STAMPS WORTH £10,000

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 41, 18 February 1932, Page 8

STAMPS WORTH £10,000

GIFT TO MELBOURNE LIBRARY. SYDNEY, Feb. 4. A collection of Australian stamps, he finest of its kind in the world, and roinputed by experts to be worth more han £lO,OOO, will shortly be presented to the trustees of the Melbourne Publie Library by Messrs. R. H. and D. F. Johnston, son of the late Mr. H. W. Johnston, the noted Victorian philateist, who died on January 4. It repre tents a life-long collection by Mr. fohnston, who, in later years, was assisted by his two sons. At present the stamps are in five volumes, and have been placed in a safe deposit. The collection is notable for its series of “Sydnev Views.” the earliest issues of New South Wales stamps, in which the late Mr. Johnston specialised. It is also rich in specimens of the first issues of Victoria, and is a complete record of the early stamps of the other States with the exception of South Australia. The specimens were obtained from all parts of the world, and are in I superb condition. The collectors concentrated on assembling only the best copies available. Mr. Johnston began stamp-collecting in 18ST. A verv complete collection of Australian stamps is at present housed in the famous Mitchell Library in Sydnev. This, too, is valued at many thousands of nounds. and ranks with the most notable collection of stamps in the worli