Robson Lowe

John Harry Robson Lowe (7 January, 1905 London – 19 August, 1997 Bournemouth), Robbie to his friends, was a professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer. He is regarded by philatelists as the father of postal history, having published many definitive works on the subject and having introduced the term in his first major book Handstruck Postage Stamps of the Empire 1680-1900 in 1948.

Block quote ROBSON LOWE: THE CROWNED HEAD OF PHILATELY

PART 1: INCEPTION TO THE WAR YEARS

by

Stanley M. Bierman, M.D.

Robson Lowe, affectionately known to his many friends as "Robbie", was once referred to by a colleague at the 50th anniversary celebration of the British Postal Society as The Father of Postal History. Lowe was quick to counter that he looked upon himself, "...not the father (but rather) the gynecologist** (of postal history)." (1) He may have merited, more correctly, the sobriquet of the Crowned Head of Philately. Whether either title is appropriate or not, Robson Lowe has earned the enduring respect of the entire philatelic community for his scholarly writings on British Empire issues, as well as the fondness and admiration of generations of stamp collectors who have come to know him personally.

Robson Lowe was born in Fulham, South West London on January 7, 1905 and christened John (after his father) Harry (after his uncle) Robson (after his godfather) Lowe. In later years he employed the shortened moniker Robson Lowe for business name registration. His father, John Boyd Lowe, was a gas explosives expert for the Gas Light and Coke Co. His mother, Gertrude Lee, was daughter of the Hunt family, whose forebears had been weavers of uniforms and livery cloth in the Forest of Dean since 1660. Lowe's mother sustained a heart attack shortly after his birth which circumstance confined her to bed rest for five years. He was reared by a foster mother and also by a sister, Nancy Maud Lowe, ten years his senior. Lowe began collecting postage stamps in 1911 following a visit with his sister to Alec Abrahams, a stamp dealer in Fulham Road. Charmed by the color and design of the first Bosnia pictorials, he made his first stamp purchase for sixpence. Encouraged by his friendly philatelic mentor, Lowe splurged one shilling and nine pence on his tenth birthday to acquire 1,000 British Empire stamps and became forever ensnared in the engrossing hobby.

Lowe was educated at Fulham Central School, and while still a student he sold stamps to school chums. Culled from boxes of postage stamps that he had acquired at auction from Harmer, Rooke and Co., the enterprising young stamp dealer was able to realize a handsome profit from sales. With the outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 1914, Lowe's sister joined the war effort and sold her own stamp collection to her younger brother which acquisition further enhanced his budding philatelic holdings. By the time he was twelve, Lowe was learning plating from George Ginger of Manchester who started his young protege on plate positions of New South Wales Sydney Views.

In 1919 Lowe sustained a serious fracture and dislocation of his right arm, and the injury ended his formal education. In the course of treatment for the infirmity, Lowe developed xray burns which event seemed to portend a short life span. The doctor who had attended his birth, took an active interest during

• • From purely a medical standpoint, a gynecologist deals with diseases of the female perineum. Robbie could more appropriately have designated himself as an obstetrician: one who delivers babies, hence giving birth to (or at least popularizing) this philatelic field of endeavor.

this period of rehabilitation and exhorted his patient to take up swimming which activity arrested, then cured, the paralysis that had been Lowe's major physical handicap. Encouraged by the physician to seek an avocation that would provide him distraction from the physical limitations of his ailment, Lowe decided on a career in stamps.

Robson Lowe sought employment in the stamp trade, and on May 6, 1920 found himself at Fox & Company, a philatelic concern of South Kensington, looking for a position with Humphrey Golding. An old-time stamp dealer, the steely-eyed managing director of the firm came quickly to recognize that his 15 year old recruit had intentions of joining the company to learn all he could before setting up a competitive philatelic business. Lowe was quickly shown the door by Golding and given best wishes for future success.

Demoralized by his 30 minute career as a would-be professional stamp dealer, Lowe returned to his mentor, Alec Abrahams, who counseled the youthful Lowe to choose the six stamps he treasured most from his personal collection. With these issues carefully set aside, the Fulham Road dealer then purchased Lowe's stamp remainders. With the œ 20 that Robbie acquired from the sale of his collection, the budding stamp dealer opened a business account at Barclays Bank. One of Lowe's first transactions entailed the purchase of an old commode at auction for 10 shillings. Lifting the lid of the toilet, he found two boxes containing stacks of letters from India dating to 1854. Following the sorting of material and folding, his water-logged envelopes were carefully ironed and sold for œ 75 to a colleague, Richard Roberts.

Another serendipitous find involved the acquisition of three boxes of French colonial stamps purchased for 30 shillings at an Alec Thompson auction. Broken into piles of stamps of Guadeloupe, Indochina, Martinique, and Reunion the collection was mounted, brought to a stamp dealer, and sold for a healthy and profitable œ 400. With that sale, Robson Lowe knew that his career was now predetermined as a professional stamp dealer.

Lowe was present at the London International Stamp Exhibition held May 14-26, 1923 but his activities were restricted to menial tasks consisting of emptying the ashtrays in the jury room. He recalls that Arthur Hind of Utica, New York showed at the exhibit, and had armed guards positioned next to his exhibit of British Guiana. This greatly infuriated British viewers by suggesting that someone would somehow steal the treasured one cent black on magenta British Guiana. Lowe recalls smuggling the wife of Anson McCleverty into the exhibit hall. She was later to become one of his patrons for whom he acquired a Newfoundland Hawker pinned to an envelope at a Harmer-Rooke sale . The pinholes were carefully closed, the stamp replaced on envelope, and the defective cover (properly described) sold to McCleverty.

