An Inquiry into the First Edition of Fundamentals of Philately

by Abhishek Bhuwalka

F undamentals of Philately (Fundamentals) by L.N. Williams and M. Williams is one of

philately’s most celebrated books. It is, on most occasions, described as the single best
introductory didactic book that should be on the bookshelf of every stamp collector.

However, Fundamentals is not a ‘complete’ introductory book. Most such books are known
for providing a peek into the various elements of philately such as a brief history of stamps
and stamp collecting, stamp production methods, ways to acquire stamps and build a
collection, stamp collecting accessories, famous stamps, notable stamp collectors of the past,
etc. On the other hand, Fundamentals is, or rather turned out to be, almost exclusively, an
analysis of stamp production via its discourses on stamp paper, watermarks, design, printing
methods, inks and colour, gum, and separation types.

While most reviewers have traditionally fawned upon it and placed it on a pedestal,
Fundamentals is undoubtedly a very difficult read for the general reader.1 Supposed to supply
“basic knowledge”, it turned out to be too detailed and technical, almost like a doctoral-
thesis; for example, the chapters on various printing methods occupy 342 pages! Hence,
notwithstanding the repute of its writers and consequently the repute it made for itself, the
book has come in for some criticism over the years.2

This article is on the five Sections that preceded the 1971 edition as well as the four printings
of the 1971 edition itself.

The Williams Brothers

Leon Norman Williams and Maurice

Williams need no introduction to the
vast majority of readers. They were,
along with Fred. J. Melville, philately’s
most prolific writers. Born in London in
1914 and 1905 respectively, Norman3
was a barrister-at-law while Maurice,
who was incapacitated being a victim of
polio at school, was a professional
journalist (Lidman 1954, Birch 2018).

The brothers started their philatelic

Figure: L.N. (left) and M. Williams (right) pictured in the writing in 1934 and wrote more than 30
April 1954 issue of The American Philatelist handbooks apart from countless
articles. They held editorial positions at
various stamp journals like The Stamp Lover (1940-1964), The British Philatelist (1940-1954),
and The Cinderella Philatelist (1961-1998). Further they owned a philately library which was
reckoned to be the biggest private one in Great Britain. While Maurice died on June 15, 1976,
Norman continued writing and published the revised edition of Fundamentals in 19904 and

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the two-part update to their earlier works on rare stamps, Encyclopaedia of Rare and Famous
Stamps, in 1993 and 1997. Norman died on April 9, 1999.

Beginnings of Fundamentals

The foundation for the publication of Fundamentals was laid by David Lidman,5 the then
editor of The American Philatelist, who requested6 the brothers7 to supply for the journal “a
survey of the basic knowledge requisite to serve as a groundwork of philately” (Williams and
Williams 1958).

The first instalment of the work was published in the April 1954 issue of the journal. Its
objectives are clearly laid in the authors’ introduction. It would aim to set out objectively, “the
why and how of stamp collecting, what to look for, what to avoid, and the general problems,
or some of them, which the collector is likely to encounter in his philatelic life.” The authors
hoped to deal with, “…accessories such as albums, hinges, catalogues, and general literature,
fields of collecting such as general, restricted and specialized, subjects for study such as
printing methods, paper, separations…and, of course the stamps themselves in their
categories”. The aim of Fundamentals was to be of assistance to adult “beginners” (Williams
and Williams 1954).

Four years later, in the preface to Section 1, the plan of the work is stated viz: (1) Introduction,
(2) Production, (3) Classification of Stamps, (4) Collecting and Study Techniques, (5) Social
Philately, and (6) Index (Williams and Williams 1958).

In 1990, Norman clarified that it who was he who was the true author of Fundamentals having
written each and every word of it as Maurice’s philatelic interests lay in other directions.
However, in keeping with the fraternal writing policy that the brothers had adopted since the
very beginning, the work was published in their joint names (Williams 1990). Another early
evidence of this assertion can be found is in the preface to Section 5 wherein Norman accepts
the blame for the delay in its publication8 (Williams and Williams 1968).

Plan unfinished

Serialisation of Fundamentals
continued for more than nine years
until June 1963. The work had, by the
last issue, covered (1) and (2) and
ended with the words “Next:
Classification of Stamps” i.e. an intent
to start with (3).

