Emil Tamsen

Background

Tamsen was born in Naby, Schleswig-Holstein, on 2 January 1862, at that time part of Denmark. He was the son of Franz August Tamsen and Friedericke Schuffman.

Career

Tamsen was an expert in the stamps of Transvaal, about which he researched and wrote, and he was one of the founders in 1894 of the Johannesburg Philatelic Society. He emigrated to South Africa as a teenager and during the First Boer War (1880-1881), he fought for the British and was part of the garrison that held Pretoria. He was discharged in 1883, and moved to the Waterberg area of the Northern Transvaal.

On arrival, he found there were only 25 families in the area and only two houses at Nylstroom where he settled.

He became a naturalised citizen of the South African Republic (the Transvaal Republic or ZAR). Stamps were issued in the period by British Bechuanaland and Protectorate, British Central Africa, the British South Africa Company, Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange Free State, Swaziland, Transvaal, and Zululand.

Despite the vast area covered, Tamsen was ideally positioned, either personally or through agents, to obtain information about new stamps. These included many surcharged and provisional issues and Tamsen obtained them either mint or by having them posted to him on cover.

He bought the contents of the dead letter office and "in ransacking the contents he added treasure after treasure to his collection".

The success of Tamsen"s activities may be gauged by the fact that he sold over £7000 worth of stamps in London between 1899 and 1905, which represented only part of his collection and stock, a figure that would equate in 2014 terms to around £6-700,000. He did this while living in a remote area of the veldt and during a time which included the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The war may have helped stimulate interest in Transvaal stamps.

The first Tamsen auction sale was by Ventom, Bulletin and Cooper of Old Jewry, London, on 26 October 1899.

The Philatelic Record and Stamp News reported that competition was brisk and: "The war has made sales of South Africans, particularly Transvaals and Orange Free States, very lively, one dealer in the Strand has been completely cleared out of current Transvaals." The second Tamsen sale was through the same auctioneers 9–10 January 1900 and included fine Cape triangulars. His Bechuanaland was sold on 10 May 1900 through the same firm.

Connections

Friend:

Friederich Jeppe