Upcoming Sales to Help Finance the Digital Library

The American Philatelic Research Library Board of Trustees approved the sale of philatelic material from the Robert Mason Estate. The APRL Board selected Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auction of San Francisco, California to handle the sale of the material. Rumsey previously managed the sale of the William Bauer Estate for the American Philatelic Society and the APRL.

Rumsey has announced that the North and South America collections will be for sale at WESTPEX, a World Series of Philately show held from July 30 to August 1, 2021 in Burlingame, California. Rumsey has also agreed to hold the second auction at the Great American Stamp Show 2022 in Sacramento, California on August 25-28, 2022.

“We’re glad to be working with Schuyler again and we’re excited he’s picked two great shows to hold the auction,” said Scott English, Executive Director of the APS and Administrator of the APRL, “Bob Mason will long be remembered for his generosity to the APRL and he will forever be linked to the retirement of our debt. This last chapter will be about building the future of our library.”  

Mason, who passed away in 2017, left his entire estate to the APRL, including $877,000 in cash that helped retire the Match Factory mortgage in 2020. To recognize the significance of his donation, the APRL Board approved renaming the digital library to the Robert A. Mason Digital Library. At a March 23, 2021 meeting, English and Librarian Scott Tiffney outlined a plan to move 47 scanned philatelic journals to the digital library within 18 months of launch. The APRL Board approved the sale of the Mason material with the proceeds to support financing this project.

“The Mason Digital Library is one of the most powerful research tools available in the hobby, but digitization of a large library will be an investment. As this digital library grows, the APRL will be at the forefront of preservation and access of critical phialtelic research.” added English, “This will be the most remarkable part of Bob’s enduring legacy in our hobby.”

Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming WESTPEX auction on our website. There will also be a profile of the sale in the July 2021 issue of The American Philatelist.