George Townsend Turner (February 11, 1906 – August 14, 1979) of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, was considered a leading

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 ...

bibliophile A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, aut ...

of his era, amassing a very large body 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 ...

over his lifetime. He was the acting curator of the Smithsonian Institution's philatelic collection from 1959 until 1962 and was the owner of the largest private philatelic library ever assembled.

Collecting interests

Turner was particularly interested in United States

revenue stamp A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, ...

s and became an expert on the subject, publishing in 1974 "Essays and Proofs of United States Internal Revenue Stamps: A Compilation with Relative Prices." Turner collected books and other periodicals and catalogs of philatelic literature and purchased large libraries of philatelic books, including the library of revenue collector

William Carlos Stone William Carlos Stone (October 9, 1859 – February 23, 1939) was a philatelist who specialized in the collection of philatelic literature related to revenue stamps and postal stationery. Collecting interests Stone collected and studied United Sta ...

, as well as the immense library of

William Reynolds Ricketts William Reynolds Ricketts (July 29, 1869 – October 14, 1956), of Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, was a Philately, philatelist who created the largest index of philatelic literature available during his lifetime. He was considered the "greatest philat ...

Philatelic activity

Turner served philately in a number of ways. 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 ...

he was appointed to the board of directors; at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

he was the curator of philatelic collections; and, at the

Bureau Issues Association The United States Stamp Society (USSS) is the largest philatelic organization dedicated to the research and study of United States postage and revenue stamps. The Society is a non-profit collector-based organization with a world-wide membership ...

(now the United States Stamp Society), he was the research philatelist. He was also very active in philatelic conventions, and, in 1966, when U.S. philatelic authorities declined to organize an international philatelic exhibition, Turner decided on his own to organize the Sixth International Philatelic Exhibition (SIPEX) in Washington, D.C.

Honors and awards

Numerous awards were given to Turner, including 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 1976 for Outstanding Service to the Society, the

Lichtenstein Medal The Lichtenstein Medal, also known as the ''Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Philately'' is given annually to a living individual for outstanding service to philately. Origin The Lichtenstein Medal was establishe ...

in 1976, and in 1978 he signed the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921 to honour those who have advanced philately through research, expertise, or service. ...

. In 1980 he 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 ...

Legacy

The majority of Turner's massive library was bequeathed to the

where it now resides at the

National Postal Museum The National Postal Museum, located in Washington, D.C., is the primary postal museum of the United States. It covers large portions of the postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement be ...

in Washington, D.C. Through Turner's bequest, the

received over 3,000 books and related material which now forms the foundation of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum's library. Turner's collection includes his card catalog along with Ralph A. Kimble's subject index to many philatelic essays and articles which were published in the ''Philatelic Press'', 1935–1950.

References

George Townsend Turner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, George Townsend 1906 births 1979 deaths Philatelic literature American philatelists 20th-century people from Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Institution people Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists American Philatelic Society

Collecting interests

Philatelic activity

Honors and awards

Legacy

See also

References