William Hughes-Hughes

William Hughes-Hughes J.P. D.L. (1817^[1] - 7 January 1902^[2]) was a founding member of The Philatelic Society, London,^[3][4] which subsequently became The Royal Philatelic Society London, and one of the small group who met regularly at the Rev. Stainforth's Rectory before that society was formed. He may therefore be called one of the first philatelists.

He was reported to have become a collector in 1859 and ceased in 1874 having spent £69. His collection was then sold by Stanley Gibbons for £3000 in 1896. It included a number of rarities:^[1]

• British Guiana 1856 4 cents on blue 'sugar' paper
• Canada 12d black
• One of the four unused Great Britain Penny Red plate 77 (subsequently sold to Herbert L'Estrange Ewen who sold it to Henry J. Crocker, and believed destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake or the fire that followed.)^[4]
• Cape of Good Hope 4d red Woodblock error of colour (Reckoned to be rarer than a Post Office Mauritius)^[5]
• Reunion 1852 15c
• Naples 1860 ½ tornese in both types.

Hughes-Hughes was a Barrister by profession. He had attended Tonbridge School.

Mr M.E. Hughes-Hughes also later became a member of the Royal Philatelic Society London.

References

1. Who Was Who in British Philately, Association of British Philatelic Societies, 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
2. "Deaths" in The Times, No. 36660, 9 January 1902.
3. de Worms, Baron Percy. The Royal Philatelic Society London 1869 - April 10th - 1919. Bath: 1919, p. 18.
4. "Great Britain: One Penny Rose Red: Plate 77" by H.R. Holmes in The London Philatelist, Vol. 71, No. 834, June 1962, pp. 103-104.
5. "Notes on the 1861 Provisional Cape of Good Hope." by M.P. Castle in The London Philatelist, Vol. XVI, No. 188, August 1907, pp. 182-186.

Further reading

• Biography in The Biographical Magazine, October 1898.