Contact the Publications Committee

The Publications Committee is always ready to consider new works, and encourages authors and potential authors to get in touch. Send an e-mail to the Publications Committee Chairman at publicationschairman@rpsl.org.uk

Please read the guides concerning style and copyright on the Guides page.

Recent Publications

Tibet Stamps & Postal History
by Steve Chazen and Danny Wong FRPSL

Retail price £65, Members Price £55. Click here to purchase in the shop.

This book is the first attempt to outline the postal history of the entire Tibetan highland, covering the pre-adhesive period, the Chinese Imperial post, the Tibetan local post, the Republican and finally the People's Post, examining both civilian and military mail, British and Indian military and civilian post offices in Tibet are discussed in their historical context.

A History of The Royal Philatelic Society London 1869 to 2019
Edited by Charles Oppenheim FRPSL

Retail price £76, Members Price £70. Click here to purchase in the shop.

The Royal Philatelic Society London is the oldest philatelic society in continuous existence in the world. Its combination of research library, museum, research monographs, The London Philatelist, renowned expertising service and amazing displays by its members, not to mention its association with the British Royal Family stretching back well over 100 years, also make it the most prestigious in the world.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of its creation, the Society commissioned this book. There are thirteen chapters, each written by a Fellow of the Society, and each looking at one aspect of the Society’s past and current activities. The chapters cover: management and finances; meeting places; meetings held; membership; royal patrons; honours, medals and awards; the Expert Committee; the Library; the Museum; its Philatelic Collections; its use of information technology; its monograph publishing; and its journal, The London Philatelist. Many appendices and an index support the text. The chapter on premises introduces the reader to what is indeed a new chapter in the Society’s history – its new home in Abchurch Lane in the city of London.
There have been official histories of the Society before; one to celebrate its 50th birthday in 1919, one for its centenary in 1969 and another in 2006 for the celebration of the centenary of it being granted the title “Royal” This latest volume not only covers those early histories thanks to the input of new research findings, but also updates them with developments right up the present day. The book is an essential reference work for all who are interested in the past and present of the Society.

The Court Bureau: A London Company and its Stamps 1889-1891
by Vincent West FRPSL

Retail price £18, Members Price £16. Click here to purchase in the shop

This is the first authoritive history of the short-lived Court Bureau and its classic local stamps. Drawing on primary source material in The Postal Museum and elsewhere, this fully illustrated study includes much hitherto unpublished information of interest to postal historians and railway philatelists.

The 1840 One Penny Black
by Michael Chipperfield

Retail price £100, Members Price £100. Click here to purchase in the shop.

A profusely illustrated leather-bound hardback book on the first postage stamp, the 1840 1d black.

The Fathers of Philately Inscribed on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists,
by Brian J. Birch FRPSL.

Retail price £65, Members Price £60. Click here to purchase in the shop.

The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists was established in 1921 by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain to recognise outstanding contributions to the development of philately. At its launch, 43 philatelists were deemed to be "The Fathers of Philately". The oldest had been born 40 years before the issue of the 1d black. The Roll now consists of over 300 signatories, each of whom has been selected on merit.

A century after the last of the "Fathers" died, this book recalls and recounts the reasons for the establishment of the Roll, and its development as the most prestigious honour in philately.

Royal Philatelic Society London Members' Collections 2019,
Edited by Mark W. Bailey FRPSL and Frank L. Walton RDP FRPSL.

Retail price £78, Members Price £70. Click here to purchase in the shop.

For our 150th anniversary, the Society is publishing a permanent and representative record of how and what RPSL members collect in 2019. Each page of the book is a scan of the complete sheet(s) submitted by Fellows and Members, over 200 of whom will have contributed to the book.
 
RPSL Members' Collections 2019 is a departure from the type and style of book usually published by the Society. The closest seen in recent times is the catalogue for Monacophil 2011. It includes a wide range of material from most philatelic disciplines and it emphasises very clearly the development of our addictive hobby.

British King George V Definitive, Profile Head and Seahorse Stamps Overprinted for NAURU,
by Robert C. Stein FRPSL.

Retail price £50, Members Price £45 Click here to purchase in the shop.

This study provides a detailed examination covering production from design, paper and ink, to printer, and distribution to Nauru for the definitive King George V Profile Head (½d to 1s) and Seahorse (2/6 to 10/-) stamps of Great Britain overprinted for use in Nauru.
The book is relevant to a wider audience than just Nauru collectors, as it is more about the production of British stamps supervised by Great Britain's Inland Revenue Stamping Department.

The Returned Letter Offices of Great Britain to 1912 and Beyond
by J. Kenneth Snelson and Robert B. Galland FRPSL.

Retail price £70, Members Price £63 Click here to purchase in the shop.

The book, arranged in 3 parts, provides postal historians and collectors of UK postal history with a comprehensive reference on the handling of undeliverable mail, the history of the Returned Letter Offices (RLOs), the stationery of the RLOs, and the rules and procedures used in the RLOs.

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The Paper Trail: World War II in Holland and its Colonies as seen through Mail and Documents
by Kees Adema RDP FRPSL and Jeffrey Groeneveld.

Retail price £70, Members Price £63 Click here to purchase in the shop.

This book tells the story of the postal history of Holland and its colonies during World War 2 in a fresh and compelling way. A myriad of correspondence has been unearthed from family records, and the book weaves together the evidence from mail and other documents into a distinctive narrative.

Perkins Bacon Great Britain Line-Engraved Postage Stamp Printing 1840 to 1846
by Alan Druce FRPSL.

Retail price £125, Members Price £112 Click here to purchase in the shop.

After five years of research in the archives of Perkins Bacon Records and the Postal Museum, primary sources in the British Library, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Archives at Kew, the information gleaned has been meticulously analysed and the full story told in more detail than ever before.