Jonas Lek Explained

Jonas Lek was a Dutch diamond merchant and collector who was involved in an insurance loss case that reached the House of Lords in the United Kingdom in 1927.^[1]

Philately

In 1913 Jonas Lek of Holland Park Gardens was the buyer from George Lowden of a parcel of 2679 £1 stamps of King Edward VII, all with a Jersey postmark, for £830. Both the stamps and the postmarks were found to be forgeries resulting in Lowden's conviction for selling forgeries contrary to the Stamp Act. Lowden was sentenced to three years penal servitude.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

In his insurance loss case, Lek was represented by Reginald Croom-Johnson, himself a noted philatelist with a specialist collection of the British Solomon Islands.^[6]

Further reading

• "The ordeal of Jonas Lek" in David Masters, What men will do for money: A revelation of strange cases and amazing frauds. Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1937.

External links

• Biography

Notes and References

1. "Rough diamond?" John Winchester, Stamp Magazine, Vol. 83, No. 3 (March 2017), pp. 90-92.
2. "The Police Courts", The Times, 19 May 1913, p. 3.
3. "The forged one pound stamp of Great Britain" in The London Philatelist, Vol. 22, No. 260 (August 1913), pp. 187-188.
4. News: Detected by Flaw. Stamp Dealer Convicted of Fraud. . 1913-12-13 . 50 . 15482 . 2 . The New Zealand Herald.
5. http://www.abps.org.uk/Home/Who_Was_Who/index.xalter#L Who Was Who in British Philately
6. "Obituary: Sir Reginald Croom-Johnson", Gibbons Stamp Monthly, Vol. 31, No. 6 (February 1958), p. 71.