Major James Starr (April 5, 1870 – March 13, 1948), of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, was one of the earliest
philatelists
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 possible ...
who collected, studied, and wrote on,
stamps of China.
Collecting interests
Starr was particularly interested in studying the large Dragons of 1878-1883 as well as China's
air post issues. His collections on exhibit were famous and award-winning. Co-authored with Samuel J. Mills, Starr wrote ''The Chinese Air-Post, 1920–1935'', which was based on his own collection of Chinese
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 ...
. It was published around 1937.
Philatelic activity
Starr was a founding member of the
China Stamp Society
The China Stamp Society is a philatelic organization dedicated to the appreciation of the postage stamps and postal history of China, including the Treaty Ports, Foreign Offices in China, the Japanese Occupation, Hong Kong, Macao, Manchukuo and Ti ...
,
What Is the China Stamp Society?
Columbus, Ohio: China Stamp Society, Inc. (website), retrieved online February 16, 2019. the oldest affiliate of the American Philatelic Society and the largest English speaking Chinese philatelic organization worldwide. He was serving as its president at the time of his death.
Honors and awards
He won numerous awards for his exhibits at national and international philatelic exhibitions. He signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1947 and 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 1949.
Legacy
Starr's intact China collection was sold at Sotheby's
Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
auction in 1991.
See also
*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 ...
*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 ...
References and sources
;References
;Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Major James
1870 births
1948 deaths
Philatelic literature
American philatelists
Writers from Philadelphia
American Philatelic Society