José Lorenzo Cossío y Cosío

José Lorenzo Cossío y Cosío (12 May 1902 – 1975) was a Mexican lawyer, judge, philatelist and philatelic writer. He contributed to the study of Mexican philately for more than fifty years, published more than ten works of philatelic literature, and was an expert on philatelic fakes and forgeries. His collection of more than 6,000 works on Mexican philately forms the core of the research library of the Museum of Philately of Oaxaca (MUFI), which is named after him.

Early life and legal career

Cossío y Cosío was born in Mexico City on 12 May 1902. He was the son of the lawyer and historian (1864–1941) and Josefa Cosío González. His bibliophilia is thought to have been inherited from his father, who was a member of the Sociedad Antonio Alzate, the Sociedad Mexicana de Geografía y Estadística and the Academia Mexicana de la Historia.

He obtained his law degree in 1925 from the Escuela Nacional de Jurisprudencia of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. ADABI describes him as a prominent lawyer who served as an adviser to four presidents of Mexico, and as a director of scientific, philatelic and numismatic academies.

Library and collections

The philatelic library of the Museum of Philately of Oaxaca, the Fondo Cossío, was formed from part of Cossío y Cosío's private library. In 1998 the collection, comprising more than 10,000 volumes, was donated by his son Manuel Cossío Gabucio, and the museum's library was named the Biblioteca José Lorenzo Cossío y Cosío in recognition of his contribution to Mexican philately. The collection there comprises more than 18,000 volumes, dominated by law, history, art, archaeology, linguistics and literature, together with philately and numismatics, and includes a personal archive and about 4,000 photographs.

Selected philatelic publications

The following are publications authored by José Lorenzo Cossío y Cosío.

México Emisión Postal 1874-1883. 1932. La falsificación de algunos timbres postales antiguos de México. 1932. Los timbres mexicanos de ocho reales de 1861, negro y café con sobre-carga "APAM". 1935. Los timbres de tres centavos del Imperio de Maximiliano. 1936. Álbum postal instructivo de la República Mexicana. 1936. México primera emisión postal para el exterior. 1937. México álbum postal histórico. 1956. Sellos usados en las oficinas del correo de la República Mexicana durante los años de 1868 a 1879. 1961.