Kasimir Bileski (September 14, 1908 - January 19, 2005) was a noted Canadian philatelist and stamp dealer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is best known for his discovery and promotion of the famous "Seaway Inverted" stamps of 1959.[1]
"Bileski first started selling stamps in the 1920’s and carried on right up to his death in 2005 at the age of 96. His entertaining advertisements appeared everywhere, and he sold stamps to tens of thousands of collectors in his lifetime. His offerings were usually accompanied by an interesting typewritten write-up that made it hard for potential customers to resist. He attended many major auctions where he acquired parts of the President Franklin D. Roosevelt collection, the accumulation of King Farouk of Egypt, and the American Bank Note Archives." [2]
He is known for making the change in our hobby from collecting pre-existing rare and unusual philatelic material to the collecting of philatelically manufactured and promoted items. [3]
Liberian Philatelic Ties
"While still in London in the 1930's, Kasimir bought up huge box lots of Liberian stamps and became the leading dealer in the stamps of that country. He broke up the unique sheet of 60 of the 1906 Inverted Elephant, now a world-class rarity. He published H. Rogers's A Century of Liberian Philately in 1971, a beautiful and comprehensive 204 page book listing all issues from 1860 to 1960 including all known varieties. It is really a wonderful work regardless of what country's stamps you collect. He single-handedly made the stamps of this little known country a very highly sought after field." [4]
Further reading
- "Kasimir Bileski, 1908–2005" - Obituary / p. 2 / Journal of the Liberian Philatelic Society / Haeseler, Rob / Jul-Sep 2005
- "'Lost Man of History' Recalled to Memory by Zeal of Philatelists" / pp. 19-20 / Journal of the Liberian Philatelic Society / Downs, C. N. / Oct-Dec 2004