William Reynolds Ricketts (July 29, 1869 – October 14, 1956), of

Forty Fort, Pennsylvania Forty Fort is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,233 at the 2020 census. Its neighbors are Wyoming (to the north), Plains Township (to the east), Kingston (to the south), and Swoyersville (to the west ...

, was a

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 ...

who created the largest index 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 ...

available during his lifetime. He was considered as the "greatest philatelic indexer of all time." Ricketts was the son of R. Bruce Ricketts and Elizabeth Reynolds Ricketts, for whom

Ricketts Glen State Park Ricketts Glen State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on 13,193 acres (5,280 ha) in Columbia, Luzerne, and Sullivan counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. Ricketts Glen is a National Natural Landmark known for its old-growth fore ...

in Pennsylvania is named.

Collecting interests

Ricketts was primarily interested in philatelic literature and created two indexes: one for

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s, the other for philatelic literature. As part of his effort, he amassed one of the largest philatelic libraries in existence. In addition to collecting and indexing, Ricketts also wrote and published numerous articles on stamps and stamp collecting. Indexes created by Ricketts were published, usually in small segments, in philatelic journals. However, his index was so huge that only a portion of his total index was ever published during his lifetime.

Philatelic activity

Ricketts was a member of the

Collectors Club of New York The Collectors Club, often referred to as the Collectors Club of New York, is a private club and philatelic society in New York City. Founded in 1896, it is one of the oldest existing philatelic societies in the United States. Its stated purpose ...

to which he donated a large portion of the foreign language philatelic literature of his library. The

American Philatelic Society The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting foundation of philately in the world. Both the membership and interests of the society are worldwide. History The organization, originally named the ''American Phil ...

started to publish his index, but eventually stopped because of its size, whereupon Ricketts discontinued work on the index.

Honors and awards

Ricketts 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 and 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 1988.

Legacy

The largest portion of his library was purchased by

George Townsend Turner George Townsend Turner (February 11, 1906 – August 14, 1979) of Washington, D.C., was considered a leading philatelic bibliophile of his era, amassing a very large body of philatelic literature over his lifetime. He was the acting curator of th ...

who, in turn, donated most of it to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, where it is now located in the

National Postal Museum The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States, covers large portions of the Postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement between the United S ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

References

External links