Like many of his generation, Arthur Gray started collecting stamps some sixty years ago at the age of eight. He was encouraged by his parents, who believed that a philatelic hobby would teach him something of the world, its flora and fauna, its history and geography, and of the people who had contributed to the advancement of civilization. By the age of eleven he had amassed a collection numbering over ten thousand stamps from around the world that were housed in several “Globe” albums. These expandable albums were secured by football laces specially selected for their length and durability!

Such was his appetite for the hobby that by this time he had virtually abandoned the purchase of “packet material” from his pocket-money and was concentrating on issues from British Empire countries. These were largely short sets, as finances permitted, but still single copies, all of which were subjected to counting on a regular basis with the results of the census duly recorded on a back page with date and number carefully noted.

When Gray was twelve, his father organized a meeting with an elderly friend whose influence dramatically changed his collecting pattern and focus for the rest of his collecting life. Arthur Gray was shown a specialized collection of Australian Commonwealth stamps embracing not only the Kangaroo issues, Georgian Heads and Commemoratives, but also a collection particularly strong in George VI issues. There before him, were page after page of the same stamp in positional blocks with printing flaws indicated by “arrowcaters”; imprints and plate numbers were in abundance, and all of them mint! After the viewing came the obligatory advice from a senior collector to a junior:

“Do not buy second grade stamps. Buy good quality, fully perforated, well centered, and preferably mint stamps in lightly tinged condition. Try to buy the high value stamps in a set first; they will be the first to increase in value, and try to buy the stamps that you cannot afford now, because they will never be cheaper than now. Read everything you can lay your hands on. Set up reference files and read them often. Get to know dealers and talk to them. Ask them questions, even if you know the answers. After you get to know them, ask then about layaway and paying off expensive items, because they will often do this to sell their stamps. Dealers can help you a lot, particularly if they know you are serious about what you doing. But remember, you must always know more than the dealers”

The elderly gentleman had an incredible influence on the pre-teen and concluded his advice by saying he knew of no other hobby where knowledge was rewarded more than in stamp collecting. His final comment to Gray that collecting the stamps of Australia was particularly attractive since the Australian postal authorities were prepared to buy-back stamps at face value less ten percent, which set a down-side to any losses on ones purchased, was especially relevant to the impressionable youngster.

Gray recalls his first purchase under the new guidelines as a mint block of four of the Canberra Commemorative issue of 1927. George V heads followed, and one year later Arthur Gray purchased a complete set of the Kangaroo First Watermark issues, fine used.

The collection of Kangaroos now offered for sale, comprising some 500 mounted sheets, was substantially complete by the mid-1980’s. His collection of Roos by that time contained a breathtaking array of material, with very little missing that was of consequence or not already tied up in institutionalized collections.

Gray’s focus on printer’s monograms and imprints is legendary. He is particularly proud of his achievement in putting together copies of each of the high value bi-colored Kangaroo monograms of the first watermark issue; a feat that has never before been accomplished.

Gray firmly believes collectors of the present should properly be regarded as mere custodians of items of philatelic significance held in trust for collectors of the future. It has been his wish that items he had the good fortune to acquire be made available to collectors at large, and not institutionalized in sterile and largely passive environments, as has occurred with other major collections. Therefore, he commends the results of his endeavors to the collecting fraternity at large in the hope that they too may experience some of the enjoyment of acquisition and stewardship he has enjoyed over the last sixty years.

We at Shreves Philatelic Galleries are especially pleased and honored that Arthur Gray has chosen our auction firm to handle the sale of his remarkable Kangaroo and Map collection – arguably the finest single-issue collection of any country ever formed.