However, no further instalments came

through. In their preface to Sections 3
and 4 published in 1964 and 1965
respectively, the authors have
Figure: June 1963 issue promising more but eventually the
dropped the six-point plan mentioned
last instalment
in Sections 1 and 2. They do seem to

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give some bit of hope to the reader when they say, “ten years and more since its inception
the work is far from completion in the plan originally outlined” (Williams and Williams 1964,
1965) perhaps implying the possibility of keeping the series going.

However, the preface to Section 5 does not even contain this line (Williams and Williams
1968). It is now clear that after more than 15 years writing Fundamentals,9 the authors have
decided to discontinue working on it any further.10

In their preface to the 1971 bound edition, the authors justify this saying, “a limit had,
perforce, to be set.” They also acknowledge that while the fundamentals of philatelic
knowledge are not bound by only an understanding of its history and the processes of stamp
production (i.e. the topics covered by their work), such understanding is essential to anyone
wanting to be known as a philatelist (implying that even incomplete, the work will be of much
value to its readers) (Williams and Williams 1971).

Bibliography of the Five Sections and Appendix

The authors quoted regularly in their prefaces that one of the principles they would be guided
by was to pay special regard to pictorial representations since, quoting W. Dudley Atlee from
the December 1869 issue of The Philatelist, “…nothing is so satisfactory as ocular
demonstration”. I aim to follow in their illustrious footsteps and include many photographs
as is required!
Between 1954, when the first
instalment of the work was
published in The American
Philatelist, and 1971, when it
appeared as a single book, five
Sections of Fundamentals came
out. It had always been the intent
of the authors that the work
would someday be presented in a
book form. Until then these
individual Sections intended to
cover those subjects already
completed in the journal and
thereby make the work available
Figure: Five Sections published between 1958 and 1968
earlier than would have been
(Section 1 is the third edition from 1963)
otherwise possible.

The Sections were not just reprintings from the journal but incorporated additions and
revisions. This is one of the reasons for the usual delay in the publication of the various
Sections after their subject matter had appeared in the journal. Section 5 was especially much
delayed for more than five years when it was finally published in 1968.

The Sections were bound in card covers of different colours; being yellow-ochre, pale green,
pale blue, pink, and light-grey from Section 1 to 5 respectively. Further, the first four Sections

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were staple bound while the last was perfect bound. Unfortunately, it is not known how many
copies of each were printed.11

Apart from the five Sections, an undated pamphlet exists containing an appendix of
corrigenda and addenda and an index compiled by James Negus.

The accompanying table summarises each of the Sections and the appendix.

Publication
Section No. of Pages Contents
Year
Philatelic Trends; Aims of Collecting;
(2) + 110 pp numbered
1 1958a Paper; Watermarks; Stamp Design;
1-110
From Design to Issued Sheets
Printing Problems and Varieties;
(2) + 120 pp numbered
2 1960b Printing Characteristics; Intaglio
111-230
Printing
(2) + 112 pp numbered
3 1964c Planographic Printing; Embossing
231-342
(2) + 110 pp numbered
4 1965d Relief Printing
343-452
(2) + 177 pp + (1) p
5 1968e Inks and Color; Gum; Separation
numbered 453-629
Corrigenda and addenda (about two-
and-half pages) and an index (rest);
Appendix NAf 30 pp numbered i-xxx
the index was compiled by James
Negus (Williams and Williams, 1971)

a
Preface dated “May 1958”. Two further editions were
published, a second in February 1960 and a third in June
1963. I have copies of the first and third both of which have
the same 1958 preface and whose contents seem to be
similar.
b
Preface dated “April 1960”
c
Preface dated “London 1964”
d
Preface dated “London 1965”
e
Preface dated “London, March, 1968”
f
It is not known when this was published but it must have
been after the publication of Section 5 in 1968 and before it
was bound up along with the other Sections into a single book
in 1971.

