Franceska Rapkin

Franceska Rapkin (15 May 1936 – 13 December 2001)^[1] was a British thematic philatelist who was appointed to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1998. She was the first chairperson of the British Thematic Association.^[2]

Franceska Rapkin
Born	(1936-05-13)May 13, 1936
Died	December 13, 2001(2001-12-13) (aged 65)
Nationality	British

She was a refugee with her parents from Nazi Germany.^[3]

She was the first British philatelist to win a gold medal for a thematic exhibit which she did with her entry, "1936 Olympic Games" at ISRAPHIL ’85. In 1988, she received a second Gold model at OLYMPHILEX ’88.^[4] In 1989 she won the Congress Medal of the Association of British Philatelic Societies.^[5]

She is a member of the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame.^[2]

Selected publications

• Guidelines for Thematic Judges and Exhibitors at Local and Federation Level (c.1989)
• Guidelines for Successful Exhibiting (1991)

See also

• Leon Vincent Rapkin