Tapling Collection
| Tapling collection | |
|---|---|
 The Tapling Collection includes this 1854, 4 annas stamp in blue and pale red from India with the error of having the head inverted. | |
| Housed at | British Library |
| Curators | David Beech, Paul Skinner |
The Tapling Collection was donated to the British Museum from the estate of Thomas Tapling in 1891.[1]
The probate value of the Tapling collection was set at £12,000 but on arrival Richard Garnett (assistant keeper of Printed Books) estimated their value at more than £50,000 and described the bequest as the most valuable gift since the Grenville Library[2] in 1847 (equivalent to £24,000,000 in 2011).[3]
It is held in the Philatelic Collections of the British Library and selected items are on permanent public exhibition.[4][5][6]
Highlights
The collection features these rarities:[7]
- Gold Coast: 1883 (May) 1d on 4d magenta, unique
- Great Britain: 1858-79 1d red, plate 77, one of a few known
- Hawaii: 1851-52 2 cents to 13 cents (both types), the "Missionaries"
- India: 1854 4 annas blue and pale red, error head inverted, two used on a cover, unique
- Mauritius: 1847 1d red used on cover and 2d blue, the "Post Office" issue
- Spain: 1851 2 reals, error of colour, one of three known
- Switzerland: Zurich: 1843 4 rappen, the unique unsevered horizontal strip of five
- Uruguay: 1858 120 centavos blue and 180 centavos green, in tête beche pairs, two of five known
- Western Australia: 1854-55 4d blue, error frame inverted
See also
References and sources
- References
- ^ "Wills and Bequests". The Times. 11 July 1891. p. 4.
...to the Trustees of the British Museum his entire collection of postage stamps and everything belonging to him 'appertaining to the science or hobby of stamp collecting,' upon the condition that the collection is kept in a separate room or part of a room, and is to be called 'The Tapling Collection,' and is always accessible to the president and secretary of the Philatelic Society.
{{cite news}}: External link in|newspaper= - ^ "Frederick York, The Grenville Library, a photograph". British Museum. 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
- ^ The figure of £24 million ignores any increase in value due to age of the collection and is calculated with average earnings increase since 1891.
- "Death of Mr. T.K. Tapling, M.P.". Leicester Chronicle and the Leicestershire Mercury (Leicester, England). April 18, 1891. p. 6.
- Day, Alan Edwin (1998), Inside the British Library, Library Association Pub., p. 205, ISBN 978-1-85604-280-2
- Harris 1998, p. 411
- ^ "Philatelic Collections: The Tapling Collection". Bl.uk. 2003-11-30. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
- ^ "Tapling, Thomas Keay - Biographical entry - Blue Mauritius - Research Companion". Helenmorgan.net. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
- ^ Humphreys, Rob; Bamber, Judith (2003), The Rough Guide to London (5 ed.), Rough Guides, p. 152, ISBN 978-1-84353-093-0
- ^ Index to the collection of postage and other stamps bequeathed to the British Museum by Thomas Keay Tapling, M.P., British Museum, p. 24, British Library 010637981
- Sources
- Harris, Philip Rowland (1998), A history of the British Museum Library, 1753-1973, British Library, ISBN 978-0-7123-4562-0
