1906 advert for Herbert Edgar Weston, Victor Marsh

Herbert Edgar Weston (28 October 1874 in Chichester – 21 November 1961 in Twickenham),"The man who never was" by Colin Baker in ''The

Postal Stationery Society The Postal Stationery Society was formed on 26 September 1992 at an inaugural meeting held at the Union Jack Club, London.,''Gibbons Stamp Monthly'', July 2013. Starting in February 1993 the Society has published a ''Journal'' containing Society n ...

Journal'', Vol 19 No 3, August 2011, pp.18–20 or H. Edgar Weston, was a stamp dealer in Stockwell, London, then Twickenham, who used the pseudonym Victor Marsh and who purchased

Jean-Baptiste Moens Jean-Baptiste Philippe Constant Moens (27 May 1833, Tournai – 28 April 1908) was a Belgium, Belgian philatelist recognized as the first stamp dealer, dealer in stamps for collectors. He was one of the original philatelic literature, philatelic j ...

' stock of

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 ...

after Moens' retirement in about 1907. Weston claimed to have the world's largest stock of philatelic literature for sale. He was also a prolific producer of

philatelic cover A philatelic cover is an envelope prepared with a stamp(s) and address and sent through the mail delivery system for the purpose of creating a collectible item. Stamp collectors began to send mail to each other and to themselves early on, and p ...

s using

cut-out Cut-out, cutout, or cut out may refer to: * Cutout animation * Cutout (electric power distribution), a combination fuse and knife switch used on power poles * Cutout (espionage), a mechanism used to pass information * Cut-out (philately), an impr ...

s from stamped to order

postal stationery A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related servi ...

items. In 1907, Weston was a founder member of the Philatelic Literature Society."The Philatelic Literature Society" in ''

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

and over an extended period to the post office at

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena ...

, with requests that they be posted back, suitably cancelled. In the 1950s Weston again managed to persuade the Post Office to produce

tête-bêche In philately, ''tête-bêche'' ( French for "head-to-tail", lit. "head-to-head") is a joined pair of stamps in which one is upside-down in relation to the other, produced intentionally or accidentally. Like any pair of stamps, a pair of ''tête ...

multiple letterpress impressions with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II dies. Examples of these items are known used during the period 1956 to 1959.

Career

Weston is known to have been in Stockwell from at least 1906 to about 1930."Postal Stationery Matters" by Peter van Gelder in ''Gibbons Stamp Monthly'', March 2003, Volume 33, Issue 10, pp.63–65. During this period covers are known addressed to him at 386 Brixton Road, London SW9, and advertising shows his address as 389 Brixton Road. From 1935, till his death in 1961, he is known to have been in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

; numerous covers exist addressed to him or to his trading name Victor Marsh at 13 Sion Road, Twickenham, Middlesex. A cover is known addressed to Weston from

Stampex Stampex is a twice yearly British stamp show held at the Business Design Centre (BDC) in Islington, London, every Spring and Autumn. The show is organised by the Philatelic Traders Society (PTS) through their company ''PTS Stamp and Coin Exhibi ...

1956 and franked with cut-outs and an advert for cut-outs appeared in the ''Stamp Collectors' Annual'' 1958, despite what must have been a rapidly declining market for such items. His stock or library were sold by Glendining in 1924.Birch, Brian. ''Biographies of Philatelists and Dealers''. 9th edition. Standish, Wigan: 2008, p.991.

Death

Grave of Herbert Edgar Weston in Twickenham Cemetery

Weston died on 21 November 1961 and was buried in

Twickenham Cemetery Twickenham Cemetery is a cemetery at Hospital Bridge Road, Whitton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was established in 1868 and was expanded in the 1880s when the local parish churchyards were closed to new burials. Notable bu ...

on 27 November 1961 alongside his wife. His wife, Edith Flora, died on 17 May 1951. He was not related to

Oswald Marsh Oswald Marsh (26 October 1880 – 4 August 1951)"Oswald Marsh - Philatelist Extraordinaire" by Michael Peach in ''Gibbons Stamp Monthly'', July 2009, pp.45-48. was a London stamp dealer who specialised in cut-outs. Many Marsh covers have addre ...

, a contemporary in Norwood, London.

Publications

*''International Directory of Philatelic Literature, Collectors, Dealers, and Publishers'', 1904. *''A British Georgian Stamp Banned by the Postmaster General!'', 1920. (pamphlet) *''Great Britain – Abnormal Embossed Postage Stamps of King Edward VII and King George V'', Harris Publications, London, 1923.

References

External links

Postal stationery cut-outs by H. Edgar Weston.Profile at Who Was Who in British Philately under Victor Marsh.Archive here
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Herbert Edgar British stamp dealers 1874 births 1961 deaths People from Chichester