Gordon Smith (15 January 1856 – 29 January 1905)"Death of Mr Gordon Smith" in ''

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

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

Who Was Who in British Philately

Association of British Philatelic Societies The Association of British Philatelic Societies, commonly known as the ''ABPS'', is the British national association of philatelic societies, regional philatelic federations, and specialist philatelic societies.Archived here.
/ref> and

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 was one of the Fathers of Philately named on 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 1921.

Early life

Smith was born at Greenwich, London, the son of John N Smith, a civil engineer, and his wife Emma B Smith. He was educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

, London, and obtained a degree in mathematics from

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

in 1879. He was a tutor in maths at Truro College but left that to study for the bar, being called at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1882. He was in the chambers of James Aspinall K.C. and Mr. Butler Aspinall.

Philately

Smith rekindled his boyhood interest in philately in 1885, from where it grew to be a consuming passion and a career that he pursued in preference to the law. He was a specialist in the stamps of South Australia and worked for

Stanley Gibbons The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...

from 1893, becoming a director in 1898. He was active in organising the

London Philatelic Exhibition 1897 The London Philatelic Exhibition 1897 was held from 22 July to 5 August 1897 at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, London."London Philatelic Exhibition, 1897" in ''The London Philatelist'', Vol. 5, No. 59, November 1896, pp. 309-31 ...

. His collection of South Australia, noted for being the best mint collection formed at the time, passed to Leslie L. R. Hausburg. He was a member of the London Philatelic Society, now 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 ...

, from 1892 and a member of their Council from 1897. '' Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal'', in their obituary for Smith, summed up his particular aptitude for philatelic research, and no doubt its appeal to him also, thus: "His legal training had taught him that there are always two sides to a question, and, combined with his mathematical capability, enabled him to distinguish ''evidence'' from ''proof''. He recognised the weakness of specialism as well as its strength"."Editorial", ''Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal'', Vol. XV, No. 176, 28 February 1905, pp. 157–8.

Other interests

Smith was a rower at Cambridge, and after graduating was well known as an oarsman on the River Thames for the

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As at July 2022, Thames had won events at He ...

. He rowed at stroke in the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...

, the oldest and best-known event at the annual

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

. He was an active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and a Major in the Queen's Own Battalion of West Kent Volunteers.

Death

Smith's death at a fairly early age came after a decline in his health over several years, eventually diagnosed as a stomach ulcer. He was operated on but complications set in and he died the following day.

Publications

*
South Australia
'. London: Stanley Gibbons, 1894. (With F.H. Napier)

References

External links

Free eBook of Smith & Napier's ''South Australia''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gordon British philatelists 1856 births 1905 deaths Fathers of philately British barristers People educated at King's College School, London Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Stanley Gibbons People from Greenwich British male rowers Members of Lincoln's Inn