Shortly after the 1923 London Exhibition, Lowe bought a box of stamps for 10 shillings which lot proved, on careful examination, to be 10,000 forgeries of the Spiro brothers of Hamburg. He carefully studied his remarkable find, became knowledgeable on the subject of forgeries and in 1925 was appointed by F. Hugh Vallancey to be curator of the forgery collection owned by the London Stamp Club. In 1952 Robson Lowe purchased Jean de Sperati's stock of forgeries for œ 8,000 on behalf of the B.P.A. Created and crafted by the master forger over 50 years' time, the "works of art" including near perfect reproductions of stamps of the British Empire, France, German and Italian States, Spain and Colonies, Switzerland as well as United States Postmasters' Provisionals and General Issues. As chairman of the British Philatelic Association expert committee, Lowe wrote The Work of Jean De Sperati which was published in 1955. The book which was limited to an edition of five hundred, described and illustrated the works of the master stamp forger, along with Sperati's autobiography and the 1942-1948 French court trial and case records. According to Norman Williams, while the book was in production, "..a very large sum of money was offered to the B.P.A. conditional on the destruction of their entire stock of French Sperati reproductions and the omission of all references to them in the book." Of course, the offer was refused.

Lowe's enthusiasm, philatelic knowledge and enterprise quickly ingratiated him with established dealers as well as a coterie of well-heeled British and foreign collectors. Lowe recalls receiving a sheet of twenty-eight 1883 Great Britain œ 5 issue which was taken on consignment from H.R. Harmer who was unable to find a buyer for this philatelic pink elephant. Lowe was quick to find a buyer in Maurice Burrus, a wealthy Alsatian tobacco magnate which sale started the two on a lifelong professional relationship.

In 1926 Lowe opened his own offices at 93 Regent Street in the fashionable West End of London following which he began world travels in the quest of building a philatelic following. He attended the 1926 New York International Philatelic Exhibition held in New York between October 16-23 and took a stall next to the prestigious Scott Stamp and Coin Company. He brought with him philatelic consignments from six other British stamp dealers. By the end of the exhibition Lowe had sold the entire stock, and after mailing receipts back to London dealers, he acquired a car and took off on a cross country trek through America. During his travels he came across a trunk containing letters from the Donner Party, and later made wonderful finds of Wells Fargo and other western posts.

While in California he met William H. Crocker, the wealthy San Francisco banker and well-known collector who owned the used block of four 24 cent 1869 U.S. Pictorial inverts. Following the sale of a "Strawberry Flats" cover to the banker, Crocker suggested that Lowe visit him during his next stopover to the city, and indicated April 10, 1927 at 10 minutes past ten. Lowe duly recorded the appointment, and appeared one year later at the precise scheduled time. Crocker won $1,000 from skeptical friends who wagered that Robbie would forget and not show.

Lowe had business dealings with Colonel Edward H.R. Green having met the peg-legged giant at the 1926 New York International Philatelic Exhibition. Lowe once accompanied Green on his frequent philatelic spending expeditions where John Klemann of Nassau Stamp Company sold the tycoon a $10,000 album of stamps. As the two drove off, Lowe inquired of his companion how he could afford this type of profligate buying sprees, to which the Colonel replied, "It is one of my ambitions, which I have never achieved, to spend a single day's income from business in one day." Prior to Lowe leaving Green's sumptuous estate at Round Tree, the eccentric millionaire learned of his guest's betrothal. Green gave the London dealer an envelope with instructions that it was not to be opened until after the upcoming marriage. Following his marriage ceremony to Winifred Marie Denne on April 12, 1928, Lowe opened the envelope and found a 1918 Flying Jenny. The C3A invert was sold for $350, and the proceeds used to buy a table and armchairs for his new household. Two children, both girls, were born to the marriage, of which Annabelle (1929) and Marion (1931) are both currently retired.

In 1928 Lowe opened a stamp store at 159 Regent Street which, unbeknownst to the lessee, was located next to a furrier salon. When the heat and odor emanating from the furriers began to permeate, then destroy, the delicate stamps on display, and overcome his sensitive nose, Lowe was forced to move to new suites at 96 Regent Street. Lowe maintained a close working relationship with John and James Marshall of Croydon of The Associated Stamp Clubs. Lowe started Trafalgar Stamp Auctions Ltd. with first sales held on January 19, 1933 from offices at Grand Buildings in Trafalgar Square with Bromley Carter as managing director. Lowe's acquisition was made in partnership with H.R. Harmer and Maurice P. Lavene.

When the Arthur Hind British Empire collection was offered by a Hind heir following the disastrous November 20-24, 1933 Hind United States sale by Charles J. Phillips, James Marshall was a principal in the purchase and advanced 80 percent of the acquisition price. Marshall invited Lowe to participate with 10 percent interest, along with Henry R. Harmer who put up the remaining money. Harmer, whose auction firm had been in business for 15 years, was chosen to dispense the great Hind British Colonial collection which was sold during the 1934-35 period.

