Stamp collecting was extremely popular in the nineteenth century, attracting numerous enthusiasts, including the princes of the Royal Family. Queen Victoria’s second son, Alfred, was a keen philatelist.

George V was given Prince Alfred’s collection and integrated a small part of it into his own. An accomplished collector, one of the greatest of his time, he made the Royal Philatelic Collection what it is today. He devoted three afternoons a week to it when in London, filling his journal with notes on the new pieces he managed to obtain.

The handwritten notes that accompany the pieces in the exhibition were added by Sir Edward Bacon, the curator of The King’s stamp collection, who advised George V.

= Additional information

Frame III

Stamps for a Jubilee

Stamp album with solid Yukon gold corners and clasp presented to The Duke of York (future George V) on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, June 22, 1897