Adrian Albert Jurgens (1886 – 11 July 1953)Tyler, Varro E. ''Philatelic Forgers: Their Lives and Works.'' Revised edition. Sidney, Ohio: Linn's Stamp News, 1991, p.64. was a South African

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

and signatory to the ''Roll of Distinguished Philatelists of Southern Africa'' in 1948 and the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their n ...

in Great Britain in 1952. In the 1940s Jurgens became embroiled in allegations of forgery that greatly damaged his reputation.

Collecting interests

Jurgens' main area of interest was the

philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is poss ...

of Southern Africa, in particular the Bechuanalands and

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

, and the ''A.A. Jurgens – Cape of Good Hope, Barbara Jurgens Memorial Collection'' of twenty volumes is in the Iziko Museums of Cape Town. Barbara was Adrian's daughter. In 1944 Jurgens won the

Crawford Medal :::''See also'' Crawford Award for fantasy novels. :::''See also'' Max Crawford Medal Australian academic award. The Crawford Medal is a vermeil medal awarded by the Royal Philatelic Society London for the most valuable and original contribution ...

from the

Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...

for his work ''The Handstruck Letter Stamps of the Cape of Good Hope from 1792 to 1853 and the Postmarks from 1853 to 1910''.

Allegations of forgery

In 1941 philatelists became aware of reprints of the 1 penny and 4 penny Cape of Good Hope 'woodblock' triangular stamps in the original colours. Although the original stereos had been defaced with a vertical line, the line did not appear correctly on the reprints which were dangerously similar to the originals. The originator of the reprints was revealed to be A.A. Jurgens who described everything he had done in an article in ''The South African Philatelist'' in May 1941. Jurgens explained that he had received permission to make reprints in black from the Director of the South African Museum in Cape Town which were to be displayed in a case with South African postal history material. Unfortunately, Jurgens appears to have got carried away with his initial success and he also produced reprints in red and blue and on wove and laid papers. Up to 17 sheets were produced. This had all been done in November 1940 and March 1941, without the knowledge of the philatelic community. Further allegations relating to forged cancellations on Cape material and a public spat with the expert committee of the British Philatelic Association did nothing to help Jurgens' reputation.

Robson Lowe John Harry Robson Lowe (7 January 1905, London – 19 August 1997, Bournemouth) was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer. Life and career Lowe is regarded by philatelists as the father of postal history, ha ...

famously declined to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists due to the organisers' failure to delete Jurgens' name. Lowe regarded Jurgens as a forger. Who Was Who In British Philately Although a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London since 1938, no obituary for Jurgens appeared in

The London Philatelist ''The London Philatelist'' was first published in January 1892
by

Publications

*''Cape of Good Hope Pre-cancellations''. *''The Handstruck Letter Stamps of the Cape of Good Hope from 1792 to 1853 and the Postmarks from 1853 to 1910'', Cape Town, 1943. *''The Bechuanalands: A brief history of the countries and their postal services to 1895. Including information about the postage stamps, postmarks, forgeries and revenue stamps.'',

Royal Philatelic Society The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...

, London, 1946.

References

External links

South African Roll of Distinguished Philatelists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurgens, A.A. 1886 births 1953 deaths South African philatelists Philately of South Africa Philately of Botswana Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists