Walter Dorning Beckton (1866
The Large Hermes Head Stamps of Greece, 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011. Reprinting an article in ''Philotelia'' 2007
Backup here.
/ref> – 17 or 18 March 1931) was a British philatelist who signed 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.Who Was Who in British Philately.

Association of British Philatelic Societies The Association of British Philatelic Societies, commonly known as the ''ABPS'', is the British national association of philatelic societies, regional philatelic federations, and specialist philatelic societies.The London Philatelist'', Vol. XL, No. 471, March 1931, pp. 49–50. Greece and Italy were two of his particular interests and in competitive philately he won medals for his Greece, Straits Settlements, Japan, British West Indies, and Romania. He won the

Lindenberg Medal The Lindenberg Medal is an award given to those who provide “conspicuous service to philately” because of their investigations and contributions to philatelic literature. It is considered by some as the Nobel Prize of Philately.Horst Hille: ' ...

in 1931.

Organised philately

Beckton was one of the Manchester school of philately which advocated the scientific study of all aspects of stamp production including

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...

, printing and perforation. He was president of the Manchester Philatelic Society for thirty-five years consecutively. He joined The Royal Philatelic Society London in February 1892,''The Royal Philatelic Society London 1869 – 1969''. London: The Royal Philatelic Society London, 1969, p. 34. eventually becoming president of that society from 1929 until his death in 1931. He was also vice-president of the

International Philatelic Union The International Philatelic Union, formed 1881, was an early international philatelic organisation formed for the study of stamps and the promotion of philately generally.Rogers-Tillstone, Capt. B. ''The Royal Philatelic Society London 1869-1969''. ...

. He wrote extensively on philately and was a regular contributor to the ''Philatelic Journal of Great Britain'' and other philatelic periodicals.

Legacy

Beckton's death was unexpected, reportedly from "angina pectoris", over the night of 17–18 March 1931 while he was still president of the Royal. He was survived by a sister and brother. His collection 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 ...

of over 900 volumes was donated to the Manchester public library in 1934 where it is still available as the ''Beckton Philatelic Library''.Beckton Philatelic Library.
Manchester City Council Libraries, 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011. His collection of Greece was auctioned by H.R. Harmer in two sales of 1935 and 1936.

Selected publications

*''The Stamps of Greece''. Plymouth: W. Brendon and Son, 1897. (with G. Duerst) *''Philatelic Nomenclature as Applicable to Lithographed Postage Stamps'', 1928. (Paper given at the

Philatelic Congress of Great Britain The Philatelic Congress of Great Britain is a national congress held each year by the Association of British Philatelic Societies (ABPS). History The first Congress was held in 1909 in conjunction with a stamp exhibition at Hulme Town Hall in ...

). Selected papers and articles reprinted from '' The London Philatelist'': *''British Honduras: The Local Surcharges of January 1888''. Plymouth: Mayflower Press, 1925. *''The Carlist Stamps of Spain & Further note on the reprints''. c.1927. *''Italy – The 15 Centesimi of May 1863''. 1928.

References

External links

Scan of a 1916 letter from Beckton.A picture of Beckton in later life, together with three other eminent collectors.Backup
*http://www.stampdomain.com/notable_philatelists/Walter_Dorning_Beckton.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckton, Walter, Dorning 1866 births 1931 deaths British philatelists Lawyers from Manchester Recipients of the Lindenberg Medal Presidents of the Royal Philatelic Society London Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists English book and manuscript collectors

Organised philately

Legacy

Selected publications

See also

References

Further reading

External links