In 1932 Lowe began what was to become a lifetime of philatelic scholarship by publishing the first edition of The Regent Catalogue of Empire (Adhesive) Postage Stamps which reached its 26th edition by 1949. In 1935 The Regent Encyclopedia of Empire Postage Stamps appeared under the imprimatur of Halcyon Book Co. of High Holborn, London. Recognizing the marketing influence of philatelic publishing, Lowe launched his house organ The Raconteur on Michaelmas Day (September 29) 1934 with Volume 1 Number 1. Appearing at alternate monthly intervals, the journal was informative, chatty and included pieces such as a challenge from E.J. Lee, who offered œ 1,000 to any reader who could come up with a better collection of Uruguay. One of Britain's wealthiest collectors, Lee was peeved at the fact that J.B. Seymour's collection of Great Britain had won the Grand Prix award at the Vienna Exhibition over his own second place Uruguay collection.

Early on, many well known philatelic authors contributed to the Lowe's Raconteur periodical including Samuel Graveson, L.N. and M. Williams, and Nevile Stocken. The periodical, as well, included serialized articles by Roy D.E. Harker on "The History of Flight", Samuel Chapman on Mexico, and E.F. Hurt on "Private Posts of the World." The logo, The Raconteur, was continued until Volume 2 when there was a name change to The Raconteur and Philatelist (1935) which was reversed to The Philatelist and Raconteur as of volume 3 (1936) and thence evolved into the better known The Philatelist starting as of Volume 4 in 1937, and appearing monthly thereafter. Lowe acquired ownership to the title The Philatelist from the widow of Stafford Smith who had begun the namesake periodical in 1867. With the March 1939 issue of The Philatelist, Lowe began a noteworthy study on "The History of the Invention of the Postage Stamp" which was serialized for fourteen issues. Starting in the January 1940 issue, L.N. and M. Williams wrote a four part serialized study on the origins of philatelic literature. Since its inception The Philatelist has been repository of a wealth of philatelic information, and in February 1981 it merged in joint publication with Philatelic Journal of Great Britain.

Advertising himself as "London's Largest Stamp Buyer", important private treaty sales were offered through Lowe's periodical including the Reginald Poole (œ 1,600) and C.H. Frettingham United States collection (œ 625), Drinkwater's U.S. Patriotic Covers, Emmerich's Rocket Post (œ 110), the world-famous Napier Classic Greece, the late Tsar Nicholas II Russia, Senator Ackerman's Japan (œ 300), along with outstanding United States die and plate proofs, essays and trial colors (ex-Crawford).

Lowe established close working relations with Cyril and Henry R. Harmer, and provide them with œ 30,000 yearly philatelic material for their stamp auctions. One of Lowe's great acquisitions was the celebrated Colonel Bates collection of Great Britain consisting of Treasury Competition essays and a wonderful selection of die proofs and color trials. Lowe wrote up the catalogue, and Henry R. Harmer, who had a stronger market for Great Britain than Lowe's Trafalgar Stamp Auctions, sold the incredible collection at Harmer London sale #716-718 held on December 3-5, 1934.

In May 1935 Lowe registered the Regent Stamp Company Ltd. from offices at 96 Regent Street to specialize in British Empire material under the direction of B.M.G. Butterworth. Cyril Harmer was one of Lowe's closest friends and the two journeyed to the United States with a substantial amount of cash to buy property at distressed prices from the Empire Stamp Co., Scott Stamp and Coin, and Eugene Costales. The two returned to England with wonderful collections of U.S. stamps that fetched well over œ 50,000 from acquisitive English collectors. During a period when Cyril Harmer was taken ill, Lowe performed his work at the Harmer organization, being rewarded for his efforts with the Pastre Frere correspondence of Marseille from which Henry Harmer had removed all the letters bearing adhesive stamps. This acquisition set Lowe on a lifelong interest in postal history.

Lowe's expertise in matters of forgeries was tested in 1937 with a series of papers in his periodical covering forgeries of King George VI coronation covers. There was a great and unsatisfied world-wide demand on the part of collectors for covers issued in British colonies bearing coronation stamps that had been issued on May 12, 1937. Lowe exposed the faked covers with forged postmarks in his publication. Prosecutions were subsequently issued and convictions brought against two Birmingham dealers on the strength of Lowe's appearance in court as an expert witness.

With renewed interest generated in postal documents, pre-stamp, stampless and stamped covers through his personal writings, Lowe decided that the time was right for an auction house to specialize in postal history. He began Postal History Auctions with the first sale being held on October 10, 1936 from offices at 96 Regent Street with Leslie Ray as auctioneer. The early sales were very popular and held every Saturday. Important properties were offered including ship letters, wreck covers, British telegraph stamps, Heron's Hong Kong, and famous historical letters. Sale #32 of July 1938 included photographs and publishing rights to Bates' 1839 G.B. Treasury Competition Essays (sold for œ 150) and Bermuda Perot cover, while in later sales fine U.S. postal history items were handled by the growing postal history division of Robson Lowe enterprises. Recognizing the selective interest of his auction clientele, he began Robson Lowe Specialized stamp sales which were initiated on November 27, 1937. The first catalogue consisted of 24 large lots of specialized collections which included, in part, Tsar Nicholas II proofs and essays of the 1913 Romonoff issue and John Aspinwall's British Guiana. The third sale of February 22, 1938 included a remarkable collection of bisected and split stamps, while the fourth sale of March 7-8, 1938 highlighted Theodore Besterman's U.S. together with the finest U.S. Specimen collection ever assembled. In short order Specialized Stamp Sales became a popular vehicle for the dispersal of many important philatelic properties including T.W. Hall's British West Indies, Colonials and Victoria (1939), Yates' Malta (1939), Agathon Faberge's South and Central America, Japan and Shanghai.

