Fonds consists of textual records related to the career and personal life of Mr. Chapman. There are diaries for the years 1900-1964 describing G.A.E. Chapman's travels and wartime and peacetime activities and textual records related to the philatelic activities of Mr. Chapman. Included are two files of correspondence, 1946-1953, predominantly 1951-1953, to and from George A.E. Chapman. The first file is correspondence between Chapman and The Royal Philatelic Society of London, Frank Campbell, and H.G. Bertram. The majority of the correspondence with Bertram is about an article Chapman wrote about the 17 cent 1859 stamp for the "American Philatelist". The second file contains correspondence created while Chapman researched the varieties and papers of the 5 cent 1859 Canadian Beaver stamp. The correspondence is with E.B. Eddy Co., Roland Paper Co., and The Royal Philatelic Society of London.
Photographs in the fonds document Chapman's life, career, family, and friends, as well as the South African War, and various international locations (1900-1936).
Chapman, George Arthur Emerson, 1881-1968 : George Arthur Emerson Chapman, military officer, served with the British 3d Buffs, East Kent Regiment, in the South African War and in World War I. He was awarded the D.S.O. in 1917. He moved from England to Canada in 1925, living in Rockcliffe, Ontario, until his death. He was Secretary-Treasurer of the Victorian Order of Nurses, 1929-1945.
Emerson was a philatelist who contributed articles to a number of philatelic periodicals. A series of articles he wrote on the 5 cent beaver issue of 1859, particularly on its flaws and cancellations, appeared from 1950 to 1956 in BNA Topics. In addition, an article by him on the "1859 12 1/2 Cent and 17 Cent" issues appeared in the American philatelist in 1952, reprinted in Maple leaves in 1953. BNA Topics index.