Stuart Rossiter - Philately

Philately

Stuart Rossiter became interested in stamp collecting and geography from the age of six and he would pursue these interests throughout his life. He is famous for his international stamp exhibitions through which he would display various portions of his extensive personal collection along with those of other collectors. Rossiter edited the London Philatelist, house journal of The Royal Philatelic Society London, from 1975 and in 1977 became President of the Society of Postal Historians.

He founded and was the Chairman of the East Africa Study Circle and was the editor of its journal. British East Africa was his main philatelic interest and he wrote a series of articles on the postal history of Uganda that were published in Postal History International.

In 1975 Rossiter became the Editor of The London Philatelist. He became President of the Society of Postal Historians in 1977 and was also the editor of The Postscript its journal. As a collector of stamps and postal history Rossiter had a sizable collection which he often exhibited internationally.

As a student of postal history, Rossiter realized that a knowledge of geographical and political changes was essential to a proper understanding of philately. The arduous task of locating such relevant information is what led Rossiter and John Flower, working through the renowned Blue Guides, to propose a Stamp Atlas, which was finally completed after his death in 1982.