The History of Stamp Collecting 24, Alexander Baillieu

Inspired by a series of articles by K. Kouwenberg that appeared in the monthly magazine Philatelie in the late 1970s, Rob Smit re-examines the history of stamp collecting in biweekly installments. This is part 24, Alexander Baillieu. Alexander Baillieu was born in 1842. His father owned a successful antiquarian bookshop in Paris where, among other things, reprints of rare books were published. Alexander had been collecting stamps since childhood. Probably in 1861, when collecting became popular, his father advised him to sell parts of his collection in the shop. On the very first day, he sold for 27 francs. The entire family was so enthusiastic about this that they threw themselves into the stamp trade together. 125 francs were sent to each of 25 foreign embassies with the request to send stamps in return. They received a positive response from all of them and were therefore soon able to start with a nice stock. After a while, however, the stamp trade turned out not to be the gold mine they had hoped for, and the family's interest waned. Father Baillieu returned to his books, his mother and sister had had enough, and so Alexander was left alone with the stamps. In 1863, he published a catalogue. Although his catalogue went through several reprints and he contributed to Lallier's first album, among others, he never achieved the same level of fame as his fellow dealers Pierre Mahé and Arthur Maury. Below is an image of his second edition. By clicking on the image, you can view the contents. Baillieu did not live to a great age; he died on June 30, 1899.

To be continued on March 31.

Published so far:

1. Introduction and start 2. The first collectors 3. The first catalogueOscar Berger Levrault is the first to provide an overview. 4. Alfred Potiquet, The first commercially published catalogue. 5. Booming 1862, The most turbulent year in philatelic history. 6. Edard de Laplante, the first to live exclusively from the stamp trade. 7. Natalis RondotThe first true philatelic literature appeared in a family magazine. 8. Henri Justin Lallier, Publisher of the first stamp album. 9. Frederick W. Booty, The first catalogue in English. 10. Mount Brown, A successful English catalogue. 11. Dr John Edward Gray, Inventor of the postage stamp, the very first collector, or merely a good cataloguer? 12. The first stamp magazineFirst a failed attempt, but then a sheet of stamps after all. 13. Edward Pemberton, Active philatelist with descendants in philately. 14. Dr. C.W. Viner, Father of English philately. 15. Jean Baptiste Moens, The greatest trader of all time. 16. Moens' publishing house, of great importance in the early days of philately. 17. Germany in 1862, The slow start of an important philatelic country. 18. The Netherlands in 1862, The first Dutch catalogue and album. 19. The Netherlands in 1864, PH Witkamp 20. The origins of Schaubek 21. The competition breaks out, free stamps with magazines. 22. Crafting with stamps. 23. The Polka Stamp., postage stamps as a source of inspiration for music