Union Marcophile

The Union Marcophile is a French association governed by the law of 1901, founded on 1 January 1927. It is dedicated to marcophily — the study of postal markings — and to postal history. With more than 600 members, it is described as the oldest postal history association in France. It was federated under number 154 of the FFAP until February 2010 and is a member of the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (CTHS). The association publishes a quarterly colour review, Les Feuilles Marcophiles, sent to subscribers whether or not they are members. It also offers its members residing in France two exchange sections covering different periods of French postal history. In addition, regional sections have been established in the provinces, with activities such as conferences and exchange meetings. Regional sections include the Gard, Ouest, Centre, Île-de-France and Rhône-Alpes sections. Each year, on the occasion of its general assembly, the Union Marcophile organizes a non-competitive international postal history exhibition called Marcophilex, in collaboration with a philatelic association, in a different French city each year, and every four years in a city in the Paris region. The event has existed since 1958. Members can present remarkable or unusual items from their collections. The philatelic and specialized marcophile trade is present, and friends from the Académie de philatélie systematically offer a public session; several friendly associations — such as the Société des Amis du Musée de La Poste, the Musée postal des ambulants de Toulouse and the FNARH — are invited. The current president, the seventh since the association's creation, is Rodolphe Pleinfossé, in office since 2023. In 1989, the Académie de philatélie awarded the association its literature prize for the special issue of Les Feuilles Marcophiles devoted to the French Revolution. The association also runs workshops, such as the Atelier Histoire de la Poste en milieu rural (AHPMR), created in 1990, which studies the functioning of the postal service in rural areas and the application of local tariffs.

The Union Marcophile was founded on 1 January 1927 as a French association under the law of 1901. It is dedicated to marcophily, the study of postal markings, and to postal history. It is described as the oldest postal history association in France. It was federated under number 154 of the FFAP until February 2010 and is a member of the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (CTHS). In 1958, the annual non-competitive exhibition Marcophilex was created; it has been held every year since, in a different French city each year, and every four years in a city in the Paris region. In 1989, the Académie de philatélie awarded the association its literature prize for the special issue of Les Feuilles Marcophiles devoted to the French Revolution. In 1990, Marino Carnévalé, during an informal meeting with Denis Pinhas and René Laborde, decided to create the Atelier Histoire de la Poste en milieu rural (AHPMR) within the Union Marcophile. The following year, Georges Nory joined the group and proposed collecting letter-timbre indicatifs from rural boxes; this was a great success. In 1992, Michel Dupuis and Pascal Choisy were co-opted. In 1993, president Lucien Bridelance formalized the Atelier by granting it a writing space in Les Feuilles Marcophiles and an annual exchange meeting at Marcophilex. Later, other members joined: Alain Trinquier, Dominique Reynaud, Gérard Cabayé, and more recently Emmanuel Lebecque and Jean-Marc Driguet. The association publishes the quarterly review Les Feuilles Marcophiles, in colour, sent to subscribers whether or not they are members. It offers two exchange sections for members residing in France, covering different periods of French postal history. Regional sections have been established: Gard, Ouest, Centre, Île-de-France and Rhône-Alpes. The current president, the seventh since the association's creation, is Rodolphe Pleinfossé, in office since 2023. The association had fewer than a thousand members in 2016, including more than 120 abroad.

• 2023

  Rodolphe Pleinfossé became president (7th since creation).

• 2010

  Ceased to be federated under FFAP number 154 in February 2010.

• 1993

  President Lucien Bridelance formalized the AHPMR, granting it space in Les Feuilles Marcophiles and an annual meeting at Marcophilex.

• 1990

  Atelier Histoire de la Poste en milieu rural (AHPMR) created within the Union Marcophile.

• 1989

  Awarded the Académie de philatélie literature prize for the special issue of Les Feuilles Marcophiles on the French Revolution.

• 1958

  First Marcophilex exhibition held.

• 1927

  Founded on 1 January 1927 as a French association under the law of 1901.

Oldest postal history association in France; scholarly and collector-oriented, non-commercial.

• Les Feuilles Marcophiles

  Quarterly colour review of marcophily and postal history, sent to subscribers.

• Marcophilex

  Annual non-competitive international postal history exhibition, held since 1958.

• Atelier Histoire de la Poste en milieu rural (AHPMR)

  Workshop studying rural postal service and local tariffs, created in 1990.

1. 1Union Marcophile – Association internationale pour l'étude de l'histoire postale, des marques et des oblitérationsunionmarcophile.fr
2. 2Atelier Histoire de la Poste en milieu rural – Union Marcophileunionmarcophile.fr
3. 3Union marcophile – Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Union marcophile – Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org