Edward Spring Knapp (September 10, 1879 – April 5, 1940), of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, was a

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

known for his remarkable collections of postage stamps and postal history.

Collecting interests

Knapp specialized in the

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), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

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 covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is att ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. However, he even specialized more within his United States collecting interests: his collection of posted hotel covers contained very rare items and was considered unsurpassed. His hotel covers collection won numerous awards including international ones in 1926 and 1936. Knapp worked with

Stanley Bryan Ashbrook Stanley Bryan Ashbrook (October 10, 1882 – January 23, 1958), of Kentucky, was a distinguished American philatelist who was known for his extensive studies of early United States stamps and postal history. He was usually known as Stanley B. As ...

on several projects, including determining the exact position of each stamp printed on a pane of stamps, called plating. Their work on plating the 5¢ New Orleans Confederate Provisional and the 10¢ Frameline are most notable.

Sale of philatelic estate

Knapp died in 1940, and in 1941 and 1942 his collections were sold. The Confederate States of America collection was sold separately. However, the rest of the collection was massive and required three auction sessions to be conducted by Parke-Bernet Galleries before all the philatelic material was evaluated and sold. Material in the collection sold at auction were photographed before sale, and illustrations of 7,822 philatelic items were published in 186 volumes and placed into the library at the

Collectors Club of New York The Collectors Club, often referred to as the Collectors Club of New York, is a private club and philatelic society in New York City. Founded in 1896, it is one of the oldest existing philatelic societies in the United States. Its stated purpose ...

. Another set of three volumes entitled ''Philatelic Iconography: Being Illustrations of Rare and Unusual Stamps, Covers, and Cancellations Included in the Edward S. Knapp Collections'' was published in 1941, and it contained material not included in the 186 volumes. A copy is now located in the

National Postal Museum The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States, covers large portions of the Postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement between the United S ...

at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Honors and awards

Edward Knapp 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 P ...

in 1941.

References

Edward Spring Knapp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Edward Spring 1879 births 1940 deaths Philatelic literature American philatelists People from New York City Smithsonian Institution donors American Philatelic Society

Collecting interests

Sale of philatelic estate

Honors and awards

See also

References