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About Us
These notes about the
society are compiled from the 1st chapter of the book "A
Century of Scottish Philately" written and compiled
by Dr Stewart Gardiner as part of the Caledonian Philatelic
Society's Centenary celebrations. If you are interested in a
copy details are given at the bottom of this page.
A
Century of Scottish Philately
The
Birth of the Junior Philatelic Society of
Scotland
On
14th February 1906
at
7 o’clock
,
several stamp collectors met in the rooms of Messrs. Douglas,
Cook and Co., Stamp Dealers,
562 Sauchiehall
Street
,
Glasgow
,
to consider the formation of a Philatelic Society. The outcome
of this meeting was that the first general meeting of the
“Junior Philatelic Society of Scotland” was held on
the
28th February 1906
, and a President,
Office Bearers and Committee were elected.
The Caledonian
Philatelic Society was originally named the Junior Philatelic
Society of Scotland but changed its name in 1930; a previous
proposal to alter the name of the Society in 1922 was defeated. The
first President was Sir John Ure Primrose, Lord Provost of
Glasgow
,
and afterwards the first honorary President of the Society, a
position he held until his death in 1923. One of the founding
members and a member of the first committee was Sergeant
Philippe Durand who continued his membership well into the
1970s. Many current
members knew Philippe Durand and that memory of him provides an
evocative link back to the origin of the Society.
Meetings were held
fortnightly, first in Messrs. Douglas Cook’s rooms and then in
various venues in the city centre.
The Society has met regularly from 1906 until the present
time except for periods during the two World Wars.
The first Exchange
Packet was issued in April 1906. The Library was formed one year
later in 1907 and has been constantly added to over the years by
purchase and donation and is now one of the best and most
comprehensive in
Scotland
.
In May 1907, the Society decided to use the Stamp
Collectors’ Fortnightly as its official organ.
The Society jointly with others in
Scotland
held
a Philatelic Exhibition in conjunction with the 5th
Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in
Edinburgh
in
1913.
In October 1914 the
Society decided that members on Active Service be allowed to
continue their membership as long as they remained with H M
Forces.
Confidence
and Entrepreneurship in the 1920s and 1930s
The Society was
well established by the 1920s and it is clear that it had gained
confidence. In 1924
the 11th annual Philatelic Congress of Great Britain
was held in
Glasgow
and
Philippe Durand, one of the founder members of the Society, led
the organization of a Philatelic Exhibition arranged by the Art
Galleries Committee of Glasgow Corporation.
In
1926 the Society launched the Scots Philatelist which became its
official organ. This
publication lasted for five years and was followed by Philately
in
Scotland
which was jointly
published from 1932 to 1934 by a number of Scottish societies.
These ventures into publishing were never repeated by the
Society.
The
25th Anniversary (1931-32)
The 1931-32
session began with an Extraordinary General Meeting called to
discuss the future of the Scots Philatelist, the house journal
of the Society which had been published for the previous five
years. The
discussion concentrated on the estimated unsustainable loss of
£15 for the forthcoming session and the meeting decided by a 4
to 1 vote to discontinue the journal’s publication.
Dr Corbett, the editor, was profusely thanked for all his
efforts over the past five years. However during 1932
discussions began with the Edinburgh Philatelic Society over the
joint publication of a new journal, eventually leading to the
birth of Philately in
Scotland
.
The first general
meeting of the Society began with the announcement of the
admission of 23 new members, an ironic situation given the
demise of the Society’s journal.
The
50th Anniversary (1955-56)
The 50th
anniversary of the Society was celebrated in style with a
philatelic exhibition in the
Kelvingrove
Art
Gallery
and
Museum. There was a reception in the Glasgow City Chambers
hosted by the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Andrew Hood, on
the 27th February 1956
,
the opening day of the exhibition.
The membership
of the Society was 250 during the 50th anniversary
session, close to its all time peak of 300.
The
75th Anniversary (1980-81)
On
its 75th anniversary, the Society hosted the annual
Congress of Scottish Philatelic Societies at
Stirling
University
.
One souvenir produced to mark the anniversary was a
miniature sheet depicting a booklet pane with a
St Andrews
cross which was first
printed in 1906, the year that the Society was formed.
Display
to the Royal Philatelic Society
London
The
Society was invited to give a display to the Royal Philatelic
Society London in May 1969: this honour confirms the standing of
the Society in British Philately.
There were contributions from 37 members.
The
Social Side of the Society
There
is a long tradition of social events held by the Society. This
has helped to engender a friendly and welcoming atmosphere,
although until the 1980s a new member could find their first few
meetings a little daunting – a tyro in the company of many
experts!
The first record
of an organised social evening is of an Anniversary Dinner held
on
March 1st 1924
.
The tradition of
formal dinners continued for many years. In recent years more
informal social evenings have been held in February each year.
Currently these events are held in the Wickets Hotel in
the west end of the city and consist of dinner, an auction and
quizzes and are much enjoyed by the members and their spouses.
As philatelic societies do at every opportunity, a
souvenir cover is created as a memento.
Growth
and Decline and Hopefully Stabilisation
The membership of
the Society settled at around the low fifties until after the
First World War when it grew rapidly to around 150 in 1926. It
stayed at about that level for the next twenty years and then
rapidly grew to a peak of 300 in 1947 when the British
Philatelic Exhibition came to
Glasgow
.
There then followed
a decline levelling out during the 1960s and 1970s.
The decline continued until the early 1990s when it
slowed and the membership may be stabilising at around 85 but
that may be a somewhat optimistic view.
The two periods of
rapid growth came after the end of the two World Wars: perhaps a
reaction against the bloodshed and an attraction towards more
gentle pursuits?
The
Society Today and the Future
The Caledonian
Philatelic Society had 84 members at the end of the 2004-05
session. This is
substantially down from the peak of 300 in the late 1940s but
the rate of decline has been slowing.
The average age is rising with very few younger members
joining the Society. This
is not unique to our Society: it is a national trend.
Should we be pessimistic about the future of the hobby
and the Society? I
think not, as although the number of members has been declining,
the average attendance has risen over the past few years and
over 30 members attend most meetings.
Although the number of stamp collectors and philatelists
has certainly been declining in the
United
Kingdom
, this trend has
not been seen in other European countries such as
Germany
and
the Scandinavian countries. In
China
and
India
,
the hobby is expanding rapidly as those countries develop and
their citizens retain more disposable wealth.
We should therefore not be pessimistic but work hard to
promote and preserve the hobby but perhaps on a more
international basis. The
international side of the hobby has been growing dramatically
through the use of the internet and its on-line auctions such as
e-Bay.
The Caledonian Philatelic Society has had an illustrious past as
outlined in this chapter. The remaining chapters celebrate
further the Society’s centenary by highlighting its famous
members, the exhibitions it has supported and the journals it
has published.
We all look forward to the next session during which the Society
takes centre stage and will host the Philatelic Congress of
Great Britain for the second time and the Congress of
Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies for the eighth
time.
The Centenary of
the Caledonian Philatelic Society
“A Century of
Scottish
Philately”
- The
Caledonian Philatelic Society has published a book to
commemorate its centenary.
- The
book will be hard bound and be printed and bound to a high
standard as befits a once-in-a-century occasion.
- The
price is still to be determined but is likely to be about £20
for non-members of the society
- The
book contains much of interest to all involved in philately
Its main chapters are :
- A
Century of Scottish Philately
- Notable
members of the Society
- Exhibitions
- Publications
- The
Forgery Collection
“A Century of
Scottish
Philately”
if
interested in purchasing this book
click here |