Bibliography of the Four Printings of the 1971

Edition

Last year I noticed that the 1971 edition was

available hardbound in both reddish-brown as well
as light-grey cloth. Wondering why and what the
differences were, I inquired with some philatelic Figure: Reddish-brown cloth binding of the
literature dealers, who would have handled the first three printings

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 Figure: The first printing was by Stowell Printing

work extensively, but did not get a

satisfactory explanation. I later bought both
Figure: The first printing has the words the colours and found the words
“Unabridged Edition” only in the Copyright Page “Unabridged Edition” on the copyright page
of the brown and “Unabridged Edition.
Fourth Printing,” on the grey. This led to further questions including about the second and
third printings.

It was in April this year that I stumbled upon the explanation to the “confusing printing
history” of Fundamentals in Negus (1991, 234) who had sought the same clarification from
Norman.

First Printing: The first printing (true first edition) was of 1,000 copies. It contains a new
preface dated “London, 1971” but does not have a contents page for the entire work. The five
individual Sections, sans their card covers but including their titles and prefaces (which were
printed on the two different sides of a single sheet of paper), have been bound up together.
After its 629 printed pages (not including the five section titles and prefaces), follows 30 pages
of corrigenda and addenda and a detailed index. The copyright page has “Unabridged Edition”
but no words about it being the first printing. The
printer is ‘The J. W. Stowell Printing Company’ of
Federalsburg, Maryland. While Negus (1991) does
not cover the colour of the bindings of the various
printings, the first printing (as well as the next two)
were bound up in reddish-brown cloth with gold
stamping on the front covers and spine; no dust
jacket was issued.

Second and Third Printings: The first printing sold

out within a few weeks. The book has been hot-
metal typeset but the type was unaccountably
melted down after publication. Hence photo-
reproduced plates were issued to make the second
printing of around 1,000 copies. Of these 1,000
copies, 500 were issued as “Second Printing” 12 and
by masking the reverse title page, the balance
copies were labelled “Third Printing”; it is not
known why. Hence the copyright page has the
words “Unabridged Edition” followed by “Second
Printing” or “Third Printing”, as the case may be, on
Figure: Title Page of Second, Third, and
Fourth Printings

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 Figure: Copyright Page of the Third Printing Figure: Copyright Page of the Fourth P

the next following line before the other

copyright details. Note that printings made
after the first one omits the repetitive titles
and prefaces. Further, the printer was
changed to ‘The Maple Press Company’ for Figure: The Second, Third, and Fourth printings
the Second, Third, and Fourth Printings. were by Maple Press

Fourth Printing: The plates of the second and third

printing were then dumped. A fourth printing
(actually the third) was photo-reproduced from the
previous printing. This printing was bound in light-
grey cloth. The copyright page has the words
“Unabridged Edition” followed by “Fourth Printing”
on the next following line before the other copyright
details. Unfortunately, its print run is not known.13

Conclusion

The Williams set out to produce an all-encompassing

work intended to convey basic knowledge of philately
to the adult-beginner. After spending 15 years in
perfecting14 just the one subject of stamp production
methods, they gave up on the project. In hindsight
less detailing would have enabled full coverage of all
or most of the planned topics and made
Figure: Light-grey cloth binding of the Fundamentals a truly introductory book.
fourth printing
Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Scott Tiffney,
Librarian of the American Philatelic Research Library for providing me with extracts from The
American Philatelist as also Burkhard Schneider for scans of the third printing. I am also
grateful to Bill Hagen, Leonard Hartmann, and Casper Pottle for their valuable inputs. Any
feedback or information can be shared on my email id: abbh@hotmail.com.

