David Beech

David Richard Beech (born 1954)^[1] is the curator of the British Library Philatelic Collections. He is also a Fellow and former President of the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL).

As a child, David collected British private post stamps including railway stamps, college stamps, British circular delivery companies and bus parcel stamps but he ceased personally collecting stamps when he joined a firm of philatelic auctioneers in 1970.^[2] He is a cousin to John Holman.^[2]

David Beech was a joint founder of the International Philatelic Libraries Association.

Organised philately

David is active in organised philately. In 1974 he became a member of the Exhibition Committee of the British Philatelic Exhibition and in 1980 he became a Council member of the British Philatelic Federation and subsequently of the Association of British Philatelic Societies. He was a member of the Council of the National Philatelic Society from 1981 to 1996. He was the Controller of Exhibits for the International Philatelic Exhibition London 1980 and a member of the Philatelic Committee and Court of Honour Design Group for Stamp World London 90. He is a member of The Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand, The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada, the Collectors Club of New York, the American Philatelic Research Library and the Académie Europeénne de Philatélie. He is also a Trustee of the Revenue Philately Trust.^[3]

Career at the British Library

David became a Curator at the British Library in 1983 where one of his first tasks was to build up a philatelic reference library which had increased to approximately 10000 volumes by 2003.^[2] He became head of the Philatelic Collection in 1991.^[3][4]

The Grinnell Missionary stamps

David was instrumental in the Grinnell Missionary stamps being expertised by the Royal Philatelic Society London in 2002 to 2004 and arranged access to the Missionary stamps held in the Tapling Collection at the British Library.^[5]

Selected publications

• New Zealand and Dependencies – A Philatelic Bibliography, Thames, New Zealand, 2004. (With Allan P. Berry & Robin M. Startup) ISBN 0476005167
• "Philatelic research at the British Library", Cross Post, The Friends of Postal Heritage, 10 (3), 2004, pp. 119–128. Download link.
• "Stamp albums in the Printed Book Collections of the British Library", Philatelic Literature Review, American Philatelic Research Library, 54 (1st quarter), 2005, pp. 16–24. Download link.
• "New Zealand Philately at the British Library" in The New Zealand Stamp Collector, The Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand and The New Zealand Philatelic Federation, 85, 2005, pp. 38–41. Download link.
• "The British Library Philatelic Collections 1998 to 2005" a paper given at a meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society London, 17 November 2005. Download link.
• "Philatelic Research - a basic guide" in Stamp Lover, National Philatelic Society, 100, 2008, pp. 101–104. Download link.
• Great Britain and Ireland: The Carriage of Parcels by Tramway and Omnibus: Services and Stamps. London: British Library, 2008. Archived here.
• "Notes for philatelic researchers" in The London Philatelist, The Royal Philatelic Society London, 118, 2009, pp. 8–11. Download link

References

1. ^ Birch, Brian. Biographies of Philatelists and Dealers, 9th edition, Standish, Wigan, 2008, p.184.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Mr President- at The Royal Philatelic Society" by Peter Jennings in Gibbons Stamp Monthly, October 2003, pp.75-77.
3. ^ ^{a b} Profile at the Smithsonian National Philatelic Museum.
4. ^ "David Beech celebrates 20 Years as Head of The British Library Philatelic Collections, 1991–2011" by Peter Jennings in Gibbons Stamp Monthly, July 2011. Archive here.
5. ^ Pearson, Patrick. The Grinnell Hawaiian Missionary Stamps, The Expert Committee of the Royal Philatelic Society London, 2006, p.vi. ISBN 0955307805.

External links

• David Beech introduces a selection of items from the British Library Philatelic Collection.
• Photograph of David Beech.
• Video of presentation on the Hawaiian Missionaries by David Beech 2003.

Persondata
Name	Beech, David
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Date of birth	1954
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Date of death
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