David Louis Lidman (July 11, 1905 – September 18, 1982) was an American writer of

philatelic literature Philatelic literature is written material relating to philately, primarily information about postage stamps and postal history. Background to philatelic literature Philatelic literature is held by stamp collectors and dealers, philatelic soc ...

in journals, books and newspapers.

Philatelic literature

Lidman wrote a number of books on stamp collecting, among them ''The New York Times Guide to Collecting Stamps'' (published in 1970), ''Treasury of Stamps: 1200 Rare and Beautiful Stamps in Color'' (published in 1975) and ''The World of Stamps and Collecting'', which he co-authored with John Apfelbaum in 1981. He also wrote other books, including ''Philately Below Zero, A Postal History of Alaska'' (in 1958) and ''The First Day Cover Collector's Handbook'' (in 1976). Lidman contributed

philatelic Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possibl ...

articles to the ''

Chicago Sun The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. He edited ''Chambers Stamps Journal'', ''Philately'', ''Essay-Proof Journal'',

The American Philatelist ''The American Philatelist'', published by the American Philatelic Society, is one of the world's oldest philatelic magazines still in operation; its first issue having appeared in January 1887. The magazine is published monthly for members of ...

, ''The Congress Books'', ''1851 Centennial Book'', ''U.S. Perforation Centennial Book'', and other stamp publications.

Philatelic activity

David Louis Lidman was active in philatelic societies. He was one of the founders of the APS Writers Unit 30 and was named its first president. At the

American Philatelic Society The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting foundation of philately in the world. Both the membership and interests of the society are worldwide. History The organization, originally named the ''American Phila ...

(APS) he served as vice president. He also served as president of the Board of Trustees of the American Philatelic Research Library.

Honors and awards

Lidman won numerous honors. He received the first Newbury Award in 1945 and in 1946 received the

Luff Award The Luff Award is awarded by the American Philatelic Society (commonly known as the APS) for meritorious contributions to philately by living philatelists. Established The award was established in 1940 in memory of John N. Luff, distinguished ph ...

. In 1981 he was elected to the Writers Hall of Fame. And, in 1971, he was presented the APS Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to the society. Lidman 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 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lidman, David Louis Philatelic literature American philatelists Writers from Chicago Writers from New York City 1905 births 1982 deaths American Philatelic Society