Leon Norman Williams

Leon Norman Williams (1914-03-25 - 1999-04-09), originally a barrister, was a noted British philatelic writer, who collaborated with his brother Maurice as "L. N. and M. Williams" until Maurice's death in 1976.

The collaboration began in 1934 with magazine articles. In 1980 the brothers were elected to the Philatelic Writers Hall of Fame of the American Philatelic Society, and in 2000 Norman became a member of the APS Hall of Fame.

Together they succeeded Fred John Melville as editors of "The Stamp Lover" (1940-1954) and "The British Philatelist" (1940-1954). They also began "The Cinderella Philatelist" in 1961, which Norman continued after his brother's death.

Among their joint publications were:

*"The "Propaganda" Forgeries" (1938, their first book form collaboration)
*"Catalogue of the Philatelic Library formed by the late Sir Edward Denny Bacon, K.C.V.O." (1939) - compilers of a sale catalogue
*"Philately" (1939)
*"Famous Stamps" (1940)
*"A "Melville" Bibliography" (1941)
*"The W. J. Webster Collection" (1941)
*"Pioneer Stamp Album" (1941)
*"More Famous Stamps" (1942)
*"Priced Catalogue of Local Postage Stamps" with Erik F. Hurt (1942); supplement issued in 1948.
*"Stamp Anniversaries" (1943)
*"Stamps for All" (1943)
*"Stamps of Fame" (1949)
*"Stamps Day by Day" (1950)
*"Postage Stamps" (1950, Penguin) - a "Puffin Picture Book"
*"Handbook of the Private Local Posts" (1950 - essentially a revision of "Priced Catalogue of Local Postage Stamps"). Vol. VI of Fritz "Billig's Specialized Catalogues"
*"Stamp Collecting for Boys & Girls" (1950)
*"Collecting Postage Stamps" (1950)
*"A Century of Stamp Production" (1952)
*"Basic Philately" (1952)
*"Forged Stamps of Two World Wars" (1954)
*"Fundamentals of Philately" (edited by David Lidman, serialized in "The American Philatelist" 1954-1963; first published in five separate sections beginning in 1958 then in complete book form 1971. The 1990 edition was revised by Norman alone)
*"The Postage Stamp: Its History and Recognition" (1956, Penguin); a Japanese translation was published in 1958
*"Know Your Stamps" (1956) - Expanded edition of "Stamps for All"
*"Stamp Collector's Almanac" (1957)
*"The Satellite Album" (1961)
*"Hotel Posts of Hungary & Roumania" (1962)
*"Rare Stamps" (1967)
*"Cinderella Stamps" (1970)
*"Illustrated Teach Yourself Stamp Collecting"
*"Commemorative Postage Stamps of Great Britain"
*"Techniques of Philately"

Norman alone also produced
*"Encyclopedia of Rare and Famous Stamps", (Part I 1993, Part II 1997)
*"Philately 100 Years Ago" in "Stamp Collecting" (1981)

References

* [http://www.stamps.org/Almanac/alm_HallofFame_2000-04.htm APS Hall of Fame]
*"About L. N. and M. Williams" in "American Philatelist", vol. 67, No. 7, April 1954, pp. 502-4.
*James Negus, "Philatelic Literature, Compilation Techniques and Reference Sources", Limassol, James Bendon, 1991
*"Philatelic Literature Review", Vol. 12, Second Quarter, 1963, pp. 9-12
*George van den Berg, in his "Philatelic Notes", "Stamps", vol. 39, No. 9, May 30, 1942, p.303.