Kaufmann, four others to sign Roll of Distinguished Philatelists

By Linn’s Staff

On Feb. 16, the board of election of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists selected five individuals to sign the roll, considered one of the hobby’s most significant honors. The honorees are Patricia “Trish” Kaufmann of the United States, Pradip Jain of India, Damian Lage of Switzerland, Jesus Sitja Prats of Spain and Turhan Turgut of Turkey.

The signing ceremony will take place May 26 at 5 p.m. local time at the Schlosshotel Hugenpoet in Essen, Germany, in conjunction with the Ibra 2023 international philatelic exhibition.

Patricia “Trish” Kaufmann has been for many years the leading dealer in U.S. Civil War philatelic material, including the stamps and postal history of the Confederate States.

She has generously shared her knowledge through many award-winning articles published during the past 50 years.

Her research has greatly influenced the Confederate States listings in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers.

Kaufmann served as editor-in-chief of the Confederate States of America Catalog and Handbook of Stamps and Postal History, the major handbook on the subject, published in 2012.

From 2010 to 2013, she served on the council of philatelists of the National Postal Museum. For many years, she was an expertizer for the Confederate Stamp Alliance Authentication Service, now known as the Civil War Philatelic Authentication Service.

Kaufmann served as the chair of the board of vice presidents of the American Philatelic Society from 2016 to 2022. In this role, she not only contributed to the operation of the board as the senior alternate to the president, but she also operated and was responsible for the society’s disciplinary procedures, which evaluate and rule on complaints made against members.

In 2019, she was named a distinguished philatelist by the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society. In January of this year, she received the Alfred F. Lichtenstein memorial award for distinguished service to philately from the Collectors Club.

In international philatelic circles, Pradip Jain is among the best-known philatelists from India, both as an individual and as the head of a family of philatelists.

Jain served three terms as a member of the governing council of the Philatelic Congress of India and was active in the organization of three International Federation of Philately (FIP) world stamp exhibitions: India 1989, Indipex 97 and Indipex 2011.

He also served three terms as a member of the philatelic advisory committee of India’s government, which advises India Post on the formulation of national postal policy.

As a collector and exhibitor, Jain has focused on various aspects of philately of India. His collection of India airmail issues is well known, and his exhibit “Indian Airmails Development and Operations 1911-1942” has received many international awards.

His other major exhibits include “Development of Airmail Route between UK and India 1918-1929,” “King George V issues of India” and “India 1948 Mahatma Gandhi Issue.”

Jain’s book Indian Airmails Development and Operations 1911-1942, published in 2002, is considered the key reference work in this field.

Jain was inducted into the American Air Mail Society’s hall of fame in 2011.

Damian Lage is a passionate thematic collector who has formed several collections and exhibits in the traditional, postal history and postal stationery classes.

In 1999, Lage became a member of the FIP commission for thematic philately. He served as chairman of the commission from 2004 to 2012.

Lage was the driving force behind the organization of the Federation of European Philatelic Associations’ European championship for thematic philately and has acted as jury president at virtually all events since.

In 2005, Lage received the Lee medal from the Royal Philatelic Society London for the best 5 p.m. paper presentation during an ordinary meeting of the society. He received the best presentation award from the Collectors Club in 2009.

Lage’s 1996 book Thematic Development: The personal design of a Thematic Exhibit remains the best guide for developing a top thematic exhibit.

Jesus Sitja Prats is very active in philately in Spain and in international judging and exhibiting. He has served as president of the Royal Hispanic Academy of Philately since 2013.

A retired engineer, Prats is pursuing a doctorate in history at the University of Barcelona. His thesis subject is the beginning of royal Spanish mail in America from 1764 to 1780.

His philatelic interests cover Spain and the Spanish colonies of South America. Several of his exhibits have received large gold medals, and his “Classic Peru” was awarded the grand prix international at the Paris 2012 exhibition.

In 2022, Prats published Barcelona, 1850-1950 – Historia Postal y sus Marcas, which focuses on postal history and postal markings of Barcelona.

He has also written pioneering studies of Peruvian maritime mail during colonial times, the parcel post in the Spanish American colonies, the use of Spanish revenues and documents and the railway markings of Spain.

Turhan Turgut is a familiar presence at international exhibitions across the globe. He is an FIP-qualified postal history judge with a wide-ranging knowledge of postal history in general and the complex Ottoman area in particular.

He serves as honorary president of the Turkish Academy of Philately.

Turgut was involved with the organizing committee of an Ottoman Post workshop in conjunction with Fatih Sultan Mehmet University in Istanbul, which brought together for the first time in Turkey academics and collectors to discuss Ottoman postal services.

His collecting interests focus on postal history of the Ottoman Empire, and his exhibits have received gold medals at numerous exhibitions since the 1990s.

The first volume of Turgut’s Postal History of the Ottoman Empire – Rates and Routes 1840-1922 was published in 2018. The second volume, to be published in 2023, examines the postal history of modern Turkey up to 1950.

The invitation to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists is the highest and most prestigious of honors in philately and is the world’s oldest philatelic honor. The roll was instituted in Harrogate, England, in May 1921, and the signature of King George V appears at its head as the first signatory.

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