The fonds contains three series of textual records, graphic materials (photographs, slides), medals and other prizes. The first series includes documents related to several philatelic researches and writings (mostly on precancels) for which Hans Reiche has contributed for nearly 64 years. The second series includes awards and honours from philatelic organizations and stamp exhibition shows. Finaly, the third series contains textual records created by Arthur Kollmann on Canadian plate inscriptions.
Reiche, Hans, 1914-2000 : Born in Berlin on November 28, 1914, Hans Reiche was the son of Fritz Reiche, a physicist, and Bertha. He graduated in 1936 in electrical engineering and migrated to England in 1939. During the war, he was interned and, later, transported to Canada in 1940 where he was detained in camps in Monteith (Ontario) and Sherbrooke (Quebec). After his release in 1942 with the help of Albert Einstein, a close friend of the family, he worked for the Canadian Department of National Defence from 1943 to 1981 at senior levels. He was also a consultant and a representative on the Electro-technical Commission. He was married twice, once with Yetti Goldschlaiger in 1942 and the second time with Sylvia Schachet in 1949. He died on September 30, 2000.
Hans Reiche is a well know philatelist for his studies on Canadian constant plate varieties and precancels. He started collecting in 1936 with interests in old German States, German private mail stamps, Switzerland, United States, United Nations and Canada. He wrote regular articles in major philatelic journals such as BNA Topics, Maple Leaves and The Canadian Philatelist. He also published several books with constant addition and updating and won many philatelic literature prizes. His studies include the war tax issue, Admiral issue, Large Queen issue (and other Queen Victoria issues), postage due stamps, precancels, and old German States private mail.
During his philatelic career, he joined many philatelic organizations such as: British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS) in 1942, RA Stamp Club, in 1942, German Philatelic Society (GPS) in 1943, Ottawa Philatelic Society (OPS) in 1950, Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain in 1950 (became a fellow) and Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) in 1950 (became a fellow in 1982), Canadian Force Philatelic Society (CFPS) in 1975 and Precancel Stamp Society (PSS) since the beginning. He also was active in study groups like The Canadian Re-entry Study Group of BNAPS. His writings have contributed to the knowledge of Canadian stamps.
