The National Philatelic Society is one of two national

philatelic 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 ...

societies in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. The other is 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 ...

History

Fred Melville, Gibbons Stamp Weekly, Feb 1905, p

''The National'', as it is known, was formed in 1899 by

Fred Melville Frederick John Melville (25 February 1882 – 12 January 1940)Schofield, Brian. ''Who Was Who in British Philately''. London: British Philatelic Trust, 2003, p.34. Online versiohere. was a British philatelist, prolific philatelic author and fo ...

and the first meeting is believed to have been at a shop in Clapham, South London. Melville had applied for membership of the ''Philatelic Society, London'', now ''The Royal Philatelic Society London'', but was rejected as he was under 18 years of age. This led to him forming ''The Junior Philatelic Society'' (now ''The National Philatelic Society'') that same year. The society was a huge success, capitalising on pent-up demand for a philatelic society that anyone could join and the new society soon had to seek a larger meeting place. In 1906 Melville formed a Manchester branch of the society. Branches were also formed at Brighton and Liverpool.Furnell, Michael., ed. ''National Philatelic Society Centenary Handbook''. London: National Philatelic Society, 1999, pp.16-17. The success of the J.P.S. in its early years has been attributed to the partnership between Melville as propagandist and writer, and Herbert "Johnny" Johnson as businessman and organiser.

Aims

The Constitution of the society (1997) states: ''"The Aims of the Society shall be:'' ''(a) To promote, encourage and contribute to the advancement of the practice of philately in all its branches.''
''(b) To encourage and undertake the preparation and publication of books, catalogues, guides, journals and papers bearing on philately.''
''(c) To provide facilities for the practice of philately and to assist and encourage young philatelists.''
''(d) To encourage the detection and prevention of philatelic fakes, forgeries and spurious material and to give assistance in the prosecution of offenders.''
''(e) To establish and maintain a permanent centre for philately."''

Today

Today the society is still going strong, and continues to hold regular meetings and to publish its journal ''Stamp Lover'', as it has since 1908.The Philately of the Edwardian Era as shown in its Literature
by

David Beech David Richard Beech MBE (born 1954) was the curator of the British Library Philatelic Collections from 1983–2013. He is a fellow and past-president of the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL). In 2013, it was announced that Beech was to r ...

, Barnet & District Philatelic Society, 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013. The society also has an extensive philatelic library.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Society websiteNPS Library Online search pageThe British Postal Museum & ArchiveJune 2010 edition of ''Stamp Lover''.
Philatelic organisations based in the United Kingdom 1899 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

Aims

Today

See also

References

External links