Bonhams is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert A. Scott as the Head of the recently established Stamp and Postal History Department in the U.S.A. An important addition and widely respected expert, he has more than thirty years experience in philately, having participated in both the accumulation and dispersal of some of the finest collections of the past quarter century.
Malcolm Barber, Group Chief Executive Officer, says, “We are delighted to welcome Robert A. Scott to Bonhams and the recently formed Stamp and Postal History Department in the U.S. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role, and we are thrilled to have him on board.”
Scott will be dividing his time covering the United States, Canada and Mexico. His primary responsibilities include business getting, appraisals, and the day-to-day management of the Stamp and Postal History Department, which will hold two sales annually in New York and Los Angeles.
Robert A. Scott, Stamp and Postal History Specialist, says, “I see the Stamp and Postal History department at Bonhams as a very natural addition to the company’s already well established and highly respected collectables division. Sales of rare stamps and covers have remained strong for a period now extending beyond a quarter of a century and, with the influx of new buyers and collectors from Asia, look set to sustain that growth through the foreseeable future.” He adds, “Bonhams is a full-service global auction house with a continually growing clientele of both national and international buyers and sellers, and is the perfect home for what is still one of the world’s largest and most popular collecting hobbies.”
Scott was the curator of one of the greatest collections of British postage stamps, the multiple gold medal and double grand prix-winning Shaida collection of early line-issues. His first auction was the sale of the incomparable American Bank Note Company archives, later he oversaw and was responsible for the Keightly collection, the Mexican Koenig collection, and the philatelic portion of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Estate which included a collection formed by the late President John F. Kennedy.
A lifelong collector, Scott began his professional career in 1983 as philatelic curator to noted philatelist Hassan Shaida. During this time he contributed and published works for numerous philatelic organizations and societies including the Great Britain Philatelic Society. He was also a director and writer for the bi-weekly Stamp World magazine. In 1990 he moved to Christie’s New York as a senior specialist and in 1993 he was appointed Director of Stamps at Sotheby’s New York. His greatest and perhaps most iconic ‘find’ was an old banknote discovered tightly folded in the bottom of a box of otherwise unremarkable stamps. The note, an 1863 twenty dollar gold certificate, sold for $396,000 in June of 1999.
Since 2001, Scott has been working as an independent appraiser and consultant. Listeners of National Public Radio in the Northeastern United States will be familiar with his voice as a regular guest on WAMC’s Vox Pop radio show.
www.bonhams.com/stamps