James Richard William Purves


James Richard William Purves – generally denoted in publications as J. R. W. Purves -- was an Australian lawyer and philatelist. His half century of work in Australian philately earned him the title “The personification of Australia in International Philately.”

Philatelic literature

Purves authored philatelic literature based on his detailed studies of postage stamps. These included numerous books and articles:
The most significant of Purves’ collections of postage material included collections of philatelic material on:
Purves was active in all fields of Australian philatelic interest. He helped establish the Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria in 1957. For his work with the society, and because of his extensive work in Australian philately, the society established the J.R.W. Purves Medal in 1970 is his honor and named him as the first recipient.

Honors and awards

For his work in the field of philately, Purves was provided numerous awards and honors, including: