Edward Denny Bacon

Edward Denny Bacon (29 August 1860 – 5 June 1938) [http://www.stamps.org/Almanac/alm_HallofFame_1970-74.htm#Bacon Biography] in the American Philatelic Society's Hall of Fame.] was a British entrepreneur who dedicated himself entirely to philately after 1895. He helped the enlargement and mounting of collections possessed by rich collectors of his time.Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", pages 138-140.] His last and most prestigious employer was King George V to work on the Royal Philatelic Collection between 1913 and 1938.

Biography

Edward Bacon was the son of a malt producer of London, whose firm he worked until it closed in 1895. He deciced then to become a full-time philatelist. Personnally, his two main collections were of Japanese stamps (that became Philipp von Ferrary's) and of postal stationeries (later Thomas Tapling's).

He joined the Philatelic Society, London in 1880, in which he served in every possible main post. He was elected president in 1917. [http://www.ukphilately.org.uk/bpt/whowaswho/whowaswho-b.htm "Who Was Who?"] , British Philatelic Trust.]

He was known to help some British collectors to manage their philatelic possessions. The first one was Thomas Keay Tapling; when Tapling bequeathed his collection to the British Museum, Bacon mounted the ensemble and wrote its description, a task he achieved for an exhibition in February 1897, [The Tapling exhibition was visited by George, the then Duke of York and John Alexander Tilleard on 15 February 1895. (Duke of York's diaries quoted in Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", page 138).] after Tapling's death in 1891. After that, he managed Henry J. Duveen's collection, published in 1911 the catalogue of the Earl of Crawford's philatelic library. [This library was given to the British Library by Crawford after his death : [http://www.stamps.org/Almanac/alm_HallofFame_1941.htm#Lindsay Lindsay's biography] in the American Philatelic Society's Hall of Fame.] In 1908, Bacon was, with the Earl, one of the Philatelic Literature Society's cofounders.

A week after John Alexander Tilleard, "Philatelist to the King", ["Philatelist to the King" was Tilleard's official title in 1910 after the Duke of York became King George V.] passed away in September 1913, Bacon was invited by King George V to the place of curator of the Royal Philatelic Collection. He accepted and travelled by train from his residence in Croydon to Victoria station twice to three times a week until his death to work in Buckingham Palace on the Collection : to buy stamps, to receive items from the post offices in the United Kingdom, and the British Dominions and colonies, and to mount all this in uniform red stamp albums, [Bacon's account book is kept in the Collection and is very precise. Described in Courney Nicholas (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", page 140, the first purchase was for material to mount an album : five hundred album sheets, stamp hinges and chemicals to fix hinges on the sheets.] while Tilleard accumulated and mounted only when the King was preparing an exhibition at the Royal Philatelic Society London. Nevertheless, John Wilson, Keeper of the Collection after Bacon's death, criticized the way Bacon accumulated his new hinges without removing old ones. [Wilson, John (1952). "The Royal Philatelic Collection", page 56, quoted in Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", page 141.]

Whereas a deafness [Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", page 135] isolated Bacon from the others members of the Royal Court, he alone succeeded to balance the Collection's budget when the King bought a lot and to mount every project, essay and issued stamp received. During World War One, the session in the Stamp Room placed inside Buckingham Palace diverted the King from matter of state and the war, and made him consider the curator as a friend like Tilleard. [Wilson, John (1952). "The Royal Philatelic Collection", page 59, quoted in Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", page 243.]

After George V's death in January 1936, Bacon continued his tasks on a Collection that became part of the royal heirloom. Even if Kings Edward VIII and George VI were less enthusiastic stamp collectors than their father, they made sure that all British and colonial postal authorities continued to send philatelic material to the Curator. [Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", pages 246-247.] But, Edward VIII ordered that the Collection had to be financially self-sufficient, thank to the sales of duplicate stamps. In July 1936, Bacon was authorized to sell two 500 dollar stamps of the Strait Settlements figuring King Edward VII for 1,000 pounds. [Letter from Alexander Hardingue, Private Secretary of the King, 10 July 1936, quoted in Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", page 247.]

In April 1938, Bacon announced to the King his retirement on the next first of September. John Wilson was quickly chosen because, as president of the Royal Philatelic Society and chairman of its Expert Committee, he already knew the Collection well. [Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", pages 250-251.] But, Bacon died of an illness in June 1938. [Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", pages 252.]

Titles and awards

In 1917 Bacon was made Member of the Royal Victorian Order, then Commander in 1922 and Knight in 1932. [Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps", page 243.]

In 1906, he received the first Lindenberg Medal from the Berliner Philatelisten-Klub von 1888 [ [http://www.stamps.org/Almanac/alm_HallofFame_appendix.htm Glossary on the American Philatelic Society's website] .] and was amongst the first to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists with King George V.

Publications

* With Francis H. Napier, "Saint Vincent : With Notes and Publisher's Prices", 1895.
* "Reprints of Postal Adhesive Stamps and Their Characteristics", 1899 ; reprint by Lowell Ragatz, 1954.
* "The Line Engraved Postage Stamps of Great Britain Printed by Perkins, Bacon and Co.", 1920. Awarded the Crawford Medal en 1921.

* Catalogue of Lord Crawford's philatelic library :
** "Bibliotheca Lindesiana. Vol. VII: A Bibliography of the Writings General, Special and Periodical Forming the Literature of Philately", 1911. 200 copies were printed for libraries and bibliophiles.
** "The Catalogue of the Philatelic Library of the Earl of Crawford, K.T.", Royal Philatelic Society London, 1911. 300 books printed.
** A supplement was published in 1926, then an "Addenda" in 1938.
** Second edition of this catalogue, corrected by Bacon and with the Library references, British Library, 1991.

Sources and references

* Nicholas Courtney (2004). "The Queen's Stamps. The Authorised History of the Royal Philatelic Collection", Methuen, ISBN 0413772284, pages 135 to 152.

External links

* [http://www.ukphilately.org.uk/bpt/whowaswho/whowaswho-b.htm Biography in the "Who Was Who?"] , British Philatelic Trust, 9 Ocotber 2003, retrieved 18 November 2007.
* [http://www.stamps.org/Almanac/alm_HallofFame_1970-74.htm#Bacon Biography] in the American Philatelic Society's Hall of Fame, posthumous tribute awarded in 1972.