Philatelic Congress of Great Britain Year Book 1964 Bournemouth With Envelope
 
Title & Bibliographic Details
 
The Philatelic Congress of Great Britain Year Book for 1964
Issued on the occasion of the 46th Philatelic Congress of Great Britain, held at Bournemouth at the invitation of the Bournemouth and District Philatelic Society.
Editors: B. F. Hugen, R. A. Wheeler, Mrs. M. P. Wheeler
Printed in Great Britain by Brighton Herald Ltd.
 
Historical & Bibliographic Context
 
The Philatelic Congress of Great Britain is one of the central coordinating bodies for organised philately in the United Kingdom. Its annual congresses bring together collectors, researchers, and philatelic societies to discuss developments in stamp collecting, postal history, and the relationship between collectors and the postal authorities.
 
The 1964 Year Book was issued for the 46th Congress held at Bournemouth, documenting the activities, discussions, and organisational structure of the congress during a period when philately remained one of Britain’s most widely practised collecting hobbies.
 
The year book includes information on congress proceedings, awards, committee members, and discussions concerning the evolving relationship between collectors and the British Post Office. Publications of this type provide valuable documentation of mid-twentieth-century philatelic organisations and their networks of societies throughout Britain.
 
About the Editors
 
The editors B. F. Hugen, R. A. Wheeler, and Mrs. M. P. Wheeler were active figures within the British philatelic community, helping compile the official record of the annual congress and its activities.
 
Binding & Exterior Description
 
Bound in red cloth over boards with gilt lettering to the front board and spine.
The binding remains intact and structurally sound, presenting well with only light signs of age. Condition includes minor creasing to the front board, soft bumping to the corners, and very light rubbing along the edges.
 
The book retains its original open-ended postal card envelope, in which it was originally delivered.
 
Provenance
 
The envelope is addressed to:
J. Knight Esq.
Peterborough & District Philatelic Society
This refers to John Knight, a member of the Peterborough philatelic community.
 
The envelope bears three original Elizabeth II postage revenue stamps:
Two 3d stamps
One 2d stamp
 
The survival of the original mailing envelope with stamps and address provides appealing philatelic provenance and enhances the historical interest of the item.
 
Interior Condition
 
The pages remain bright and well preserved, with no pen or pencil inscriptions.
The text block is clean with only occasional very small marks and the very occasional small crease to a handful of pages. There are no tears, and the pages remain tightly bound.
 
Overall, the interior is remarkably neat and well preserved.
 
Physical Details
 
Pagination: xvi + 117 pages, followed by xvii–xxv (appendices)
Dimensions: 21.8 × 14.1 × 1.1 cm
Weight: approximately 314 g (including envelope)
 
Rarity & Collector Notes
 
Year books of the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain were produced primarily for members and congress attendees and were typically distributed in limited numbers.
While individual year books do appear periodically in the philatelic market, copies retaining their original mailing envelope with stamps and named recipient are significantly less common and are of particular interest to collectors of philatelic history and postal ephemera.
 
The association with a named member of a regional philatelic society adds further historical context.