About the Collector
Frederick R. Mayer began collecting stamps in Dallas in 1934 at the age of six with his father. Over the years, he has amassed several collections from different countries or areas.

His greatest interest is in postal history. He earned a degree from Yale in European History and has always enjoyed studying and reading history. His interest in stamp collecting has been at least primarily driven by his interest in history.

He is affiliated with numerous Philatelic organizations including:

• Philatelic Foundation
• Society for Costa Rica Collectors, Inc.
• Collectors Club of New York
• Royal Philatelic Society - London
• Trans Mississippi Philatelic Society
• American Philatelic Society
• American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors
• France and Colonies Philatelic Society
• International Society of Portuguese Philately
• US Philatelic Classics Society

About the Author
Richard C. Frajola has been involved professionally in philately since 1968. After working for several auction houses, including as a consultant to Sotheby's, he ran his own auction house, Richard C. Frajola, Inc., from 1980 till 1995. Since then he has served as a consultant to several leading auction houses in the United States and served private clients.

He also serves as an expert consultant to the Philatelic Foundation and Professional Stamp Expertisers. He served as a member of eppraisals.com as an appraiser and can now frequently be found on the philatelist's chat board trying to answer collector questions. Feel free to join. He has published extensively since authoring a book on the postage stamps of Siam in 1979.