Purves authored philatelic literature based on his detailed studies of postage stamps.
These included numerous books and articles: The most significant of Purves' collections of postage material included collections of philatelic material on: Purves was active in all fields of Australian philatelic interest.
He helped establish the Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria in 1957.
Purves Medal in 1970 is his honor and named him as the first recipient.
For his work in the field of philately, Purves was provided numerous awards and honors, including: