Percy George de Worms (3 November 1873 – 2 April 1941) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

aristocrat 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 ...

Biography

Early life

Percy George de Worms was born on 3 November 1873.The Peerage: Percy George de Worms
/ref> His paternal grandfather was

Solomon Benedict de Worms Baron Solomon Benedict de Worms (5 February 1801 – 20 October 1882) was an Austrian aristocrat, plantation owner in Sri Lanka, Ceylon, and stockbroker in London. Biography Early life Solomon Benedict de Worms was born on 5 February 1801 in Fr ...

(1801-1882), who owned large plantations in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and was made a Hereditary Baron of the Austrian Empire by

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...

(1830-1916), and his paternal grandmother was Henrietta Samuel.Marquis de Ruvigny (Editor),
The Nobilities of Europe
', London, 1909. His family was Jewish.Yale Center for British Art: De Worms family scrapbook, 1912-1913
/ref>

Career

He was a

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 ...

by profession.

Philatelic life

He was prominent in 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 ...

where he was a member of the Council and the Expert Committee. In 1927, he won the society's Tapling Medal for his paper "The Local Surcharges of Ceylon 1885" published in

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

A year later, in 1928, he was invited to sign 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 ...

. He also served as the Honorary Librarian there between 1935 and 1941. He was an expert on the stamps of

, to which

Sir John Wilson __NOTOC__ Sir John Foster Wilson CBE (20 January 1919 – 25 November 1999) was a British public health advocate, best known for working to prevent blindness in developing countries in Africa and South and South East Asia. Early life and bac ...

said every philatelic conversation with him eventually led.de Worms, Percy. ''Perkins Bacon Records'', Royal Philatelic Society London, 1953, Foreword by Sir John Wilson p.x. The de Worms family had interests in coffee estates in Ceylon. Perkins Bacon Records by Percy de Worms - image 4

Perkins Bacon Records by Percy de Worms - image 4

In 1935, the printing firm of

Perkins Bacon Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co was a printer of books, bank notes and postage stamps, most notable for printing the Penny Black, the world's first adhesive postage stamps, in 1840. {{Infobox , above = Details on the mode of preventing the forgery o ...

, notable for the

Penny Black The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in the United Kingdom (referred to in philatelic circles as Great Britain), on 1 May 1840, but was not valid for use until 6 May. ...

and numerous other issues, went out of business and its records were acquired by Charles and Harry Nissen and Thomas Allen. The records were subsequently transferred to the Royal Philatelic Society London and in January 1936 around fifty packing cases of records were delivered to the Royal. De Worms was given the task of reviewing the records to ascertain their philatelic value. This was completed by 1937 and a decision was taken to publish the records of the 19th century by 1940. The detailed nature of the records, the Second World War and de Worms' death in 1941 all conspired to prevent this and it was not until 1953 that the records were eventually published in an authoritative two-volume work of over 900 pages.de Worms, Percy. ''Perkins Bacon Records'', Royal Philatelic Society London, 1953, Introduction by

John Easton John Easton (1624–1705) was a political leader in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, devoting decades to public service before eventually becoming governor of the colony. Born in Hampshire, England, he sailed to New England ...

, p.xv. The work de Worms compiled was one of meticulous philatelic scholarship and in the foreword to the published edition, Sir John Wilson commented that "Possibly nobody but de Worms would have had the courage to attempt it..." .de Worms, Percy. ''Perkins Bacon Records'', Royal Philatelic Society London, 1953, Foreword by Sir John Wilson p.ix.

Personal life

He married Nora, only daughter of Sir Harry Simon Samuel MP on 25 July 1900. They had one son and one daughter.

Publications

*''The Royal Philatelic Society, London: 1869 - April 10, 1919'', Royal Philatelic Society London, 1919. *"The Foreign Bill Stamps Produced by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co." in ''The Bulletin'',

Fiscal Philatelic Society The Fiscal Philatelic Society (11 January 1902 – 1928) was an early twentieth-century British philatelic society that is seen as a predecessor to today's '' The Revenue Society''. The principal object of the society was the study of fiscal stamp ...

, Vol.II, No.8, December 1925. *"The Local Surcharges of Ceylon 1885" in ''The London Philatelist'', 1927. *"Ceylon" in the ''Regent Stamp Catalogue'',

Robson Lowe John Harry Robson Lowe (7 January 1905, London – 19 August 1997, Bournemouth) was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer. Life and career Lowe is regarded by philatelists as the father of postal history, ha ...

, London. (Editor) *''Perkins Bacon Records'', Royal Philatelic Society London, 1953. (Two volumes published posthumously. Edited by

and Arnold Strange)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worms, Percy George De 1873 births 1941 deaths British philatelists English barristers English Jews Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists