Dieter Bortfeldt

FRPSL The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...

(20 March 1940Anyon, Alan & Dieter Bortfeldt. ''A different look at Colombia. Display given to The Royal Philatelic Society London 27 May 2010''. London: The Royal Philatelic Society London, 2010, p. 138. – 21 January 2014 .) was a graphic designer and award-winning philatelist who was a specialist in the

philately 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 ...

of Colombia. He designed the "Famous Colombians" and "Tourism"

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 of Colombia issued in 1993.''Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue: Part 20 South America''. 4th edition. London:

Stanley Gibbons The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and phila ...

, 2008, p. 246.

Education

Bortfeldt studied at the Offenbacher Werkkunst-Schule in Germany from 1958 to 1961, specialising in graphic design. He then worked as a graphic designer.

Collecting

Bortfeldt's personal philatelic interests were Colombian

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 ...

and ''Papel Sellado'' (Revenue

stamped paper Stamped paper is an often- foolscap piece of paper which bears an imprinted revenue stamp. Mackay, James. ''Philatelic Terms Illustrated''. 4th edition. London: Stanley Gibbons, 2003, p. 147. Stamped papers are not a form of postal stationery ...

) and he received fifteen gold medals for his displays along with other awards. His display of ''Official Mail and correspondence with exemption rate frankings'' received a gold medal at Chicago and was published in book form by COLOMPHIL in 2006.

Expertisation

Bortfeldt was an ''Association International Des Experts En Philatelie'' (A.I.E.P.) expert on Colombian philately and a recognised expertiser in the area who issued his own certificates. He was President of the Fakes and Forgeries Commission of the '' Federación Interamericana de Filatelia'' and was a regular contributor to '' Fakes Forgeries Experts''.

Organised philately and writing

Bortfedt was Fellow of the

Royal Philatelic Society, London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...

, and their Overseas Special Representative for Colombia. He was the co-founder and editor of ''COLOMPHIL'', the journal of the Colombian Philatelic Research Society, and a writer for many other philatelic journals. He claimed to have written over 2,000 pages of philatelic works and was instrumental in the production of Alan Anyon's ''Handbook of Colombian Revenue Stamps'', published in 2009.Anyon, Alan D. (2009) ''Handbook of Colombian Revenue Stamps''. Bogota: COLOMPHIL Colombian Philatelic Research Society, p. ii.

Personal life

Bortfeldt was a British citizen who lived and worked in Germany, London and Barcelona before moving to

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, Colombia, in 1988. He died on 21 January 2014.

Selected publications

*''Royal cypher labels 1701–1922: the Dieter Bortfeldt collection''. Bogota: Dieter Bortfeldt, 2003. *''Private mail carriers of Colombia''. Colombian Philatelic Research Society, 2006. (Editor with Carlos Valenzuela &

Alfredo Frohlich Alfredo Frohlich is an American venture capitalist and philatelist who has won numerous medals at philatelic exhibitions for his postal history collections of Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. He is an accredited philatelic judge and has b ...

) *''Notes on Colombian classic stamps''. Colombian Philatelic Research Society, 2006. *''Colombia correspondencia oficial Franquicias: Official Mail and correspondence with exemption rate frankings''. Colombian Philatelic Research Society, 2006. *''Colombian postal history catalogue''. Colombian Philatelic Research Society. Three volumes.

References

External links

Dieter Bortfeldt discussing Colombian stamps in 1993 (Spanish language)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bortfeldt, Dieter Philately of Colombia 1940 births 2014 deaths Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London British philatelists