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RPSL

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Crawford Festival

The 6th Annual Crawford Festival

22-23 June 2027 – Philately and Academic Research

The Festival

Each year the Crawford Festival is held at the Royal. This is a free two-day event of presentations and discussions on a given topic. The Crawford Festival is open to everyone, both RPSL members and non-members.

  • To reserve your place via Eventbrite please click on the button above.
  • The full Programme and Guide can be downloaded now.
On This Page:
  • 2026 Crawford Programme
    • Programme Download
      • Tuesday 16 June
      • Wednesday 17 June
  • Previous Crawford Festivals
  • The Crawford Medal

Just looking ahead to 2027, the Crawford Festival will take place 22-23 June 2027, and the theme for 2027 will be Philatelic Literature in an Academic Context

  • The Crawford Medal Shortlist Announcement 2026

    The Crawford Medal Shortlist Announcement 2026

    The Crawford Medal Shortlist Announcement 2026

  • 25 Jun 25 – 4th Annual Crawford Festival

    25 Jun 25 – 4th Annual Crawford Festival

    Crawford Festival report and winners.

  • 28-29 Jun 22 – 1st Annual Crawford Festival

    28-29 Jun 22 – 1st Annual Crawford Festival

    1st Crawford Festival report and winners.

2026 Crawford Programme

This year the Crawford Festival  was held on 16 and 17 June and was kindly sponsored by Stanley Gibbons and the theme will be Catalogues.

Programme Download

Download the Crawford 2026 Booklet

Tuesday 16 June

10:30 – 10:45 Coffee & Registration
10:45 – 10:50 Welcome from James Podger, Chairman of the RPSL Collections Committee
10:50 – 11:15 David Beech, Stamp Catalogues: Origins, Importance and Context
11:15 – 12:15 Vincent Schouberechts, Early Belgian Philatelic Literature
12:15 – 13:15 Eduardo Escalada-Goicoechea, Early Postage Stamp Catalogues – The Incunabula Period
13:15 – 14:15 Lunch (Buffet lunch served in Dr Paul Ramsey Room)
14:15 – 15:15 Hugh Jefferies, ‘The Stanley Gibbons Catalogue, past present and future’
15:15 – 15:30 Coffee Break
15:30 – 16:30 Geoff Kellow, The Australian Commonwealth Specialists’ Catalogue, 1926 – 2026
16:30 – 16:45 Final thoughts for the day…

Drinks and nibbles sponsored by The Rhodesian Study Circle.   

Wednesday 17 June

10:30 – 10:45 Coffee & Registration
10:45 – 12:15 Jay Bigalke, The Future of Philatelic Catalogues, Print, Digital and What Comes Next
12:15 – 13:00 Kjell Johansen, Catalogue of the Postage Stamps of Norway, Norgeskatalogen
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch (Buffet lunch served in Dr Paul Ramsey Room)
14:00 – 15:00 John Barefoot, Revenue Catalogues
15:00 – 15:15 Coffee Break
15:15 – 16:15 Panel Discussion
16:15 – 16:30 Coffee Break
16:30 – 17:00 Announcement of the winner and presentation of The Crawford Medal
17:00 – 18:00 Drinks & Nibbles

Previous Crawford Festivals

Click here to see videos from the previous Crawford Festivals

Please be aware that for the 2025 Crawford Festival, the 6 raw, unedited video recordings may typically begin with no audio, and potentially slightly out-of-focus video, when people were busy preparing for a presentation, until the microphones were switched on and the cameras were focussed.

The Crawford Medal

The first Crawford Medal, awarded in 1920 to Hugo Griebert for “The Stamps of Spain 1850-1854”
now held at the Society in the Spear Museum of Philatelic History

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The Royal Philatelic
Society London
Founded 1869

The world's premier philatelic society, advancing the study and appreciation of stamps and postal history for over 150 years

Registered charity no. 286840
Registered in England no. 92352

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