Mirosław Bojanowicz
{{Short description|Polish philatelist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mirosław Artur Bojanowicz
| birth_name = Miroslav Bojanović
| birth_date = 1906
| birth_place = Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina
| death_date = {{dda|1986|5|9|1906|df=y}}
| death_place =
| nationality = Polish
| other_names =
| occupation = Philatelist
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
Mirosław Artur Bojanowicz (1906 – 9 May 1986)Gary Ryan, Gibbons Stamp Monthly, August 1986, p.11 was a Polish philatelist who settled in England after World War II and became a recognized expert on the stamps of Poland. He frequently served as a judge at international exhibitions and in 1966 was invited to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists; Bojanowicz was one of very few professional philatelists to be accorded this honour.Gibbons Stamp Monthly, May 1966, p.160
Early life
Bojanowicz was born in the Balkans and as a child moved with his parents to Poland. He was of Bosnian origin, his original name was Miroslav Bojanović which was polonised to Mirosław Bojanowicz.Obituary, [http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00076781/00019/6j The Post Rider, No 19, Nov 1986, p.4]
Before the war he collected Bosnia and Herzegovina for which he won a gold medal in Warsaw in 1936. He later expanded this collection to the whole of Yugoslavia.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ukphilately.org.uk/bpt/whowaswho/whowaswho-b.htm |title=British Philatelic Trust |access-date=3 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205214828/http://www.ukphilately.org.uk/bpt/whowaswho/whowaswho-b.htm |archive-date=5 December 2007 |url-status=dead }}
After World War II
After the war he formed a collection of the postal history and stamps of Poland for the period 1938 to 1946 which, in 1966, he donated to the British Museum (now the British Library). This collection includes Łodz ghetto post, underground posts, Warsaw Scout post, Polish government in exile, prisoner of war mail and Polish Free Forces mail.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/philatelic/philateliccollections/collectionsoverview/collectionscountry/philcollectionscountry.html |title=British Library |access-date=3 January 2010 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020201602/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/philatelic/philateliccollections/articles/articlesfletcher/articlesfletcher.html |url-status=dead }}
Poland number one
He specialised in Poland No 1 and probably had one of the largest collection of this stamp in the world. This collection comprised some 1,500 copies of the stamp, over 300 covers and about 600 documents from this period.[http://www.filatelistyka.org/pages/entries/0000000205.html Filatelistyka] He started this collection in 1952.P C Pearson (Chairman of Publications Committee of The Royal London Philatelic Society), in the foreword of The Kingdom of Poland: Poland No 1 and associated Postal History, 1979 He was the author of The Kingdom of Poland: Poland No 1 and associated Postal History (1979).
Donation
In 1966 Bojanowicz donated an important collection of Polish stamps and postal history of 1938-1946 to the British Library Philatelic Collections where it forms the Bojanowicz Collection and complements the Kaluski Collection.[http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/philatelic/philateliccollections/collectionsoverview/collectionscountry/philcollectionscountry.html The Bojanowicz Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020201602/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/philatelic/philateliccollections/articles/articlesfletcher/articlesfletcher.html |date=20 October 2012 }} British Library Philatelic Collections. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
Awards
Bojanowiz won many awards for his collection including:
- 1960 Grand Prix at the Warsaw Centenary Exhibition
- 1961 Grand Prix of the President of Italy at the Merano International Exhibition
- 1962 Grand Prix D’Honneur at the Budapest International
From 1979 to 1982 he was the first President of the Grand Prix Club.[http://www.f-i-p.ch/sitemap/documents/GrandPrixClub.pdf GRAND PRIX CLUB Communication No 1/2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416181709/http://www.f-i-p.ch/sitemap/documents/GrandPrixClub.pdf |date=16 April 2014 }} Grand Prix Club, December 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2014. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140416181709/http://www.f-i-p.ch/sitemap/documents/GrandPrixClub.pdf Archived here.]
Bojanowicz was survived by his wife Lina (née Balestri), with whom he had two daughters.
See also
References
{{reflist|2}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bojanowicz, Miroslaw}}
Category:Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom
Category:Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists