Research Guidelines for the Stuart Rossiter Trust
Philatelic Research – A Basic Guide by David R Beech FRPSL
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For those at the beginning of a philatelic
research project it will be of much value to them and the results of
that research, to have a systematic approach.
This article attempts to set out some basic concepts that will help
the researcher.
This set of guidelines should not restrict the author in his vision
or concept of his work, but should help him attain a satisfactory result
of value to others and posterity.
1. Define your subject.
1.1 Decide the subject matter of your research. Examples of this include:
country, territory, dates, reign; is it postage stamps, postal stationery,
meter stamps, revenue stamps or postal history, philatelic history:
of what, or where, during which period; including postage rates, postal
routes, postmarks, theme, etc?
1.2 Write this down; it will be a useful discipline, but it should be
flexible as the availability of research materials may change the course
of, or extend, the research.
1.3 Decide on the level and extent of the published work; serious, serious
detailed, introductory, light hearted, etc., if necessary tailored to
where it may be published.
1.4 Check that it or something close, has not been done before (see
2 below), or that somebody else is not currently working on it too.
2. Check the literature
2.1 Find all, or as much as possible, of the literature and documents
on your subject. This will take the form of books or monographs, articles
in periodicals or serials, auction catalogues, catalogues, bibliographies,
gray literature (semi published),CDs, internet web pages and archival
files, etc.
2.2 Books are best found in a philatelic bibliography if one exists
covering the subject area. Library catalogues if subject indexed serve
much the same purpose. Those which are available on the internet and
are keyword searchable are of particular value. See 2.3. General philatelic
reference works may have important information, for example [de Worms]
Perkins, Bacon Records..., and Williams, Fundamentals of Philately.
Gray literature is semi published text. This will be conference papers,
meeting notes, unpublished limited circulation material, etc.
2.3 Articles in periodicals are probably the most difficult to find.
Research of periodicals should also be guided by tools in 2.2. These
might be of a general nature for example Stamp Lover or specialised
like Irish Philately; many may have less than helpful titles if you
do not know the subject matter, e.g. Upland Goose (Falkland Islands)
or Maple Leaves (Canada). Those with annual or cumulative indexes, if
well constructed, offer the most help. The Catalogue of the American
Philatelic Research Library which is available on the internet at: www.stamps.org/InmagicGenie/opac.aspx
includes books and periodicals and is key word searchable. The London
Philatelist, the journal of The Royal Philatelic Society London, has
a key word searchable Archival Edition on CD covering its 115 volumes
from 1892.
2.4 Auction catalogues, including specialised sales, may be difficult
to discover if not listed in some way in a bibliography, etc.
2.5 Bibliographies or references in books or articles will be useful
source of subject literature data. The more bibliographic data you find
the easier it becomes to complete the process.
2.6 Archival files will contain original and probably definitive information.
Such files probably are based on a correspondence of some kind, so other
files may exist to reflect the other side of that correspondence (post
office, printer, papermaker, designer, etc). Most actions have a financial
consequence, so a financial file from perhaps a treasury department
may be useful. Associated documents/files may contain the information
that you are seeking and so should be inspected. Archival files will
be kept in a country's national/local archives/library, a post office,
the Union Postale Universelle (UPU), a printer, paper maker, taxing
authority, etc. Think widely. Make sure to record file names, reference
numbers or references, etc
2.7 Non-philatelic materials will give background and other useful information,
and these include: directories, Government or official publications,
maps, newspapers, patents, timetables, biographies, Army and Navy lists,
etc.
2.8 Make a list of the books, and the periodical titles with volume,
page and date, etc, as well as web site details, and details of files,
etc. See 4.3.
2.9 Read or at least examine those sections of books relevant and the
same for periodicals. It will be helpful to do this in the order published;
that is by date order. This will give an idea of the development of
the subject and its history. Periodicals should be listed as in 4.3
below, with a note indicating usefulness. This may serve as a bibliography
in the finished written work, and will be invaluable in recording texts
to be revisited.
2.10 When conducting searches on the internet, keep references/web addresses
and try to verify the information with primary sources. Remember that
web pages are unlikely to be available for as long as a printed item.
It might be wise to print them, or parts of them.
2.11 Do not believe everything that you find, perhaps especially on
the internet, many researchers have not been accurate or have a good
interpretation or perspective. An indication may be if the text does
not include references and or a bibliography.
Check information.
3. Examine philatelic material and discuss the research project
with knowledgeable people.
