Francis Hugh Vallancey (1879 – 6 September 1950) was a schoolmaster,

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 ...

, philatelic author and editor, and dealer in philatelic literature. His business was destroyed during the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

of 1941, but he rebuilt it after the war before ill health forced his retirement.

Early life and family

Francis Hugh Vallancey was born in 1879. Negus, James. (1991) ''Philatelic literature, compilation techniques and reference sources''. Limassol, Cyprus: James Bendon. pp. 215-216. He was a schoolmaster and served in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

.VALLANCEY, Francis Hugh 1879-1950.
in ''Who was who in British Philately'', The Association of British Philatelic Societies. Retrieved 20 September 2016. He married and had a daughter.

Philately

Vallancey was active in philately for 50 years. In 1912, he founded the London Philatelic Club with F.A. Wickhart and in January 1915, he acquired the magazine ''

Stamp Collecting Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...

'' of which he became the editor until it was taken over by Douglas B. Armstrong's Stamp Collecting Limited in 1930.Birch, Brian. (2014)
Bibliography of philatelic periodicals
'. 8th edition. Standish, Wigan: Brian Birch. pp. 810-811. He was one of the first philatelists to take a serious interest in

perfins In philately, a perfin is a stamp that has had initials or a name perforated across it to discourage theft. The name is a contraction of perforated initials or perforated insignia. They are also sometimes called ''SPIFS'' (Stamps Perforated wit ...

(stamps perforated with firms' initials), about which he published a book in 1933. He was one of the principal dealers in

philatelic literature Philatelic literature is written material relating to philately, primarily information about postage stamps and postal history. Background to philatelic literature Philatelic literature is held by stamp collectors and dealers, philatelic soci ...

in Britain and acquired the stock of philatelic publishers Harris Publications after A.H. Harris's death, and the library of Frank A. Bellamy which Vallancey estimated to contain over 200,000 items, though he described much of it as "waste paper". He bought

Edward Denny Bacon Sir Edward Denny Bacon, KCVO (29 August 1860 – 5 June 1938)Biography
in the ...

's library after Bacon's death in 1938. It was transferred to the basement of Vallancey's "Philately House" premises in St Bride Street, London, where it was catalogued by L.N. Williams and began to be sold off. On 10 May 1941, however, a German bomb completely destroyed Philately House, taking Vallancey's business and the remains of the Bacon library with it. Not long afterwards, in 1942, Vallancey sold his collection of British stamps by auction through

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 ...

in a sale comprising 744 lots.''The "F. Hugh Vallancey" Collection of Great Britain''. Robson Lowe, London, 1942. After the war, Vallancey reestablished his business, working from home, but retired in 1948 due to ill health, selling his magazine stock to H. Garratt-Adams and the remainder, mainly books, to Ramsay Stewart (1931–66).

Death and legacy

Vallancey died on 6 September 1950. He was survived by his wife and daughter."Death of Mr. F.H. Vallancey", ''

Gibbons Stamp Monthly ''Gibbons Stamp Monthly'' (GSM) is a leading British philatelic magazine which can trace its roots back to 1890. GSM is published by the famous stamps and collectables firm of Stanley Gibbons and each issue includes updates to their various catalo ...

'', Vol. 24, No. 2 (October 1950), p. 17. His publishing interests were taken over by Tom Todd (1911–84) as Vallancey International. His literature stock passed through several hands and were estimated by Harry Hayes in 1980 to still be many tons, principally deriving from the Harris and Bellamy purchases.

Selected publications

*''The postage stamps of Great Britain 1840-1922''. Stamp Collecting, London, 1923. (With Sidney A.R. Oliver) *''A guide to philatelic literature''. Vallancey Press, London, 1927-29. (compiler) *''British stamps perforated with firms' initials''. Vallancey Press, London, 1933. (2nd 1948) *''British postmarks with special reference to the 1844 and subsequent numbered obliterations''. Vallancey Press, London, 1935. *''Check list of British photogravure stamps of King George V, including stamps overprinted for Morocco''. Vallancey Press, London, 1939. *''The postage stamps of King Edward VIII''. 2nd. F. Hugh Vallancey, Sidcup, 1948. *''The A.M.G. (Allied Military Government) stamps of Germany''. Herman Herst, Shrub Oak, NY, 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallancey, Francis British philatelists 1879 births 1950 deaths Schoolteachers from Bedfordshire Philatelic authors