Evans was born at Norwich, England, and commenced collecting stamps as a student at Uppingham Grammar School in 1861. He was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Artillery in 1867. Posted to Malta, he met Lieutenant Speranza, formerly Secretary of the London Philatelic Society, and studied Italian, which enabled him to translate and introduce Dr. Emilio Diena's work on the postal history of the Italian States to English speaking philatelists.
Mauritius
Posted to Mauritius in 1876, Evans assembled an extraordinary collection of that country's stamps. These included a famous example of the One Penny Red"Post Office" Mauritius lightly postmarked on an envelope, which may have contained an invitation to the governor's ball, and several unused Two Pence "Post Paid" in indigo and dark blue. He sent a paper on these issues to the "Congrès International des Timbrophiles" at Paris in 1878, which earned an award from the Société Française de Timbrologie. In 1885, when Evans' collection was broken up, these were bought by Thomas Tapling. They are now in the British Library. After giving up his general collection, Evans specialized in the stamps of the Confederate States, and published many articles on this subject in the Stanley GibbonsMonthly Journal, which he edited for 23 years. His Confederate States collection was purchased by a New York City dealer, John Klemann of Nassau Stamp Co., about 1914. He also wrote a series of excellent articles on the Indian feudatory states. Evans' study of the Mulready envelopes and satires was described in The Philatelic Record in 1891. Evans' Mulready collection, purchased by King George V, resides in the Royal Collection.
"On Stamp Collecting" as "Cheth" in the North of England Stamp Review and Advertizer, Nov. 1864.
"The Stamps of Mauritius" in The Philatelic Record, Vol. 2, No. 13, February 1880, pp. 6-8; Vol. 2, No. 14, March 1880, pp. 17-20; Vol. 2, No. 15, April 1880, pp. 31-34.; and Vol. 2, No. 16, May 1880, pp. 48-52.
A Catalogue for Collectors of Postage Stamps, Stamped Envelopes, Wrappers and Postcards, Pemberton Wilson & Co., London, 1882-83.
E. L. Pemberton, The Philatelic Handbook, new ed. Edward B. Evans, Stanley Gibbons & Co.
Catalogue of the Postage Stamps of Peru, C. H. Mekeel, St. Louis
The Philatelic Catalogue of Postage Stamps, Envelopes, Wrappers and Cards, Up to 1 January 1890, C. H. Mekeel, St. Louis.
Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, edited by Edward B. Evans
The Mulready Envelope and its Caricatures, Stanley Gibbons Philatelic Handbooks.
Emilio Diena, A History of the Postage Stamps of Sicily, tr. Edward B. Evans, London.
