John Clemente

A collection of the second numeral cancellations of Tasmania, 1861–1900, from the John Clemente collection. A 1912 cover from the SY Aurora of the British Antarctic Expedition to New Zealand postmarked Hobart. From the John Clemente collection. John Faust Clemente (1926–2011) was an Italian physician whose career was in Tasmania, Australia, and who, as an alderman, was one of the main figures behind the creation of the Salamanca Market in Hobart in 1972. In his spare time, he collected art and antiques with his wife Ruth and formed a leading collection of Tasmanian postal history.

Early life and family John Faust Clemente was born in Bari, Italy, in 1926. He graduated in medicine and surgery from the universities of Bari and Padua in 1948. They moved to Brisbane at the end of 1949

Medical career After qualifying in Queensland he obtained a post at Launceston General Hospital in Tasmania in 1951 Clemente was president of Hobart Juventus, the local association football team.

Collecting Clemente and his wife Ruth were keen collectors of antiques and art and made regular buying trips overseas, particularly to London, in the 1950s and 60s as well as buying locally. Ruth was particularly keen on antique tea caddies, fans, and writing boxes. They also acquired a great deal of silver.

Clemente was a stamp collector from childhood, collecting Australian and Italian stamps. In Tasmania as an adult, he travelled the island seeking out caches of forgotten items for his collection of Tasmanian postal history and made detailed studies of postmarks and printing flaws on Tasmanian stamps.

He wrote articles for The London Philatelist, the journal of the Royal Philatelic Society London, of which he became a fellow, The American Philatelist, and for other journals. He became a member of the Collectors Club of New York. He wrote a book on the free mail of Van Diemen's Land and Tasmania which is scheduled for publication in 2016.

Death and legacy John Clemente died in 2011. His collection of Tasmanian postal history was sold at auction by Spink in September 2016 in 536 lots.

Selected publications "Posted at Macquarie Island" — The 1911 Mawson Expedition", The London Philatelist, Vol. 78, 1969, pp. 309–311. "Tasmanian crown seals", The London Philatelist, Vol. 79, 1970, pp. 130–135. "Tasmanian parcel post 1887–1912", The London Philatelist, Vol. 79, 1970, pp. 211–216.