Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1900-1996 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
5 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
J A (Jac) Joel joined the 3rd Pretoria (Sunnyside) Scout Troop in Pretoria, South Africa in 1923, and subsequently served as ASM, SM, and GSM in that Group. He was appointed as Assistant Divisional Commissioner of the new Northern Transvaal Division in 1955, and served as Divisional Commissioner from 1962 to 1972.
Jac Joel, an architect by profession, was a keen philatelist, and assembled a comprehensive collection of Scout Stamps, which was near to complete when he donated it to the Northern Transvaal Area of the Boy Scouts of South Africa in 1989. The Area maintained the collection by subscribing to new Scout Stamp issues for a number of years, but terminated this in 1996 when it became clear that many countries were printing stamps with Scouting themes purely for commercial reasons.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
The Jac Joel Collection was submitted in 2013 by Peter Bellingham and Dr George Dehlen, South African Scout Association.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The collection consists of stock books and first-day covers comprising almost all Scout stamps up to 1989. In addition, some of these stamps have been arranged in exhibition sheets which were shown at various Scouting events and philatelic exhibitions. Scouting was founded in 1908. Its origins include the experiences of Robert Baden-Powell during the Siege of Mafeking in 1900, and the Siege stamps form the introduction to the collection. The first part of the collection is a display of the classics of Scout stamps, and of stamps honouring Baden-Powell. These are followed by sheets of Scout stamps depicting the principles of Scouting, the world structure of Scouting, world Scout conferences and jamborees, anniversaries of Scouting, and regional and national Scouting activities.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
The Collection is contained in five boxes and ten envelopes with exhibition sheets, Scout and Guide stamp catalogues, and lists of the individual stamps. A later addition is an album containing a private collection of Scout stamps donated by a Scout parent.
A comprehensive listing of all stamps in the collection can be consulted at the Historical Papers Research Archive (39 pages).