With his London philatelic star on the rise, events on the war front, as well as health considerations were to impact on his personal life. Following a serious episode of food poisoning, Lowe decided to leave London and moved with his family to Bournemouth, although he returned to London for monthly board meetings. During this period, spirited philatelic weekends were held at a hotel in Bournemouth where collectors who were interested in a single field of philatelic endeavor could meet and share stories prior to the auction sales. Mrs. Lowe engaged the stamp widows with pithy women's talk, while her husband, now a well-known raconteur, would regale his clients with scholarly stories about stamp collecting.

With his new philatelic universe in Bournemouth, Lowe cast about and his keen eye fell on the firm of Jolliffe and Flint, chartered surveyors, valuers and auctioneers. The organization which had been established in 1874, was owned by J. Marshall Rogers. In 1937 Jolliffe & Flint held their first stamp auction with œ 60 of stamps changing hands. Notwithstanding his London auction presence, Bournemouth Stamp Auctions came into being under Lowe's broad philatelic umbrella. With the staff of Bournemouth reduced from ten to one member by circumstances of war, Captain William Turton carefully nursed the firm through the war years.

In 1938 Lowe decided to further enlarge his sphere of philatelic influence and took control of Associated Exchange Clubs from John and James Marshall of Croydon following the death of the senior John Marshall from tuberculosis. In 1939 Lowe bought out his partners in Trafalgar Stamp Auctions and merged the sales with those in Bournemouth. Bromley Carter was put in charge of Regent Stamp Co. when Major Bernard M.G. Butterworth rejoined his regiment.

Through the years, Lowe continued his writings publishing an eight page monogram on postmarks entitled The Romance of the Empire Posts (1936), followed by The First Colonial Postage Stamp in January 1937, The Bishop Mark in May of that year, The Handstruck Postage Stamps of the Empire in 1937, and later The Birth of the Adhesive Postage Stamp in 1940. Work on these philatelic studies planted the seed in Lowe's mind for a definitive series on British Empire postal issues. This dream culminated in 1941 with the publication of the first edition of The Postage Stamps of Great Britain 1661-1942. In 1943 Lowe wrote Masterpieces of Engraving on Postage Stamps 1840-1940 which was published by The Postal History Society with proceeds given to the Red Cross and St. John Stamp Fund.

Lowe had business ties with many American dealers and included amongst his friends Spencer Anderson, Sidney Barrett, Herbert Bloch, Clarence Brazer, Hugh M. Clark, Herman Herst, Jr., Eugene Klein, John Nicklin, Elliott Perry, Charles J. Phillips and Bertram Poole. Many Lowe Specialized and Postal History auctions included United States material which property was avidly sought by British philatelic cousins. He also made countless friends in the London philatelic community, and as co-founder of Postal History Society in 1935 and as Chairman of the British Philatelic Association Expert Committee in 1935 could count amongst his notable friends the names of Stanley Phillips of Stanley Gibbons, Henry and Cyril Harmer, Charles Nissen, P.L. Pemberton, and Sir John Wilson, curator of the Royal Collection.

With the outbreak of World War II and his partners' departures for military service, Robson Lowe returned to London. On September 11, 1940 a large bomb dropped by the Nazi Luftwaffe heavily damaged premises at 96 Regent Street. To everyone great relief, not a single stamp was destroyed but the near-tragedy resulted in a change in the place of business which was moved to 50 Pall Mall. The site of the new Robson Lowe commercial enterprise was an historic house which had once been the home of Robert Vernon, a major art connoisseur, who made his fortune providing horses for the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars and providing coaches for The Royal Mail.

The centenary of the Penny Black was held from May 6-11, 1940 under the auspices of The Royal Philatelic Society London and was an enormous success, notwithstanding logistical problems and obstacles imposed by the war. As most of his staff was called to military service, Lowe expended most of his energies maintaining his philatelic enterprises. In 1940 he was called up for military service, but was deferred because of medical reasons. Nevertheless Lowe volunteered for Emergency Medical Service and was actively involved in selecting private homes for medical care facilities.

Even with the turmoil in world affairs swirling about him, some sense of normalcy and British imperturbability was maintained during the war years as Lowe continued auction sales from London and Bournemouth. The philosophic question as to continuing auction sales amidst the insanity of war was tackled in Lowe's personal reflections in his yearly A Review (of) 1940-41. Highlights from Postal History Auctions included Jean Cambell's Ship Letters (1941); H.R. Holmes' Local Stamps of the World (1942); Philipp Cockrill's Paquebots (1942); Samuel Graverson's Desert Post (1943); and the 1945 sale of the world famous C.F. Dendy Marshall's The History of British Post Office; Samuel Graveson's A Vista of Postal History (1945) which included some of the finest and rarest pieces of world postal history ever assembled including a 1419 Henry V letter that sold for œ 57, and a 1680 Dockwra Broadsides, "A Penny Well Bestowed" that went for œ 24.

