The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis is a family of German nobility that is part of the Briefadel. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and became well known as the owner of breweries and builder of many castles. The current head of the house is HSH Albert II, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis. The family is one of the wealthiest in Germany and has resided at St. Emmeram Castle in Regensburg since 1748.
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is attributed to Robson Lowe, a professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer, who made the first organised study of the subject in the 1930s and described philatelists as "students of science", but postal historians as "students of humanity". More precisely, philatelists describe postal history as the study of rates, routes, markings, and means.
St. Emmeram's Abbey, now known as Schloss Thurn und Taxis, Schloss St. Emmeram, and St. Emmeram's Basilica, was a Benedictine monastery founded in about 739 in Regensburg in Bavaria at the grave of the itinerant Frankish bishop Saint Emmeram.
Archduchess Margarethe Klementine Maria of Austria was a member of the Hungarian line of the House of Habsburg and an Archduchess of Austria by birth. Through her marriage to Albert, 8th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Margarethe Klementine was also a member of the House of Thurn and Taxis.
Franz Joseph Maximilian Maria Antonius Ignatius Lamoral, 9th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: Franz Josef Maximilian Maria Antonius Ignatius Lamoral Fürst von Thurn und Taxis was the ninth Prince of Thurn and Taxis and Head of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from 22 January 1952 until his death on 13 July 1971.
Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: Maximilian Karl Fürst von Thurn und Taxis was the sixth Prince of Thurn and Taxis, head of the Thurn-und-Taxis-Post, and Head of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from 15 July 1827 until his death on 10 November 1871.
Duchess Therese Mathilde Amalie of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg. Through her marriage to Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Therese was also a member of the House of Thurn and Taxis.
Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: Alexander Ferdinand Fürst von Thurn und Taxis was the third Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost, and Head of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from 8 November 1739 until his death on 17 March 1773. Alexander Ferdinand served as Principal Commissioner at the Perpetual Imperial Diet in Frankfurt am Main and Regensburg for Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor from 1 February 1743 to 1745 and again from 1748 until 1773.
The Crawford Library is a library of early books about philately formed between 1898 and 1913 by James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford. By the time of his death in 1913, Crawford was thought to have amassed the greatest philatelic library of his time. Today, the library is part of the British Library Philatelic Collections.
The Bailey Collection is a collection of philatelic material relating to the Spanish Civil War that forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections. The collection was donated to the Library by the Spanish Study Circle in 2007.
The Chismon Collection is a collection of Croatian philatelic material formed by Harvey John Chismon and given to the British Library by his son Joseph Chismon in 2009. It forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections.
The Crown Agents Collection is a collection of unused British Commonwealth philatelic material produced by the Crown Agents since 1922. The collection forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections. Material given by the Crown Agents from 1900 to 1922 is included in the Supplementary Collection.
The Shelley Collection is a collection of philatelic material relating to the Spanish Civil War that forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections.
The Booth Papers are a collection of philatelic research documents of Roger Booth FRPSL used for the preparation of his catalogues of British and Irish revenue stamps. The papers form part of the British Library Philatelic Department Collections and were donated to the Library in 2004.
The British Library Philatelic Department Photograph Collection is a collection of photographs of philatelic material not in the Library's collections. Mostly composed of material donated by philatelic auctioneers, the collection is an important resource for researchers.
The Royal Philatelic Society London Meeting Notes Collection is a collection of notes and papers from meetings of the Royal Philatelic Society London from 1950 onwards. The collection forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections.
The Kaluski Collection is a collection of stamps of Poland that forms part of the British Library Philatelic Collections. It was formed by Janusz Kaluski and donated to the library in 2003 and includes 46 volumes detailing the stamps and postal history material of Poland from 1835 to 2002.
