Career
He was appointed to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists the same year. McGowan and Nissen"s work on the Penny Red formed the basis of the later work by J.B. Stanton which itself became the definitive work on that stamp. In 1940 Robson Lowe held an auction sale solely devoted to McGowan"s Penny Black collection which included 2146 lots, and after his death, his collection of Great Britain used abroad was also auctioned by Robson Lowe.