Lowe's Specialized Stamp Sales also continued during the war years and were highlighted by Bertram Mc Gowan's Penny Blacks (1940); Dorning Beckton's Finland (1940); Charles Jewell's Argentina Rivadavias (1941); F. Hugh Vallancey's Great Britain (1942); Elger's Austria (1943); Duke of Gloucester's Red Cross and St. John Fund (1944); A.P. British Guiana (1944) which was sold intact for œ 8,000 to Frederick Small followed by the A.P. Mauritius (1945); Belgium World's Finest (1945) which was sold intact for œ 7,500; W.G. Hamersley's Classic Issues of France (1945); and George Ginger's New South Wales (1945).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Lowe, Robson. Personal Communication February 19, 1991

2. Williams, L.N. Robson Lowe. Philatelist Par Excellence. (Specially prepared and written for Alberto Bolaffi in accordance with his request of November 7, 1988)

3. Lowe, Robson. Thirty Years On. The Philatelist 16:225-226 (May) 1950.

4. Collins, Peter. Robson Lowe. Man, Institution, Honorary Member. Stamp Lover 82:82-8 (June) 1990.

5. Lowe, Robson. Seventy Years in Stamps. Stamp Lover 82:85-86 (June) 1990.

6. Williams, L.N. Robson Lowe-A History. Robson Lowe Reviews 1920-1980: pp. 26-28.

ROBSON LOWE: THE CROWNED HEAD OF PHILATELY

PART II: POSTWAR TO THE PRESENT

by

Stanley M. Bierman, M.D.

The Robson Lowe empire was built on the bedrock of his successful Specialized and Postal History auctions. In the philatelic auction season preceding the end of the war (1944-45), a total of œ 114,426 was realized in 55 sales by Robson Lowe Ltd., while by the 1950-51 season there were 93 sales realizing œ 200,145 and by the 1963-64 season, at the height of the Burrus dispersal, a total of œ 1,382,164 was realized in 164 sales. In 1980, combined sales totaled over œ 4,500,000 for Robson Lowe London, Bournemouth, Basle, Geneva and Zurich. By 1989-90 season that figure, which now included New York sales, ballooned to œ 15,726,076. This commanding sum was due, in part, to the disposal of the Weill Brothers' stock placing Christie's Robson Lowe in the forefront of world-class philatelic auctioneers.

This preview of things-to-come stands in stark contrast to 1945 when Robson Lowe Bournemouth had a staff of two. The post war years saw a boom in interest in philately and the business rapidly expanded when the Associated Exchange Clubs and the two London departments were integrated. Robson Lowe's Specialized Auction sales over the next five years helped stoke interest in the hobby with quality auctions such as the C.F. Dendy Marshall's History of the British Post Office (1945); A.J. Watkin's Cayman Islands (1946); Ernest Lye's Ceylon Pence Issues (1946); Leonard Clark's Great Britain Line-Engraved Imprimatures (1946); Barbados Britannia Type (1947); C. Heygate-Vernon's GB Line Engraved (1948); McGowan's Great Britain (1948); 1080 Ceylon (1949); Desai's India (1949); Rose-Hutchinson's India and Hong Kong (1949); Yates' Mulready (1949); Boucher's British Africa and British West Indies (1949); Alexander's Cape of Good Hope (1950); and Litchfield's Line Engraved (1950).

In the immediate postwar era, Lowe's periodical The Philatelist served as an influential house organ for promoting his enterprises, as well as establishing his reputation as a philatelic editor. Important and interesting scholarly writings appeared in its pages including Wells, Fargo & Co. Forgeries by E.F. Hurt; Forwarding Agents by Mrs. E.L. Morgan; Samuel Graveson's Early British Postmasters; Frank Staff's Ship and Packet Letters; Arnold Strange on British Columbia and Vancouver Island; and Robson Lowe's own series on The Mulready Envelope.

In no small measure, an element of Lowe's success has been based on his own writings, as well as his imprimatur to bootstrap other substantial philatelic publications. In his Review for 1945, Lowe announced a five year plan outlining his intentions to produce five volumes of British Empire books. The origins for this major undertaking were borne in Lowe's earlier pre-war writings. His magnum opus entitled The Encyclopedia of British Empire Postage Stamps 1661-1974. Volume I Great Britain and the Empire in Europe first appeared in January 1948. This edition was reprinted with corrections in March 1948 and became instantly established as a standard reference book. A second edition of the book appeared in 1952.

This benchmark publication was to become the first of a series of works on British Empire postal history that spanned nearly a half century of philatelic scholarship. Under Lowe's editorship the series has come to spur interest for both the generalist and specialist in British Colonial issues. The first volume was followed in March 1949 with The Encyclopedia of British Empire Postage Stamps 1806-1948. Volume II The Empire in Africa. In June 1951 Lowe published Volume III The Empire in Asia. Supplements and corrections to the three work were printed in The Philatelist, and later gummed supplements numbers 1 through 82 were provided to update the books.

The next in the series of The Encyclopedia of British Empire Stamps was Volume IV The Empire in Australasia which was published February 1962, while Volume V The Empire in North America appeared in 1973, and Volume VI The Leeward Islands as the most recent publication came out in 1991. In 1974 Robson Lowe authorized H.J.M.R. Company of North Miami, Florida which had taken over Billig's Philatelic Handbook series to reprint Volumes I through IV of Lowe's Encyclopedia.

While in New York prior to the Centennial International Philatelic Exhibition which was scheduled for May 17-25, 1947, Lowe visited colleagues at Collectors Club New York and called on notable American philatelists including Harry Lindquist, Winthrop Boggs of the Philatelic Foundation, Elliott Perry, and Admiral Harris. Lowe's American travels prior to CIPEX, which were serialized in The Philatelist, took him to Boston, Montreal where he met with Dr. Lewis Reford, thence to Ottawa, Toronto and on to Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, and to the West Coast where he visited in San Francisco, Los Angeles prior to returning to Washington and New York. Lowe's travels put him in contact with the leading American and Canadian collectors and dealers. This careful marketing, formation of friendships, and creation of goodwill helped establish Robson Lowe as a philatelic household name.