3.1 Examine as much material as may be available in private and public
collections (museums, libraries and archives). Think widely as to where
material may be held. It is to be expected that a nation's postal museum
(it may be called a museum of communication) will specialise in the
material of that country, but it may hold collections of other countries;
for example the Museum of Communication, Berne, Switzerland holds an
important collection of United States, the Charles A Hirzel Collection.
The Museum of Communication, in The Hague, the Netherlands holds some
archival material printed by the printing firm Enschede for the Transvaal
Second Republic (1881 to 1899) being proof copies. One of the worldŐs
philatelic repositories contain many collections or archives covering
a number of territories or disciplines; this is the British Library,
Philatelic Collections, in London, UK. In all research projects this
institution should be consulted as to available material and literature.
They will not undertake your research work for you. Most institutions
have web sites; but few give adequate or any information as to collections
or research materials held. Items etc should be noted as to where these
have been seen. In public collections material should be referred to
by the name of the institution, the name of the collection or archive
concerned and any volume description and page number etc. For example:
The British Library, Philatelic Collections, the Tapling Collection,
Japan section page 12. This will enable others to see what has been
examined or to check on your findings at a later date. These details
should be noted down at the time of examination, and will be an invaluable
listing of what was seen and where. A list of postal museums and philatelic
libraries, etc with web sites is to be found at: British Library List of postal museums and philatelic libraries, etc with web sites
3.2 A few tips when looking at material.
Used stamps may be water damaged or their appearance may be affected
by postmark ink oil. When looking at an item always do so on white or
near white paper. A black paper background will almost certainly give
a different appearance to a stamp. Always suspect that an item is not
what it seems; always the first action of a good philatelist. Make clear
and concise notes in a systematic way as you may not look at them again
until sometime later.
3.3 If looking at essays, proof or archival material, record all the
notations and reference numbers, etc, that may be associated with the
items, even if they do not appear to be important. They may be or become
significant later.
3.4 Museum, Library and Archive Collections will be available subject
to conditions of access; these should be carefully checked well in advance
before any approach is made.
3.5 You should have a clear understanding of the "'archival"' background
of a file, collection or item. This may be that information in an official
file is definitive, or in a collection such as the Tapling Collection
(the British Library, Philatelic Collections) which was completed in
1899, can not contain a later forgery, etc.
4. Write a plan of your article or book and start writing
4.1 Work out the order in which information or facts will be presented
in sections/chapters/paragraphs of your book or article. In a book these
will form the basis of the contents page. Facts or information is usually
best presented in chronological order or by subject and then chronologically
arranged.
4.2 References are vital. They should always be given to prove a fact
or to give further, perhaps definitive, information. In any work the
question that the reader will ask is how does the author know that?
References will give that evidence.
4.3 Include, where appropriate, references by a numbered system. These
should be listed at the end of an article. In a book they may be at
the end of each chapter or better still at the end after the last chapter
and before the index.
4.4 References should be given as follows: -
Books: Author, title, place of publication, publisher,
date of publication, ISBN.
For example: Morgan, Helen, Blue Mauritius, London, Atlantic Books,
2006, ISBN 1 84354 435 0.
Remember that the title is to be found on the title page and not on
the cover or spine.
Article in a periodical: Author, title of article,
title of periodical, volume number (or whole number if the volume system
is not used) page numbers, date of periodical.
For example: Beech, David R, "'How to look after your Collection – A
Basic Guide"', The London Philatelist, volume 115, pp 68-70, March,
2006.
4.5 Always include an index in a book Remember that users may wish to
refer to information in ways other than the way that the author has
presented it. For example in a book about postage stamps which is arranged
in a chronological order of the dates of issue, a user may be interested
in a printer, this information may be found almost anywhere in the text.
A good index will list the printer and so the desired information will
be found.
4.6 An index is a list arranged alphabetically at the end of the book.
A contents page or pages appear at the beginning of the work and is
set out in the order in which the chapters or sections, etc appear in
the book. It is surprising just how often the two are confused!
4.7 Especially in the case of an article, it is important to set the
scene by describing locations, and giving political, social and economic
information, etc. The use of maps is to be encouraged.
4.8 All good research work should be published. In a periodical, an
article may take the form of work in hand, sometimes put forward for
comment, suggestion or criticism, usually in the form of a further article,
letter to the editor, etc. The product of such a research process is
likely to be definitive or accepted text, as an article, monograph or
book. See 5.6.
4.9 As in most subjects, accuracy is everything.
4.10 Let the facts tell the story, not any prejudgement. However if
facts are not all known, but there is a theory or theories about events,
etc, make it clear that these are theories. Try to think of all of the
possibilities.
