Frederick
John Melville was not just the founder of
the Junior (now National) Philatelic Society,
but was a writer who ‘specialised’ in most
aspects of our hobby. He is perhaps best
known for his philatelic writing career
which started in 1897 when he wrote and
privately published a rather modest eight
page pamphlet called Stamp Collecting.
When Michael
Furnell invited me to do a piece on the
writing of Melville for this NPS Centenary
Handbook,
he directed my attention to an article in
the January 1941 issue of The Stamp Lover entitled ‘A “Melville”
Bibliography’. I admit to drawing heavily
on this article, which had been compiled
by the writing partnership of L N & M
Williams and proved to be invaluable. Maurice
passed away many years ago, but his brother
Norman, a Life Member of the NPS, sadly
died only this year, at the start of our
centenary celebrations. Melville and the
Williams’s shared more than just the J.P.S.
in common, for both parties were among the
most prolific writers about our hobby and
have left behind a tremendous legacy for
future generations.
Melville
had a journalistic training the envy of
many, having been under the instruction
of Lord Northcliffe and his enthusiasm for
the hobby could be recorded in a clear and
concise manner as a consequence. He is credited
by the Williams’s with recruiting newcomers
to the hobby in a way that nobody before
him had attempted, contributing to the interest
in the hobby from the general public of
the time.
I think that
it is the sheer variety of subjects covered
by Melville that has impressed me the most
whilst compiling this article. To write
deeply about one country is an achievement
in itself, but to cover so many areas of
the world takes a special kind of understanding
and love of the subject. The list of topics
and countries covered seems almost endless
– indeed, the bibliography shows dozens
of subjects and countries that received
his special treatment.
Postage
Stamps in the Making is generally regarded as Melville’s
magnum-opus. Unfortunately, Fred was never
destined to complete this book, unlike Norman
Williams, whose Fundamentals of Philately,
which also covered the production of the
postage stamp, is my favourite philatelic
work. Stamp production was a subject that
both writers understood and shared a love
of, possibly more than any other collector
is ever destined to.
Books such
as Melville’s Postage
Stamps Worth Fortunes was translated into Swedish and
Dutch versions; whilst The World’s Stamp Errors was shown as being
by Miss Fitte, indicating a humorous side
to Fred’s character. Subjects such as The Higlett Booklets,
Origins of the Penny Post, Hints on Arranging
a Collection and The
Grammar of Philately all go towards proving the scope
of his writing. Countries covered
ranged from Abyssinia to the Virgin Islands
and everywhere in between.
Melville
also produced series of books in addition
to his ‘one-offs’. These included JPS War Books,
The Melville Stamp Books, Philatelic Institute
Papers, Stamp Lover Booklets, The Stamp
Classics
and “The
Postage Stamp” Handbooks. These series alone
amount to an impressive sixty-six publications.
There was
clearly a ready market for his work, some
going to several editions. If only authors
today could sell so readily – few collectors
seem willing to invest in philatelic literature,
which is a great shame. Incidentally, why
does a collector not buy a book when freely
available to them at the new-issue price,
but will wait until it is out of print and
pay a premium on the secondary market? This
has always puzzled me! But I digress.
Aside from
writing books and pamphlets, it must never
be forgotten that Melville also wrote many
columns in the national lay press. He
also edited philatelic publications such
as British
Philatelist, Stamp Collector’s Fortnightly,
Postage Stamp and Stamp
Collecting.
Even a single issue of the American journal
Mekeel’s
Weekly Stamp News was down to him. Let us also recall
that our own Stamp
Lover
came under his editorship, specifically
between 1908 and 1940 with only a few months
break in 1915. For the record, there is
another comparison between Melville and
the Williams’s, for they also edited our
society journal.
So, this
brief review shows Melville to be a writer
of some stature and one whose writing I
heartily commend to you. May I please
end with a plea? The library possesses some
of the works of FJM, but nowhere near the
volume that we would like in order to fully
recognise the contribution made by our founder
to the literature of our hobby. We
would therefore be most grateful to any
reader who would like to donate any of Fred’s
literature to the NPS library.
(First published
in 'The National Philatelic Society Centenary
Handbook', 2001)
 Page
Version: 1.1, 2012. All material Copyright ©
2000-Date Glenn H Morgan FRPSL.
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