John N. Luff 406588 173471123 2007-11-24T13:14:32Z SmackBot 433328 Standard headings &/or gen fixes. using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] '''John Nicholas Luff''' ([[November 16]], [[1860]] - [[August 23]], [[1938]]) was one of the important [[philatelist]]s of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, notable as an early user of scientific methods in the study of [[postage stamp]]s. The [[Luff Award]] of the [[American Philatelic Society]] is named after him. He developed a serious interest in philately in [[1890]], and joined the [[Pacific Philatelic Society]] in [[San Francisco, California]]. He moved to [[New York City]] in [[1893]] with the intention of becoming a full-time stamp dealer, and the following year joined the [[Scott Stamp & Coin Company]], at the time one of the largest dealers in the world. At Scott he headed the approval department, edited the ''[[American Journal of Philately]]'', and co-edited the [[Scott catalog]]. In [[1896]], he helped establish the [[Collectors Club of New York]], and was later its president for a number of years. He became president of Scott in [[1903]], but moved to [[Stanley Gibbons]] in [[1905]], shortly after returning to Scott, where he remained for the rest of his life. Luff had become perhaps the most prolific philatelic writer of the age, with works ranging from the tutorial ''What Philately Teaches Us'' ([[1899]]) to the classic reference work ''The Postage Stamps of the United States'' ([[1902]]), and numerous articles in the ''AJP'' and ''[[Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News]]''. In addition to building a US collection that won the gold medal at the Paris exhibition of 1900, Luff also collected [[Great Britain]], [[Shanghai]], [[Hawaii]], [[Japan]], and [[China]]. But his most important collection was a [[reference collection]] that he used as a basis for comparison when [[expertizing]] stamps at Scott. He sold the collection to Scott when he left in 1905; the collection was later donated to the [[Philatelic Foundation]], where it mostly still resides and is in use [[as of 2003]]. Luff was president of the [[American Philatelic Society]] from [[1907]] to [[1909]]. == Books == * ''What Philately Teaches Us'' ([[1899]]) * ''The Postage Stamps of the United States'' ([[1902]]) * ''A Reference List of the Stamps of Panama'' ([[1905]]) ==External links== * {{gutenberg author| id=John+N.+Luff | name=John N. Luff}} * [http://www.stamps.org/Almanac/alm_HallofFame_1941.htm APS bio of Luff] {{DEFAULTSORT:Luff, John N.}} [[Category:1860 births]] [[Category:1938 deaths]] [[Category:Philatelists]]