George Ludlow Lee Collection of Egyptian Royal Imperforates
By Daniel Piazza, Philatelic Curator
(Open August 4, 2010 to January 9, 2012)
EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHT
Egypt’s King Fuad and his son, King Farouk, were presented with specially printed imperforate copies of every Egyptian stamp issued from 1926 until 1952, when Farouk was overthrown and exiled. After the royal collections were sold, George L. Lee (left) acquired some of the imperforate stamps and researched their origins. His writings provided philatelists with reliable information about these stamps for the first time. In 1961, he gave his collection of royal imperforates (approximately 10% of all the copies in existence) to the National Philatelic Collection.
Aviation Congress, Egypt, 1933.
To learn more about the exhibit: postalmuseum.si.edu/collecting-history
George L. Lee Collection of the Royal Imperforate Printings of Egyptian Stamps Finding Guide »
About the Author
Daniel A. Piazza, Curator of Philately, collects and writes about the stamps and postal history of the U.S. during the Bureau period (1894-1978) as well as the Italian peninsula. He sits on the board of governors of the Vatican Philatelic Society and edits its journal, Vatican Notes. His other national memberships include the American Philatelic Society, American Philatelic Research Library, American First Day Cover Society, and Writers Unit #30. Locally, he belongs to both the Washington Stamp Collectors Club and the Baltimore Philatelic Society. In addition to his philatelic activities, Piazza is an academic historian specializing in U.S. History to 1760. He holds degrees in the subject from Wagner College (B.A., 1998) and Syracuse University (M.A., 2004) and has completed the coursework for his Ph.D.
