This presentation provides a brief overview of the world famous Tapling Collection of postage and telegraph stamps and postal stationery now housed in the British Library’s Philatelic Collections.
It briefly considered the life and philatelic pursuits of Thomas Keay Tapling (1855-1891), the management of his collection following its bequest to the British Museum’s Department of Printed Books, as well as how it has gone on to form the foundation of the national philatelic collection. The presentation finished off by providing details about the collection for research.
Dr Richard Scott Morel FRPSL is a Curator of the British Library’s Philatelic Collections. His interests cover postal history, stamp design, cultural history, colonial history, the East India Company, Anglo-Chinese Relations, the history of collecting, visual material culture and archival theory. In 2020, he was awarded the Tapling Medal for his article on the design of the India 1852 Half Anna Red ‘Scinde Dawk’. He is a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London and a member of the American Philatelic Society, China Stamp Society and the International Banknote Society.