This online presentation will provide a brief overview of the world famous Tapling Collection of postage and telegraph stamps and postal stationery now housed in the British Library’s Philatelic Collections. It will briefly consider the life and philatelic pursuits of Thomas Keay Tapling (1855-1891); the management of his collection following its bequest to the British Museum’s Department of Printed Books as well as how it has gone on to form the foundation of the national philatelic collection. The presentation will then finish off by providing details on the collection for research.

Richard is a Curator of the British Library’s Philatelic Collections. His interests cover postal-history, stamp design, cultural history, colonial history, the East India Company, Anglo-Chinese Relations, the history of collecting, visual-material culture and archival theory. In 2020, he was awarded the Tapling Medal for his article on the design of the India 1852 Half Anna Red ‘Scinde Dawk'. He is a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London and a member of the American Philatelic Society, China Stamp Society and the International Banknote Society.

This rescheduled event was originally due to take place in January 2021.