Carl Einar Pelander (October 18, 1893 – February 16, 1966) was a stamp dealer and auctioneer who was an expert on

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

s and

postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and Cover (philately), covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal system ...

of the

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n countries of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Collecting interests

Pelander started collecting stamps as a youth, and quickly specialized in collecting those of the Scandinavian countries. Pelander was one of the founders of New York City's Finnish-American Stamp Club in 1935 and was the first member to be named an Honorary Life Member. The club was later renamed the Scandinavian Collectors Club of New York, and then again later as Scandinavian Collectors Club. Pelander was very active in the organization, helping to finance it during poor economic times, and editing the club journal '' The Posthorn''.

Sales activity

Carl Pelander started his New York City stamp business in 1937 and, between 1940 and 1963, he conducted 130 auctions of stamps. His auctions contained material from stamp collections of famous collectors, such as Agathon Fabergé, Caroline P. Cromwell, and Ferrars H. Tows.

Philatelic literature

Because of his in-depth knowledge of the philately of

, and especially

, Pelander wrote a number of articles, some of which were compiled into his book ''The Postal Issues of Finland'' which was published in 1940. He also published a ''Scandinavian Check List'' from 1937 to 1948.

Honors and awards

Pelander was presented with the Fieandt Memorial medal in 1960 by the Finnish Philatelic Society "''for his original research in the stamps of Finland and for his promotion of Finnish philately''." Pelander was named to the

American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame The American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame award honors deceased philatelists who have contributed significantly to the field of national and/or international philately. History The APS ''Hall of Fame'' award was founded at the 1940 American Phil ...

in 1966.

Carl E. Pelander Award

The Carl E. Pelander Award was established in 1968 by the Scandinavian Collectors Club in his memory "''to recognize his willingness to assist fellow collectors in all phases of Scandinavian philately''."

References