The Centenary Exhibition held in New York in 1947 offered Lowe a chance to establish an American outlet for his company. Both Henry R. Harmer and Gordon Harmer had opened U.S. branches in New York in the early 1940s, and Lowe saw an opportunity to extend his international network by opening offices in Philadelphia. On March 11, 1947 Lowe appointed Arthur Pierce as the U.S. sales representative. A site was chosen at 721 Widner Building to start Robson Lowe Philadelphia and sales were initiated on September 13, 1947 with Kreicker's GB Line Engraved Collection. Auctions were generally held at monthly intervals until the final sale of Robson Lowe Philadelphia which was held on March 30-31, 1951. Among the highlights of the 36 auctions were the E.M. Taylor's Grand Award Mexico (1948); Dr. Langstroth's BNA and BWI (1948), Cossette's Ballon Montes (1949); Classics of British Empire (1949); and McGowan's British Used Abroad (1950).

The Philadelphia enclave of Robson Lowe was closed because of taxation problems. The business had initially been established with the permission of the Bank of England and the Board of Trade, but two years later the Inland Revenue established that Lowe had to pay both U.S. and British income tax. Paying U.S. taxes left precious little and the additional British tax would result in a monthly loss of $1,000 to $2,000. In 1951, with Philadelphia sales on the wane, Lowe appointed Carl Pelander (1), a well known New York auctioneer to become his American agent. Pelander, who specialized in Scandinavian material, had just successfully completed the five part Ferrars H. Tows sales.

To help promote an interest in postal history, Lowe founded Society of Postal Historians in 1950, and in 1951, he published Codrington Correspondence 1743-1851 a book highlighting British involvement in the West Indian islands of Antigua and Barbuda. The correspondence which was addressed to the Codrington house, dealt with a particularly ugly era in British history. The islands which were a haven for early bucaneers, became a feudal fiefdom in which government corruption was pervasive. The correspondence which included a century of communication covered the undeclared war between France and America, rise of great plantations, the insurrection of negroes, the abolition of slavery and black emancipation. The Codrington Correspondence was sold at a Robson Lowe Postal History Auction #143 of November 21, 1951.

In 1952, Lowe became Chairman of the British Philatelic Association Expert Committee and, as previously noted in part one of the biography, bought Sperati forgeries from the master forger. To highlight this work in counterfeit postal issues, Lowe published and serialized "Illustrated Catalogue of Sperati Forgeries" commencing in the May 1953 issue of The Philatelist. The Sperati Reference Collection was sold at Robson Lowe sale #2591 of March 3, 1972, while other Sperati forgeries appeared at Robson Lowe Basle sale #4203 consisting of the collections of Paul Freeland and G.P Bainbridge. In 1953 Lowe oversaw the publication of The Coronation Exhibition of the Queens of England based on an exhibition held in London.

On December 1, 1956 Alfred Loines Pemberton, son of Percy Loines Pemberton and grandson of his famous philatelic namesake, Edward Loines Pemberton, joined Robson Lowe Ltd. In 1957 Lowe acquired Philatelic Journal of Great Britain when he took over P.L. Pemberton & Sons. The famous philatelic periodical which had been published serially since 1891 was joined with The Philatelist.(2) The merger was marked with The Pemberton Exhibition of February 11-15, 1957 at 50 Pall Mall with material contributed by prominent philatelists.

The decade of 1950-1960 was notable for Lowe Specialized Auctions and among important sales for this period were those of Rimington's USA (1951); USA on Original Covers (1951); Seymour's Great Britain Parts I-VI (1951-52); Ferry's Great Britain 1840-41 (1952); Waistell's Penny Blacks (1953); Idiens' Mulready (1954); Beresford's New South Wales, New Zealand, and Tasmania (1954); Sinton's St. Vincent (1954); Stranack's Great Britain (1955); Yates' Heligoland (1955); Hopkins' Treaty Ports (1956); Porter's Nigeria (1956); Adams' Great Britain and Greece (1956); Hamilton's New South Wales (1957); Hinde's Egypt, Gold Coast, India, Canada, and Nigeria (1957-59); Sicily (1958); Goss' Specialized Russia Part I-II (1958); Naples (1959); Marquess of Bute's 1914-1918 War Stamps Part I-III and Bute Airmails (1959); Pantheo Lombardy-Venetia, Roman States, Sardinia and Tuscany (1960); Quast's Mexico (1960); and Renouf's India (1960).

In 1961 three European firms consisting of Jacques Robineau in Paris, France and Urs Peter Kaufmann in Basle, Switzerland and J.L. Van Dieten of the Hague, Holland joined with Robson Lowe to form the Uncommon Marketeers. The four distinguished houses amalgamated their resources into the world's largest auctioneer firm. Pooling their business interests with Robson Lowe Ltd. and with headquarters in London, The Uncommon Marketeers auctioned some of the world's finest and rarest philatelic treasures. In later years Adriano Landini of Milan, Italy joined the group making it a leading and potent force in the European philatelic community.

