James A. Mackay

James Alexander Mackay (November 21 1936, Inverness—August 12 2007, Glasgow) was a Scottish writer and philatelist.

His parents moved to Glasgow where he went to school and university.

Interested in stamps and the postal system from an early age, he wrote two acclaimed histories of the Scottish posts; one limited to St. Kilda and, in 1978, his "History of Scottish Postmarks, 1693-1978", the definitive work on the subject. He became a prolific philatelic author, especially on English, Irish and Scottish postmarks as well as his "Postal History Annual" and island series books. He wrote some 200 books and at least 10,000 articles.

He was the editor of "The Burns Chronicle" from 1976 through 1992, and under his stewardship "The Burns Chronicle" reached a level of quality and diversity it has not achieved before or since. He then turned to biography, where he was less successful. Through the 1980s he worked on the poet Robert Burns, publishing in 1992 a well-reviewed biography which won the Saltire Award. Subsequent biographies of Allan Pinkerton and William Wallace were released to mixed reviews.

1996 saw the release of "Michael Collins: A Life", a work about the life of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins. The book was released to excellent reviews.

In 1998, he published a biography of Alexander Graham Bell. It was on the market briefly before Robert V. Bruce published a damning indictment, detailing sustained plagiarism of his own work, "Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude". Far from being a little-known work, the latter had in fact won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. The indictment, published in the American Historical Association's house journal, counted instances of plagiarism on 80 percent of the pages published. Mackay paid his publishers to withdraw the book from circulation, and Bruce agreed not to sue. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B04E0DB1F3CF932A1575AC0A96F958260 New York Times: Repeat Accusations Of Plagiarism Taint Prolific Biographer] September 21 1999 (retrieved October 7 2007)]

The next year (1998), Mackay published a biography of John Paul Jones, the founder of the US Navy; while initially well received, and the subject of flattering reviews in the trade press, it was soon discovered that it was practically a copy of what those same reviews had marked as the last work on the man, that by Samuel Eliot Morison in 1942. That biography too had won the Pulitzer.Columbia University history professor David Armitage was quoted in the New York Times as saying that the book was "a spectacular and sustained act of plagiarism." [New York Times 25 Sep 1999 " Publisher Cancels Biography After Plagiarism Inquiry" [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E0D8133FF936A1575AC0A96F958260] retrieved on 9 Nov 2007] [Scotland on Sunday "Muckle ’o grief as expert on the bard reviles ‘plagiarist’" [http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1597732001] retrieved on 9 Nov, 2007.]

He died on August 12, 2007 at the age of 70 in Glasgow. [ [http://news.scotsman.com/obituaries.cfm?id=1343062007 Prolific writer on philatelic subjects and biographer of Burns] Scotsman.com (retrieved 4 November 2007)]

Publications

Philatelic

The World of Stamps Cover Collecting - A Collecta Guide to First Day & Other Covers St Kilda; Its Posts and Communications 1963

The Tapling Collection of Postage Stamps and Telegraph Stamps and Postal Stationery British Museum 53 pgs 1964

Tristan Da Cunha: Its Postal History and Philately 72 pgs Mackay & Crabb 1965

Commonwealth Stamp Design 1840-1965 British Museum 32 pgs 1965

Money in Stamps Johnson Publications 240 pgs 0853070008 1967

The Story of Éire and Her Stamps Philatelic Publishers 1968

East Africa: The Story of East Africa and Its Stamps: The Story of East Africa and Its Stamps Philatelic Publishers 192 pgs 090086401X 1970

New Encyclopedia of Stamps IPC Magazines 1970

The World of Classic Stamps 1840-1870 Putnam 1970

Airmails, 1870-1970 Batsford 216 pgs 0713403802 1971

The Dictionary of Stamps in Colour Michael Joseph 296 pgs 0718111249 1973

An Illustrated History of Stamp Design Peter Lowe 187 pgs 0856546097 1974

Encyclopedia of World Stamps, 1945-1975 Lionel Leventhal Ltd 160 pgs 0070445958 1976

The Guinness Book of Stamps: Facts and Feats Perseus Distribution Services 225 pgs 0851122418 1982

British Stamps Longman 247 pgs 058240620X 1985

Postmarks of England and Wales J.A. Mackay: self-published 352 pgs 0906440467 1988

