Jacques Legrand

Who was Jacques Legrand?

Dr. Jacques Amable Legrand was one of the first collectors of French stamps in the nineteenth century and one of the first organizers and scholars of philately in France as a serious topic of study. He used the pseudonym of Dr. Magnus.

He participated actively in the journal Le Timbrophile and with Pierre Mahé invented the perforation gauge instrument necessary to determine the perforation of stamps.

He also fought an unsuccessful battle to reject the title of the subject advocated by Georges Herpin and Arthur Maury as "philately" and sought it to be renamed "Timbrology".

Jacques Legrand was one of the founders on 14 June 1875 of the Société Française de Timbrologie, one of the most important philatelic institutions in France, and served as its first secretary. Arthur de Rothschild became its president. Early members included Arthur Maury, despite his disagreement with Legrand over the word philately, and the painter Gustave Caillebotte.

Dr. Legrand was the Redactor of review "Le timbre fiscal", published by J. B. Moens, since January 1874, and an honorary member of the Fiscal Philatelic Society.