The great impetus to the union was brought into being through the auction of the Maurice Burrus collection of which œ 2,000,000 was sold through Robson Lowe during the period 1962-1965. Acting on behalf of the Burrus heirs of Ste. Croix-aux-Mines, France the Amhelca Trust of Liechtenstein distributed elements of the world-famous Burrus famous stamp collection, of which some 34 or so sales of British Empire and World were held under the auspices of Robson Lowe. The Amhelca Trust consisted of Mario Tomasini, Renato Mondolfo and Fred Rich. The sale of the Burrus collection took place over five years and seventy-eight separate auctions by members outside the cartel including Willy Balasse, Hans Grobe, Edgar Mohrmann, Renato Mondolfo, Fred Rich, Arnold Ebel and Harmer Rooke London.

The decade between 1960-1970 was distinguished by Robson Lowe Specialized auctions for Byam's classic Egypt (1961); Nagele's Greece (1962); Sir Percival and Lady David's China (1963-65); Italian States (1964); Levy's Japan (1962-64); Lovibond's Falkland Islands; Gill's Canada and Belgium (1965); Lockwood's Great Britain (1966); Queen Mary International Philatelic Radio Auction (1966); Birch Norway (1968); Hewitt Airmail (1968); Mellor Belgium and France (1969); Vernon Holy Land (1969); Glassco British Post Offices Abroad (1969); "Great" Collections of German Colonies, Bavaria and British Guiana (1970); Colombo Airmails of the World (1970); Rarities of the World (1970). It is an interesting sidelight to observe that the sale of Byam's Egypt which was undoubtedly the finest collection formed to that date realized œ 25,000 to the owner. Today the quintessential collection would realize twenty times that sum at auction.

In 1964 Robson Lowe acquired D. Woods & Sons of Perth, Scotland, the printers responsible for producing his auction catalogues and other publications. In 1967 Lowe published Colonial Posts in the United States of America 1606-1783 coauthored with Kay Horowicz, and in 1968 Lowe wrote The British Postage Stamp of the Nineteenth Century, based on the collection presented to the country by Reginald M. Phillips of Brighton. It was published under the auspices The National Postal Museum. In 1969 Kings of Egypt and Their Stamps appeared, while the following year The Harrison's of Waterlow was printed.

The Queen Mary auction of May 16, 1966 was a unique marketing experience for Robson Lowe Ltd. The auction was the first transatlantic philatelic offering from a ship at sea with radio communication to bidders in Great Britain, United States, and European capitals. The grand idea was to hold an auction for stamp enthusiasts aboard the Cunard liner which was en route to SIPEX in Washington, D.C. With only 332 lots in the catalogue worth an estimated $600,000, the occasion was a much anticipated event in the philatelic community. The mid-Atlantic adventure turned out to be something of a debacle with radio links being almost inoperative owing to concurrent sun-spots, while in Paris the mid-Atlantic connection was blocked because of a telephone strike. Arthur Pierce and his wife at the Americana Hotel in New York, waited with their monied crowd and could hear only squawks, static, silence followed by garbled bidding from the ship-bound enthusiasts.(3)

Among the several rarities offered at the Queen Mary sale in the American section was a unique block of twenty-one (3X7) US 1857 90c (ex-Caspary) going to Raymond Weill for $56,000, along with the 1869 Pictorial and 1901 Pan American inverts. The block of twelve 1959 Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway inverted center (estimated $25,000) did not sell, as was the case for other rarities which did find ready buyers at SIPEX.

Dr. Donald Patton was an important client of Robson Lowe and their relations went back to 1954 when Lowe sold Patton's collection of Disinfected Mail. Patton subsequently became interested in private local posts and his work on American Local and Carrier stamps was serialized in 74 issues of The Philatelist between 1956 and 1965. This scholarly, if not definitive, work on the subject culminated in the production of The Private Local Posts of the United States. Volume 1 New York State which was published by Lowe in 1967.

The decade of the 1970 through 1980s saw important London and Basel sales including the several Colonel Danson sales of Africa and British Empire (1971-77); Patton United States and Local Posts (1971-72); Flintstone (John R. Boker) Private Local Posts (1973); Kauder China Parts I-II (1971-72); Dewey Malaya (1973); Ludington Bermuda (1974); Victoria Great Britain Line Engraved (1974-75); Rarity (1975); Robert Lehman United States which included a superb collection of Pony Express and his Airmail (1976); Spencer Hawaii (1976); Napier South Australia (1978-79); and Diamond Jubilee Auction (1980).

In 1968, following formulae that had established the Uncommon Marketeers in Europe, Lowe forged important philatelic alliances with dealers throughout the world in forming Robson Lowe International. An Australian agency was established, and later a satellite in Italy, Bermuda, and Ireland. David Feldman was a European representative of the agency whose Dublin-based firm was relocated to Switzerland in 1974. Feldman was to go on in 1976 to form his own auction house operating from headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

In September 1980 the Robson Lowe Ltd. merged with the fine art auctioneers Christie, Manson & Woods to form Christie's International. Lowe had previously joined Christie's board and it seemed a natural marriage to bring the prestigious art auctioneering firm into the philatelic fold. Headquarters for Christie's Robson Lowe was established at 8 King Street, St. James's, London and the Pall Mall offices were closed. Subsequently the firm moved to more permanent offices at 47 Duke Street, St. James's, and thence to larger quarters on the north side of the building at 15 Ryder Street. Lowe is life president of the Stamp and Postal History department of Christie's.

