About Us
The Glasgow Thematic Society is a membership and not-for-profit organisation for collectors of stamps, first day covers, and any philatelic material of a thematic nature. Meetings for the Society are held on the first Monday of each month (unless it falls on a public holiday), October to April, and currently, we have approximately 25 members. Since its founding, the Society’s members have engaged in presentations, visits to other philatelic societies, and played host to visitors from other societies.
Visitors with an interest in thematic philately are always welcome to attend our monthly meetings.
In 2025, the Society is hosting the national ASPS Congress to be held on Friday 4 to Saturday 5 April at the Vine Conference Centre, 131 Garvock Hill, Dunfermline, FIFE, KY11 4JU.
The Glasgow Thematic Society was the first general thematic philatelic society to be established in Britain, attracting members who collected stamps and other philatelic items relating to any theme or topic. Along with the British Thematic Association (BTA), it remains one of the few philatelic societies encouraging general thematic collecting. Most other thematic or topical societies have memberships which collect a single particular subject matter - for example, birds, aviation, railways, astronomy and space, flowers, etc.
We collect stamps, first day covers, postcards, letters, airmails, postal stationery, revenue stamps and any philatelic material relating to a theme. Some examples of our collections include trains and trams, butterflies and moths, 18th century valentines, birds, aviation, scouts, postage dues, environmental issues, fiscal revenue stamps, farming, astronomy, errors on stamps, the blood donation service, United States National Parks, 19th century hand-painted covers, the Red Cross and Red Crescent, exhibition poster stamps, ships, animals and nature - and lots of others.
Collecting thematically can be as general or as specialist as you want to make it. Some members specialise in cancellations on stamps, errors, forgeries, or slogans on covers, while others take a broad brush to illustrate a particular topic.
The Society was founded in Glasgow on 6 May, 1948 and first known as The Thematic Stamp Club (soon changed to The Thematic Stamp Group). At its first meeting there were seven members and they met initially at the home of the Treasurer, Harry Brooke. There was an entrance fee for each meeting, and an annual subscription of 2/6d. The main founder and first President, Captain Philippe Durand, had served in the British Army and for 25 years was curator of the People’s Palace museum in Glasgow. He promoted thematic philately, which at that time challenged traditional notions of how stamps should be collected, which was usually by country. However, through his collections he demonstrated the educational value of thematics, covering such topics as ‘The history of Canada’, ‘Women and children’, ‘Royal Ladies’, ’Tobacco’, ‘Sport and recreation’, ‘Fire’, and the ‘Masons’. For each collection and display he researched the subject meticulously. On a lighter note he collected what he referred to as ‘The Bare Facts’ - a study of nudes!
The first season’s syllabus (1948-1949) included displays and talks about ships, saints, flags, World War II, carnivorous animals, and locomotives. By September 1948 ten members were attending the meeting in person, and the Group elected an Exchange Secretary responsible for managing an exchange packet - where members could buy and sell individual stamps circulated in booklets. Over the season, membership increased to between 20 and 30 members. Throughout the 1950s, membership continued to grow up to around 35 members - and they came from all parts of Britian, including Edinburgh, Sheffield and London. By the late 1960s, the Thematic Stamp Group had once again changed its name to the Glasgow Thematic Society.