Society in 1990.
Publications
Lowe authored numerous influential philatelic works, with his most ambitious project being The Encyclopaedia of British Empire Postage Stamps, an extensive but incomplete series expanding upon the earlier Regent catalogue. His Volume 5 earned him the Crawford Medal in 1974, and in 1991 he became the first stamp dealer to be named an Honorary member of the Royal Philatelic Society London.
- The Encyclopaedia of British Empire Postage Stamps. London: Robson Lowe
- Volume 1: Great Britain and the Empire in Europe, 1948 (second edition 1952; 456 pages)
- Volume 2: The Empire In Africa, 1949
- Volume 3: The Empire in Asia, 1951
- Volume 4: The Empire in Australasia, 1962 (with a supplement issued in 1976)
- Volume 5: North America, 1973 (available in standard and deluxe editions)
- Volume 6: Leeward Islands. London: Christie's Robson Lowe, 1991; 293 pages
- The Regent Catalogue of Empire Postage Stamps. London: Robson Lowe, published between 1932 and 1949
- The Regent Encyclopaedia of Empire Postage Stamps. London: Halcyon Book Company Ltd., 1935; 240 pages
- Handstruck Postage Stamps of the Empire 1680–1900. London: Herbert Joseph Ltd., first published in 1937 (third edition with supplement released in 1940)
- Masterpieces of Engraving on Postage Stamps, 1840–1940. London: The Postal History Society, 1943; 96 pages
- How Rare Stamps and Collections are Sold. London: Robson Lowe, 1947; pamphlet of 15 pages
- The Codrington Correspondence, 1743–1851. London: Robson Lowe, 1951; 112 pages
- The Work of Jean de Sperati. London: British Philatelic Association, issued between 1955 and 1956; includes plates totaling 214 pages
- The Colonial Posts in the United States of America, 1606–1783. Co-authored with Kay Horowicz. London: Robson Lowe, 1967; 52 pages
- British Postage Stamps of the 19th Century. National Postal Museum edition first issued in 1968; second edition appeared in 1979
- The Kings of Egypt and Their Stamps 1860–1960. London: Robson Lowe, published in 1969
- The Harrisons of Waterlows, documenting engravers T.S. Harrison and Ronald Harrison at Waterlow Bros., London from 1897 to1912. Published by Robson Lowe in1970
- Specialized research covering issues from Brunei (1973), Transvaal (1973), Uganda Missionaries (1974), and De La Rue Key Plates (1979)
- Studies addressing forgeries and postal history concerning China, Tibet, Japanese occupation zones, as well as Oswald Schroeder forgeries during the latter half of the twentieth century
- Technical examinations such as The Die Proofs of Waterlow & Sons (circa1985), co-written with Colin Fraser
- Historical correspondence publications including the Knights of Malta Lazara Correspondence (1987) and Inland Posts (1392–1672), released by Christie's Robson Lowe during the late1980s
- Later detailed analyses on forgeries attributed to Erasmo Oneglia and Angelo Panelli (1996), along with expanded editions on Jean de Sperati’s work (2001), co-authored with Carl Walske
These writings demonstrate Lowe’s deliberate emphasis on producing authoritative philatelic catalogues combined with specialized historical investigations that solidified his firm’s standing within the international stamp collecting community.
See also
External links
- Official website
- Jean de Sperati's Work II Wayback Machine archived version