On September 9-10, 1981 the first philatelic auction sales by Christie's Robson Lowe was held in New York with the offering of United States and Possessions. This inaugural auction was followed by a series of major offerings of US and foreign material including British North America (1982); Troy United States (1983); (Mohrmann) Livingston Postmaster Provisional (1985); Tara Confederate States (1986); Isleham Parts I-VI including US Possessions, BNA, Near East, British Empire, Latin America and Europe collections (1986-7); Scott Gallagher Tennessee Postal History (1987); Louis Grunin US 1851-57 (1987-88); Walter Klein United States Parts I-V all under the aegis of Christie's Robson Lowe.

In 1989 Raymond and Roger Weill expressed interest in the sale of their philatelic stock. When Robson Lowe learned of this fact, he notified Hambros Bank, merchant bankers used by Christie's. Christie's does not purchase philatelic material for their own account, and the Weill stock was acquired in an outright purchase by Hambros. The superb Weill collection generated some $14,000,000 in a series of eleven auctions held between 1989 and 1990 by Christie's Robson Lowe. Prior to auction, portions of the stock was offered by Christie's to select clients. So as to deter any criticism of self-dealing, Raymond Weill observed that he made no purchases at auction for his own account. (4) Weill did however represent clients at the first auction of United States Postmasters' Provisional, but not at subsequent sales. The New Orleans dealer made an arrangement with the auctioneer that he was bidding on behalf of his clients when he was looking at the auctioneer, and not by raising his flag feeling that it might be viewed as improper to complete against floor bidders.

Lowe's personal collecting interests are broad and include Great Britain, Australian States, Cape of Good Hope, Independent Mail Carriers and Western Express. In 1983 a find was made of an archive in Italy of Corsini business correspondence from Europe to London between the years 1488 and 1742. The Corsini's were Italian merchants in London from the 16th century who operated a Merchant Strangers' Post to carry mail to and from England. Lowe recognized that most of the documentation of medieval England had been destroyed by the 1666 great fire of London. Before putting the letters up for auction Lowe serialized much of the Corsini Correspondence in his journal.(5) Portions of the Corsini Correspondence 1569-1601 were offered at a Christie Robson Lowe sale of September 4, 1984.

Robson Lowe has been acknowledged by his peers for his many services to philately and has been showered with numerous awards including the 1970 Lichtenstein Medal awarded by Collectors Club New York. He received both the John N. Luff Award and National Philatelic Writers Hall of Fame Award in 1980. He has received recognition for research on U.S. Locals and was given the Carroll Chase award. Lowe is also a Signatory of the American Roll of Distinguished Philatelists which honor was bestowed in 1989, and in 1990 he was honored with the Order of the Postal Stone in South Africa, and in April 1991 signed their Roll of Distinguished Philatelists.

The author wishes to acknowledge the help of Robson Lowe in the preparation of this biography.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(1) Anon. Carl Pelander. The Philatelist 17: 341 (Aug) 1951.

(2) Anon. The Pembertons Move to Pall Mall. The Philatelist 23: 58 (Dec) 1956.

(3) Kehr, Ernest. High Seas Stamp Auction Disappoints. Western Stamp Collector 5/31/1966.

(4) Weill, Raymond. Personal communication, August 1991.

(5) Robson Lowe. Sixteenth Century Letters to London. The Corsini Correspondence. The Philatelist and PJGB 4:101-113 (June) 1984.

==Life==

His philatelic publishing was prolific; he published many books, journals and pamphlets, as author, co-author and publisher.

Publications

• Encyclopedia of the Empire
  • 1948, Vol. 1, 296p, Great Britain
  • 1952, Vol. 1, revised, 456p
  • 1949, Vol. 2, 448p, British Africa
  • 1951, Vol. 3, 559p, British Asia
  • 1962, Vol. 4, 624p, Australasia
  • 1976, Vol. 4, supplement, 19p, Australasia
  • 1973, Vol. 5, 760p, British North America
  • 1990, Vol. 6, 309p, The Leeward Islands: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis and St. Christopher, St. Kitts Nevis, Anguilla, Virgin Islands, British PO in Danish, Dutch and French Possessions, Other Packet Services, Postage Rates, etc.

• 1922 Ireland, 1972
• British Line Engraved Stamps Repaired Impressions, 1855-1879, 1982
• British Postage Stamps of the 19th Century 1st ed. 1968, 2nd ed. 1979
• Brunei 1895 Star and Crescent Issue, 1973
• Codrington Correspondence, 1743-1851, 1968, Antigua
• The De La Rue Key Plates, 1979
• The De La Rue Punch Book, 1987
• From China and Tibet 1844-1865, 1981, Letters written by missionaries in the interior
• Handstruck Postage Stamps of the Empire 1680-1900,
• Historical Letters to Gratious Street, London 1570 - 1601, 1988
• Indian Field Post Offices 1903-04, 1979
• The Kings of Egypt and Their Stamps 1860-1960, 1969
• The Knights of Malta, The Lazara Correspondence, 1987, 1789-1797 period, the French Revolution
• The Uganda Missionaries, 1974

• The Gee-Ma Forgeries, 1980, Forged overprints and cancellations of China, Japanese Occupation, Great Britain and Tibet
• The Oswald Schröder Forgeries, 1981, A study of this little known forger
• The Work of Jean de Sperati, 1955, Study of this famous forger
• The Work of Jean de Sperati II, 2001, A further study, with Carl Walske

See also

• C. D. Desai
• Gerald Davis
• List of philatelists
• L. T. Rose-Hutchinson

External links

• Official site
• The Work of Jean de Sperati II
• Who Was Who in British Philately