1800 Stamps of the World: A Stunning Visual Directory of Rare and Familiar Issues, Organized Country by Country with over 1800 Images of Collectables from up to 200 Countries Southwater 160 pgs 1844763463 2007

English Provincial Krags (Machine Cancellations) 1987

Scottish Postmarks 1693-1987 J.A. Mackay: self-published 68 pgs 1978

The Circular Name Stamps of Scotland J.A. Mackay: self-published 1978

The Skeleton Postmarks of Scotland J.A. Mackay: self-published 1978

The Floating Post Offices of the Clyde J.A. Mackay: self-published Scottish Twin-Arc Postmarks with Stampers Numbers 1894-1963 J.A. Mackay: self-published

The Postal History of Glasgow J.A. Mackay: self-published 1984

Sub Office Rubber Datestamps of Scotland J.A. Mackay: self-published

English and Welsh Postmarks Since 1840 J.A. Mackay: self-published 254 pgs

British Post Office Numbers 1924-1969 J.A. Mackay: self-published 50 pgs 1981

Telegraphic Codes of the British Isles, 1879-1924 J.A. Mackay: self-published 90 pgs 1981

The Parcel Post of the British Isles J.A. Mackay: self-published 232 pgs 1982

Registered Mail of the British Isles J.A. Mackay: self-published 395 pgs 1982

Official Mail of the British Isles J.A. Mackay: self-published 349 pg 1983

Surcharged Mail of the British Isles J.A. Mackay: self-published 138 pgs

Irish Postmarks Since 1840 J.A. Mackay: self-published 222 pgs 1982

Irish Slogan Postmarks 1919-1983 J.A. Mackay: self-published 76 pgs

Sub Office Rubber Datestamps of Ireland J.A. Mackay: self-published 1985

Dátstampái Rubair na bhFo-Oificí an Phoist in Éirinn J.A. Mackay: self-published

Postal History Annual 1979 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1979

Postal History Annual 1980 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1980

Postal History Annual 1981 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1981

Postal History Annual 1982 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1982

Postal History Annual 1983 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1983

Postal History Annual 1984 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1984

Postal History Annual 1985 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1985

Postal History Annual 1986 J.A. Mackay: self-published 1986

Under the Gum – Background to British Stamps 1840–1940 James Bendon 1997

"Scottish Islands Postal History Series"

No. 1: Harris & St Kilda J.A. Mackay: self-published 80 pgs

No. 2: The Uists & Barra J.A. Mackay: self-published 57 pgs

No. 3: Lewis J.A. Mackay: self-published 62 pgs

No. 4: Skye and the Small Isles J.A. Mackay: self-published 70 pgs

No. 5: Arran & Cumbrae J.A. Mackay: self-published 39 pgs

No. 6: Bute J.A. Mackay: self-published 38 pgs

No. 7: Orkney & Stroma J.A. Mackay: self-published 64 pgs

No. 8: Shetland J.A. Mackay: self-published 70 pgs

No. 9: Mull, Iona, Coll & Tiree J.A. Mackay: self-published 37 pgs

No. 10: Islay, Jura and the other Argyll Isles J.A. Mackay: self-published 39 pgs

No. 11: Scottish Islands Supplement & Catalogue J.A. Mackay: self-published 64 pgs

No. 12: Isle of Wight J.A. Mackay: self-published 112 pgs

Biographies

Vagabond of Verse: Robert Service - a Biography, Trafalgar Square ISBN 1851587047 1996

Allan Pinkerton: The First Private Eye, John Wiley & Sons, Somerset, NJ ISBN 0471194158 1997

Michael Collins: A Life, Trafalgar Square ISBN 1851588574 1997

Alexander Graham Bell: A Life, John Wiley & Sons, Somerset, NJ ISBN 0471240451 1998

William Wallace: Brave Heart, Mainstream, ISBN 185158823X 1995

The Man Who Invented Himself: a Life of Sir Thomas Lipton, Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh ISBN 1851588310 1998

References

External links

* [http://www.stampmart.co.uk/news/dedications.asp Dedications flood in for prolific philatelist] Stamp & Coin Mart
* [http://www.gbstamps.com/gbcc/gbcc_mackay_intvw.html Interview with James Mackay: April 2001] Great Britain Collectors Club
* [http://www.sandafayre.com/news/theme_thing.htm James MacKay Speaks... "The Theme's the Thing"] Sandafayre Stamp Auctions