George Ward Linn (February 7, 1884 – March 28, 1966), of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, was a

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 ...

who published philatelic literature extensively and was the founder of '' Linn's Weekly Stamp News'' in 1928, the philatelic journal for which he is most famous.

Philatelic publishing

The son of a printer and publisher, and with a strong interest in philately, George Linn published numerous journals devoted to the hobby of

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 ...

. These included ''The Columbian'' in 1901, ''The Columbian Philatelist'', from 1901 to 1907, ''Stamp News'' in 1909, and ''The Stamp Collector'' from 1909 to 1911. The ''Stamp Collector's Journal'' had eight volumes beginning in 1910 and was first known as ''Linn's Way''. Linn began publishing philatelic handbooks including works on Mexican and American philately beginning circa 1910. These include ''The Making of United States Stamps'' 913 ''Mexico: the White and Green Seal Issues of Sonora''

916 __NOTOC__ Year 916 ( CMXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Kh ...

''The War Stamps of Mexico''

917 __NOTOC__ Year 917 ( CMXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August 20 – Battle of Achelous: A Byzantine expeditionary fo ...

and ''The Paid Markings on the 3 cent U.S. Stamp of 1861''

955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also ...

Linn wrote the above works except for the 1913 work; author is Frank E. Goodwin. Linn's Linprint imprint published ''Linprint's Catalog of Philatelic Labels'' in 1940. Linn also published a stamp album ''Stamps of the World''.

Philatelic activity

Linn was, at times, a

stamp dealer A stamp dealer is a company or an individual who deals in stamps and philatelic products. It also includes individuals who sell postage stamps for day to day use or revenue stamps for use on court documents. Stamp dealers who sell to stamp collect ...

and conducted stamp auctions. However, he was most interested in promoting stamp collecting and in the creation of stamp club. He attended most of the

American Philatelic Society The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting foundation of philately in the world. Both the membership and interests of the society are worldwide. History The organization, originally named the ''American Phi ...

stamp shows and conventions held during his lifetime and created philatelic souvenirs for them. Linn will be remembered by

first day cover A first day of issue cover or first day cover (FDC) is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for useBennett, Russell and Watson, James; ''Philatelic Terms Illustrated'', Stanl ...

collectors for his creating the first pre-printed cacheted first day cover. This cover commemorated the passing of President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

, and featured the use of the black 2-cent "mourning stamp" (Scott No. 610) issued September 1, 1923.

Honors and awards

Because of his dedication to advancing the hobby of stamp collecting, he was named to the

American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame The American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame award honors deceased philatelists who have contributed significantly to the field of national and/or international philately. History The APS ''Hall of Fame'' award was founded at the 1940 American P ...

in 1967. The ASDA or American Stamp Dealers Association placed Linn in its Hall of Fame in 2013.

Legacy

'' Linn's Weekly Stamp News'' continues to be printed to this day (as of 2017), and subscribers can read it online.

References

George Ward Linn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linn, George Ward 1884 births 1966 deaths Philatelic literature American philatelists American stamp dealers People from Columbus, Ohio American Philatelic Society Place of birth missing Place of death missing

Philatelic publishing

Philatelic activity

Honors and awards

Legacy

See also

References