William Penn Brown (1841–1929), of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, was an early pioneer in the hobby of

stamp collecting Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...

. Brown was born in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

of missionary parents and was raised in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

before he came to 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 ...

and started a successful business selling stamps in New York City in 1860.William Penn Brown
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Philatelic activity

Starting in the 1860s, Brown was active in the business of selling stamps to stamp collectors in New York City, claiming to be the second earliest dealer of stamps in the city. He was acquainted with

John Walter Scott John Walter Scott (November 2, 1845 – January 4, 1919) of New York City, was originally from England, but he emigrated to the United States to take part in the California Gold Rush. Unsuccessful at the prospecting trade, Scott began to sell p ...

and helped Scott financially when Scott decided to open a stamp business. William Brown was an early innovator in the operating of auctions of rare postage stamps, resulting in other auction houses eventually following his auction methods.

Philatelic literature

In 1864 Brown was the editor of the ''London and New York Stamp Collectors Review'', the first journal for American philatelists. He also published, in 1970, a catalog entitled ''The Curiosity Cabinet'', which contained the first listing of United States locals, including his account of finding the New Haven postmaster provisional. He also wrote, later in life, his accounts of the early days of stamp collecting.

Honors and awards

William Brown 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 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William Penn 1841 births 1929 deaths American expatriates in British India American expatriates in Japan American stamp dealers American philatelists Philatelic literature Businesspeople from New York City American auctioneers Philatelic auctioneers American Philatelic Society 19th-century American merchants

Philatelic activity

Philatelic literature

Honors and awards

See also

References