Oscar Berger-Levrault

Oscar François George Berger- Levrault ( born May 9, 1826 in Strasbourg, † September 24, 1903 in Nancy) was a French philatelist, the next to the Englishman John Edward Gray, the invention of the postage stamp catalog is attributed.

Life

Oscar Berger- Levrault was a bookseller in his hometown of Strasbourg. In addition to these activities, he found time to deal with philately. He was one of the first stamp collector who grappled with the scientifically and systematically pursued creation of stamp collections. In his capacity as a philatelist he gave on September 17, 1861 Stamps and postal directory " description of the up to now known stamps" out, which can surely be described as the first stamp catalog in the world, although it is still more a make a list as to a catalog, as illustrations missing entirely. However, it recorded all 973 previously published postage stamps of the world that were known to the booksellers.

Since the first Berger- Levrault docked such a list, errors had crept. It was used by Alfred Potiquet as a template for the report in December 1861 first illustrated stamp catalog.

Although the philatelic work of Berger- Levrault was only intended for his friends and was produced in an edition of 40 to 50 copies, one copy came into the hands of the British Museum in London, where it is located today.