Carl Einar Pelander (October 18, 1893 – February 16, 1966) was a stamp dealer and auctioneer who was an expert on

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s and

postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is att ...

of the

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n countries of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, Danish West Indies,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Collecting interests

Pelander started collecting stamps as a youth, and quickly specialized in collecting those of the Scandinavian countries. Pelander was one of the founders of New York City's Finnish-American Stamp Club in 1935 and was the first member to be named an Honorary Life Member. The club was later renamed the Scandinavian Collectors Club of New York, and then again later as Scandinavian Collectors Club. Pelander was very active in the organization, helping to finance it during poor economic times, and editing the club journal '' The Posthorn''.

Sales activity

Carl Pelander started his New York City stamp business in 1937 and, between 1940 and 1963, he conducted 130 auctions of stamps. His auctions contained material from stamp collections of famous collectors, such as Agathon Fabergé, Caroline P. Cromwell, and Ferrars H. Tows.

Philatelic literature

Because of his in-depth knowledge of the philately of

, and especially

, Pelander wrote a number of articles, some of which were compiled into his book ''The Postal Issues of Finland'' which was published in 1940. He also published a ''Scandinavian Check List'' from 1937 to 1948.

Honors and awards

Pelander was presented with the Fieandt Memorial medal in 1960 by the Finnish Philatelic Society "''for his original research in the stamps of Finland and for his promotion of Finnish philately''." Pelander was named to the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame in 1966.

Carl E. Pelander Award

The Carl E. Pelander Award was established in 1968 by the

Scandinavian Collectors Club The Scandinavian Collectors Club is a United States-based philatelic society dedicated to the collection and study of the postage stamps and postal history of the Scandinavia region, including the geographical regions of Åland, Aunus, the Dani ...

in his memory "''to recognize his willingness to assist fellow collectors in all phases of Scandinavian philately''."

References