4.11 Write to tell the story, with its interpretation as may be appropriate,
for the record and the reader.
4.12 Resist the temptation to start writing until you are sure that
your research is as complete as it can be.
4.13 Start writing your work. Be concise, make your meaning clear, avoid
complicated sentence construction and words with obscure meanings, and
use the spell checker. Avoid foreign phrases.
5. Tips
5.1 Always acknowledge those who have helped.
5.2 Always give references to published work or other data, including
unpublished manuscripts.
5.3 In articles when referring to people who are dead always give their
dates; you would be surprised about the number of people alive at the
same time with the same of similar names. For example: Sir Edward Denny
Bacon (1860-1938). In books this information may be collected into one
section, perhaps with further biographic data.
5.4 While it does have a limited place, take great care not to judge
past events by the standards of today. Make efforts to understand the
history of philately as it affects your subject and the resulting issues
of philatelic fashion. For example the limited number of collectors
of Revenue material after the 1914-18 World War resulting in the rarest
material likely to be after that event.
5.5 Always chose a title for your article or book that reflects its
contents. For example: Malta. The Stamps and Postal History 1576-1960.
One that does not is: Of Kauri and Gold, which is a postal, economic
and social history of the Coromandel peninsular of New Zealand. Authors
should bear in mind that databases that list their works will be key
word searchable. The subject key words are not included in the title
Of Kauri and Gold and so it will be much harder to find. Perhaps a fitting
title would have been New Zealand: The Postal History of the Coromandel
Peninsular with its associated social and economic development 750–1993
5.6 The research process in periodicals is one of the presentation of
facts/ideas/concepts, etc being put forward to be followed by another
author or authors putting forward complimentary or different views,
which may extend the subject matter. Over time a consensus or proven
view will be accepted. See 4.8.
5.7 Accept with an open mind the views of others and give references
to others even if they take a different line.
5.8 Tabulate results if appropriate.
5.9 All illustrations in your work should be of good quality. The days
of the use of photocopies have gone, unless these are all that is available.
Images are liable to be copyright and the permission of the copyright
owner must be obtained and acknowledged, as well as permission to reproduce.
The ownership of an item is not necessarily synonymous with the ownership
of copyright.
5.10 Grants may be available to meet some or all of the research expenses.
These in the United Kingdom are from BPA Expertising Educational Charity;
the British Philatelic Trust; the Chand A and Z Research Fund for Classic
Philately (managed by the British Library, Philatelic Collections);
the Julian Chapman Scholarship (managed by The Royal Philatelic Society
London); the Revenue Philately Trust; the Stuart Rossiter Trust.
5.11 Accuracy is everything in research and its publication.
5.12 Get a third party (preferably a philatelist who has published research
work) to look at your text and ask him or her to offer criticism and
suggestions for improvement. The author is often too close to the work
to see its short comings. Check the text for inconsistencies of such
things as how dates are expressed, names, etc.
5.13 The golden rule in research and its publication is that it takes
as long as it takes, not just the time that you have available. Especially
with a book, you are only going to write it once, so make time to get
it as right as you can. Set aside plenty of time and then add some more!
Below I give some references to works on philatelic research. I would
strongly recommend James Negus's Philatelic Literature. Compilation
Techniques and Reference Sources, which is the text most like a bible
of the subject.
References
Kaiser, John Boynton, Bibliography: The Basis of Philatelic Research,
Nineteenth American Philatelic Congress, Original Papers of Philatelic
Themes Presented by Invitation, October 29, 30, 31 November 1, 1953,
New Jersey [Alexandria] American Philatelic Congress, Inc., 1953, pp37-54
Negus, James, Philatelic Literature. Compilation Techniques and Reference
Sources, Limassol, James Bendon, 1991. ISBN 9963-7624-3-3
Pearson, Patrick, Advanced Philatelic Research, London, Arthur Barker,
1971. ISBN 0 213 00326 0
Acknowledgments
Allan P Berry; Alan Drysdall; Geoff Eibl-Kaye; Gavin Fryer; Cheryl R.
Ganz, Curator of Philately at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum,
Washington DC; Jean-Claude Lavanchy, Curator Philately, Museum of Communication;
Bern; Douglas Muir, Curator, Philately, British Postal Museum and Archive,
London; Paul Skinner, Curator, the British Library, Philatelic Collections,
London; David Tett and Frank Walton for information and or comments
on the drafts of the text.
Copyright
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