Stewart Gardiner, who was a member of PSCC for many years, passed away on August 3rd in his home in Glasgow, Scotland.
• by Arthur H. Groten M.D.:
We recently lost a major force in Cinderella philately with the sudden death of Stewart Gardiner of Scotland. His major contribution to Poster Stamp paraphilately was the publication, co-authored with Steve Greiczek and the help of many other collectors, of the monumental two-volume A General Illustrated Catalogue of Exhibition and Event Poster Stamps, 1827-1914. It has replaced the 1914 Cazin & Rochas Catalogue des Timbres Commemoratifs as the bible of this area of collecting. His Philatelic Witnesses of the Great War included not only poster stamps and charity seals but also the many other forms of ephemera needed to tell the story.
He and I met on several occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He was a charming fellow, always with a twinkle in his eye, and ready to talk about his passion.
Personally, I was thrilled when he agreed to take over my collection about sealing the envelope in !9th century Great Britain. I was gratified when he asked my opinion about this or that aspect of that collection. He was able to add significantly to it and garnered gold medals for his presentation. And he recognized the role poster stamps played as the methods of promotion changed at the end of this 19th century period, demonstrating that transition.
I regret that the Atlantic limited our personal visits but we made do with email, for better or worse. Those who knew him will miss him.
• Chris Harman of the RPSL adds:
I have known Stewart for some years, particularly in his role of the co-ordinator of the meetings of the Royal in Perth. I was constantly astonished by the breadth of his collecting interests, which seemed to cover so many areas of classic philately as well as his event labels covered in his book with Steve Greiczek.
I was most happy to be on the Jury that viewed his latest exhibit “Sealing and Securing the Mail (in 19thCentury Great Britain”) was awarded a Large Gold Medal at Europhilex. Most original, beautifully presented and a real eye-opener for those of a more traditional approach to exhibiting.
• Stewart’s long-time Scottish friend and philatelic-enthusiast, George Henshilwood, wrote:
At our local society level (Stewart was a member of all three societies in Glasgow), we were always astonished to see Stewart’s latest display – always interesting material, always well displayed and always described with the minimum of fuss. Stewart also loved to write and he was always the ‘go to’ for an interesting page on some esoteric philatelic subject.
In addition to his philatelic endeavors, Stewart also took up painting when he retired and he became quite skilled; these artistic skills showed up in the layout of his philatelic displays. I might describe Cinderellas as something of a sideline for Stewart but he included them in a number of displays and he was always keen to talk about (and sell!) his book.
Stewart was a nuclear physicist by training, although he moved into IT and then into a consultancy role, advising on large scale IT projects. But he never forgot his roots and a scientific and logical approach and discipline underscored everything he did.
Perhaps because of his ‘day job’, Stewart took to exhibiting fairly late, but he was particular about following the rules, even if he often found them less than logical. As Chris wrote, Stewart’s exhibit “Sealing and Securing the Mail” was awarded a LARGE GOLD at Europhilex in May and I don’t think I have ever seen him happier than when he found out the result.
I had brunch with him on August 2nd when, as usual, we put the world (philatelic and real) to right! He was in good form although he had been complaining recently about feeling a bit unwell and was due to see a consultant… but this is a complete shock.
Stewart was also very generous with his time and with his material, always happy to help out colleagues with any queries or to help them fill gaps. Stewart’s loss will be keenly felt in the Glasgow philatelic community, in the wider Scottish philatelic community and in the P&L of various auction houses! But most of all, those of us who knew him well have also lost a good friend.
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