Arthur Linz

Arthur Linz FAIC, FRPSL, (1895 – March 29, 1961) was an American industrial chemist who specialized in the chemistry of molybdenum and its compounds. He was also a noted philatelist who formed leading collections of the stamps and postal history of Finland, Peru, and Turkey, and wrote extensively about his collecting interests. He formed the majority of the Bernard Payton collection of Peruvian stamps and postal history in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and his collection of Turkish stamps included a block of ''tête-bêche'' "tughra" stamps of the Ottoman Empire that has been described as "arguably the most important Tughra item".

Early life and education

Arthur Linz was born in 1895 and received his advanced education at Columbia University, New York, and the Zurich Polytechnic Institute.Arthur Linz, US chemist.
Science Photo Library. Retrieved September 14, 2021.

Career

Arthur Linz was an industrial chemist who specialized in the uses of molybdenum (element 42) and its compounds. He was vice-president of the Climax Molybdenum Company and a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists. He may have been involved in the nickel deposits found in Petsamo, northern Finland, in 1921.

In 1952, he and David H. Killeffer published ''Molybdenum Compounds, their Chemistry and Technology'' with a chapter from future Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling on the structural chemistry of molybdenum. The authors complained that no satisfactory work had been written on the subject, the existing literature simply reiterating "everything published about the chemistry of the element, true and false, probable and fantastic."Linz, Arthur & D. H. Killeffer. (1952) ''Molybdenum Compounds, their Chemistry and Technology''. New York & London: Interscience Publishers. pp. vii–ix. They aimed to remedy this by excluding the doubtful while still emphasizing the many exciting chemical possibilities of the element that Edgar Fahs Smith had described as "ambidextrous, bi-sexual and polygamous", but which had been overshadowed by its better-known metallurgical uses.

Philately

Linz was a noted philatelist and philatelic author who formed leading collections of the stamps of Finland,"Tracing a Collector, Arthur Linz, America's Foremost Finland Collector"
by Mårten Sundberg, translated by Carita Parker From ''Filatelisti'' 4/07, ''The Finnish Philatelist'', Vol. 13, No. 1 (February 2008), p. 3. Peru, and Turkey.David Feldman S.A. (2013)
Ottoman Empire/Turkey The "Sultan" Collection of the Tughra Issues (Part I) (Formerly the Kuhut Alanyali collection)
'. Geneva: David Feldman S.A. pp. 60–61, 118.

In 1935, he was one of the founders of the Finnish-American Stamp Club (later the Scandinavian Collectors Club) of which he was the president in 1940–1941. He was also a member of the Collectors Club of New York. He wrote articles on Finland and Peru in the annual '' Stamp Specialist'' series in the 1940s. In 1943 he sold his collection of Finland at Carl E. Pelander Auctions who described it as "Finland – The World's Foremost Collection, The Property of a Well-Known American Collector".

His collection of Peruvian stamps and postal history was acquired by Bernard Payton in the 1950s who donated it to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in 1961. The collection is notable for its comprehensive coverage of classic issues such as the 1857 Pacific Steam Navigation Company stamps and material of the British postal agencies in Peru.

Towards the end of his life, Linz produced a series of articles on the stamps of Turkey for ''The London Philatelist''. Among the items in his Turkish collection was a block of 2pi black on blue-green "tughra" '' tête-bêche'' stamps of the Ottoman Empire with control band which the firm of David Feldman SA has described as "arguably the most important Tughra item".

Death and legacy

Linz died on March 29, 1961. He received obituaries in the ''Mercury Stamp Journal'' and ''Stamps''. His collection of Austria & Lombardy-Venetia (1850 to 1876 issues) was sold at auction by the Mercury Stamp Company in October and November 1961 and much of his Turkish collection was acquired by Tevfik Kuyas.The Postage Stamps of Turkey, 1863–1864
Tevfik Kuyas, Sariucak Stamps, January 5, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2021.

Selected publications

Chemistry

*
Molybdenum Compounds, their Chemistry and Technology
'. Interscience Publishers, New York & London, 1952. (With D. H. Killeffer)
* "Industrial Applications of Molybdenum Chemistry – Introduction", '' Industrial & Engineering Chemistry'', Vol. 47 (1955), No. 8, pp. 1492–1493.

Philately

* "Peru's Mystery Stamps Numbers One and Two", '' Stamps'', April 11, 1942, pp. 43–44.
* "Stamps Issued by Order of the Government of Peru", ''Stamps'', October 3, 1942, pp. 18–22.
* "Finland", ''The Stamp Specialist Yellow Book'', 1942.
* "Early Foreign Mail Service From Peru", ''The Stamp Specialist Gray Book'', 1943, pp. 81–91.
* "Peruvian Combination Covers", ''Stamps'', August 5, 1944, p. 190.
* "The Early Postal History of Peru", ''The Stamp Specialist Coral Book'', 1945, pp. 69–77.
* "The British Postal Service From Peru", ''The Stamp Specialist Mahogany Book'', 1947, pp. 117–128.
* "A Discovery in 1860 Issue of Peru: Double Transfers", ''The Stamp Specialist Chartreuse Book'', 1948, pp. 90–91.
* "The Stamps of Turkey", ''The London Philatelist'', Vol. 63 (May 1954), pp. 79–83, 97–103, 126–130.

See also

* Mehmet Ismet Başaran

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linz, Arthur
Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London
Philately of Turkey
Philately of Peru
Philately of Finland
American philatelists
1961 deaths
1895 births
20th-century American chemists
Columbia University alumni
ETH Zurich alumni
Philatelic authors