Notes

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1
It is quite strange why it turned out so. The many other books of the Williams brothers, including the ones
that they wrote for children, are fast easy reads.
2
See, for example, Strange (1966) who comments in his review of Section 3, “This is undoubtedly a work by
the pundits for the pundits but the average collector may find that parts of it contain more detail than he cares
to digest. It is therefore conceivable that the authors have failed in their intention to cater for adult
'beginners'.” Strange (1969) in his review of Section 5 repeats, “…we are under the impression that its
profundity may at times be too great for even the 'adult beginner' for whom the authors aim to cater.”
Recently in 2016, the well-known US dealer, John Apfelbaum’s blog on the book says that Fundamentals is
fundamentally unreadable, boring, and turgid, and its details detract from the very experience that it was
intended to enhance. See https://www.apfelbauminc.com/blog/post/fundamentals-of-philately. Accessed 24
Jun 2019.
3
L. N. Williams was known as Norman and not Leon (Williams 1990, xiii).
4
The revised edition was published in Norman’s name alone but it was dedicated to Maurice.
5
David Louis Lidman (1905-1982) was one of America’s greatest philatelic writers and editors. He wrote stamp
columns for the New York Times from 1948 to 1972. He edited The American Philatelist from 1951 to 1960 as
well as many other publications. He also wrote many books especially popular ones on stamp collecting. For a
detailed overview see https://classic.stamps.org/HOF-1980. Accessed 24 Jun 2019.
6
The words “perhaps lightheartedly” was inserted before “requested” starting from the preface to Section 4
(Williams and Williams 1965). By this time, it must have been quite apparent to the authors that the work they
wished to fashion would be necessarily enormous and possibly would not see completion.
7
The Williams brothers were already famous and prolific at this time. This is evident by the three-page
introduction to the authors that Lidman (1954) wrote to the first instalment.
8
The preface reads, “That this Section has not appeared before now must, in the first instance, be laid at the
door of one who, as a barrister-at-law, is not unused to being in two places at once, but has not yet discovered
the secrets of writing more than one thing at the same instant, and of finding more than 24 hours in 24.”
9
The authors would have commenced writing Fundamentals possibly a year or two before the first instalment
of April 1954. Further, it can be said to have been completed with the publication of Section 5 in March 1968.
Hence the number of 15 years; this is also collaborated by Norman in the revised edition (Williams 1990, x).
10
Norman (1990) mentions that the revised edition was under preparation for eight years. It is not clear why
he did not cover the earlier planned but undelivered topics in this edition. Since Norman was a perfectionist,
undertaking any new work requiring perfection would require a herculean effort on his part, which may not
have been possible for him to undertake.
11
Hagan (Bill Hagan, 2019, Email message to author) is of the opinion that there may have been a few
presentation copies produced with deluxe covers and inscriptions. In case any reader has more information on
the same, please contact me with details.
12
While it surely cannot be a rare work, despite some efforts, I have not been able to get details of the Second
Printing. Hence, I am quite sure but not 100 percent certain of some assertions such as that it was bound in
the same reddish-brown cloth as the First and Third Printings and that it was printed by Maple Press.
13
Either Norman never clarified the print-run of the fourth printing to Negus or Negus did not mention it in his
book. The former seems more likely to me. I would speculate it to be once again of 1,000 copies.
14
Norman’s efforts were always to record fact and avoid fiction (Williams 1990) and it cannot be argued that
he did not succeed. Fundamentals is as perfect a technical book as can be.

Bibliography

Birch, Brian J. 2018. Biographies of Philatelists and Dealers. Montignac Toupinerie, France: The Author.
http://www.globalphilateliclibrary.org/birch/BiographiesOfPhilatelistsDealers.pdf
[Lidman, David]. 1954. “About L.N. and M. Williams.” The American Philatelist. April 1954: 502-504.
Negus, James. 1991. Philatelic Literature: Compilation Techniques and Reference Sources. Limassol: James
Bendon.
[Strange, Arnold M.]. 1969. “Literature”. The London Philatelist. Vol. 75 No. 887 (November 1966): 223
[Strange, Arnold M.]. 1969. “Literature”. The London Philatelist. Vol. 78 No. 917 (May 1969): 123
Williams, L.N. 1990. Fundamentals of Philately. State College, Pennsylvania: The American Philatelic Society.
Williams, L.N., and M. Williams. 1958. Fundamentals of Philately: Section 1. State College, Pennsylvania: The
American Philatelic Society. 3rd edition published June 1963.
———. 1960. Fundamentals of Philately: Section 2. State College, Pennsylvania: The American Philatelic Society.
———. 1964. Fundamentals of Philately: Section 3. State College, Pennsylvania: The American Philatelic Society.
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———. 1965. Fundamentals of Philately: Section 4. State College, Pennsylvania: The American Philatelic Society.
———. 1968. Fundamentals of Philately: Section 5. State College, Pennsylvania: The American Philatelic Society.
———. 1971. Fundamentals of Philately. State College, Pennsylvania: The American Philatelic Society.

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