Walter Stone Scott (February 17, 1871 – October 29, 1948) was an American
auctioneer
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ...
of
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 and
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 ...
items. He was the son of philatelist
John Walter Scott
John Walter Scott (November 2, 1845 – January 4, 1919) of New York City, was originally from England, but he emigrated to the United States to take part in the California Gold Rush. Unsuccessful at the prospecting trade, Scott began to sell ...
.
Philatelic activity
Walter Scott started his business of selling rare postage stamps in New York City during the 1890s. During the years 1896 to 1898 he amassed sufficient lots of philatelic material to conduct twelve auctions on his own.
After 1900, Walter Scott became a free-lance auctioneer, offering his services to practically every auction house in New York City. He was a very popular auctioneer, and, it is said that he “sold more lots of stamps than any other auctioneer.”
Scott was an expert on rare stamps and was often asked to evaluate rare stamps or appraise collections before sale. He was highly regarded for his integrity, and reviewed and appraised the collections in the estates of various famous philatelists. In the case of his evaluation and appraisal of the massive collection of the deceased philatelist,
E. H. R. Green, after evaluating the material, Walter Scott arranged for its sale through twenty nine auctions, from 1942 to 1946.
Honors and awards
Walter Scott 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 1950.
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 ...
References
Walter Stone Scott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Walter Stone
1871 births
1948 deaths
American stamp dealers
American philatelists
People from New York City
American auctioneers
Philatelic auctioneers
American Philatelic Society