Mariano Pardo de Figueroa of Medina (18 November 1828 – 11 December 1918), who used the nom-de-plume Dr. Thebussem (or Thebussen), was a Spanish nobleman 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" entered 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. He was elected an Ordinary Member of ''The Philatelic Society, London'', 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 ...

, in 1870 and an Honorary Member of that Society in 1875, and as such he was one of the first members of the Society. Election as an honorary member probably related to the rule that once existed that full members should be resident in London. According to Gibbons Stamp Weekly, de Figueroa was given the title of "Honorary Postman of Spain and her Possessions" for postal reforms in that country and the privilege of free postage for his services to science."Philatelic peculiarities" by W. Ward in ''Gibbons Stamp Weekly'', November 1908, p. 311. The pen name "Thebussem" was created from an anagram of "embustes" (Spanish for "lies" or "

tall tales A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some tall tales are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories ("the fish that got away") such as, "That fish was so big, why I tell ya', it n ...

"), with an H and an S added to Germanize it. The well-known Spanish writer

Dionisio Pérez Gutiérrez Dionisio Pérez Gutiérrez (pseudonym Post-Thebussem) (born 1872 in Grazalema (Cádiz) - died 23 February 1935 in Madrid) was a Spanish writer, journalist, and gastronome. He has been called "one of Spain's most authoritative food writers" and wa ...

chose to go by the pseudonym "Post-Thebussem" as a show of support for de Figueroa.

Publications

* ''Literatura philatélica en España. Apuntes para la redaccion de un catálogo''. 1876. * ''La mesa moderna''. 1888. * ''Fruslerías postales''. 1895. * ''Algo de philatelia''. 1899.

References

1828 births 1918 deaths Spanish untitled nobility Hispanists Spanish philatelists Philately of Spain Fathers of philately Spanish food writers {{Spain-noble-stub