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Ralph Andrews Barry

American philatelist (1883–1939)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 8, 2026
Entity authorityQ7287169
Source-derived summary

Ralph Andrews Barry (November 30, 1883 – December 10, 1939), of New York City, was a renowned writer of philatelic literature and was often referred to as the “Dean of American Philatelic Writers.”

Philatelic activity

Barry was known not only for his philatelic literature but also for his encouraging the collecting of postage stamps and coins. He helped cover the events and exhibitions at various stamp shows and other philatelic events. At the New York Herald Tribune he was the stamp and coin editor from 1933 until he died in 1939.

Ralph Barry discussed the pleasures and techniques of the hobby of stamp collecting on various media, including on radio. He authored the book “A Glossary for the Stamp Collector” in 1936, and it was updated and revised in 1938 and 1940.

Honors and awards

Because of his extensive work in encouraging stamp collecting, the Ralph A. Barry Award was established in 1942 and is given to writers whose newspaper stamp column quality deserves acknowledgement.

Editorial summary

“Ralph Andrews Barry” enters the record as american philatelist (1883–1939). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ralph, Andrews and Barry can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1883, 1939, 1933, 1936—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1883-11-30. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Ralph, Andrews and Barry.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Ralph Andrews Barry” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Ralph, Andrews and Barry provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7287169. VIAF identifies the subject as 220730612. The Library of Congress control number is no2011189552. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1883, 1939, 1933 and 1936.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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  2. Expand the search: follow Ralph Andrews Barry primary sources, Ralph Andrews Barry archive and Ralph research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Ralph Andrews Barry” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.