Prescott Holden Thorp (April 28, 1887 – June 1981), of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, was a

stamp dealer A stamp dealer is a company or an individual who deals in stamps and philatelic products. It also includes individuals who sell postage stamps for day to day use or revenue stamps for use on court documents. Stamp dealers who sell to stamp collect ...

who was a recognized world-famous expert on stamped envelopes of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Philatelic literature

Thorp continued the work of

Julius (John) Murray Bartels J. Murray Bartels (born Julius Murray Bartels; July 15, 1871 – October 5, 1944) was a New York City-based dealer and auctioneer of rare postage stamps. He was also well known for his knowledge of United States postal stationery. Family Barth ...

, editing the fifth edition of ''Bartels Catalogue of the Stamped Envelopes and Wrappers of the United States and Possessions''. In 1954 he completed a sixth edition and named it ''Thorp-Bartels Catalogue of the Stamped Envelopes and Wrappers of the United States''. Thorp wrote several other books on philately: ''Catalogue of the 20th Century Stamped Envelopes and Wrappers of the United States'', in 1968, and ''Complete Guide to Stamp Collecting'', in 1953. He also edited and published from 1949 to 1970 ''The U.S. Envelope World''.

Honors and awards

For his writings on stamped envelopes, Thorp received the

Crawford Medal :::''See also'' Crawford Award for fantasy novels. :::''See also'' Max Crawford Medal Australian academic award. The Crawford Medal is a vermeil medal awarded by the Royal Philatelic Society London for the most valuable and original contribution ...

in 1945. He was named to the

American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame The American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame award honors deceased philatelists who have contributed significantly to the field of national and/or international philately. History The APS ''Hall of Fame'' award was founded at the 1940 American P ...

in 1989.

References

Prescott Holden Thorp
1887 births 1981 deaths Philatelic literature American philatelists American stamp dealers People from New Jersey American Philatelic Society {{US-philatelist-stub