He was an expert on the stamps of India and British Guiana and a Solicitor in the firm of Pemberton & Garth.
He was on the committee of the London Philatelic Exhibition 1890, where he won a gold medal for his display of India and Ceylon.
[2] He was credited by The London Philatelist with introducing the modern stamp auction to Britain, the first such auction being held by Thomas Bull (1839–1905) at 77 Chancery Lane on 24 November 1888.
In 1892, he gave evidence against the stamp forgers Benjamin and Sarpy.
[3] Garth's involvement in organised philately began to wane, however, as his health worsened in the late 1890s and he died, at Old Headington, Oxford, on 6 January 1900 of influenza followed by bronchitis.