Alfred F. Lichtenstein (August 6, 1876 – February 24, 1947) was one of the most famous American

philatelists Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

Biography

Alfred Lichtenstein's

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

stamp Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

collections were one of the most complete, with a passion for stamps issued before 1870. He collected stamps issued by Canadian provinces and the

Confederation of Canada Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion of ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Considering the postal history of the United States, his collection was a reference for "Western Express". He was an active member of the

Collectors Club of New York The Collectors Club, often referred to as the Collectors Club of New York, is a private club and philatelic society in New York City. Founded in 1896, it is one of the oldest existing philatelic societies in the United States. Its stated purpose ...

which was developed by Lichtenstein and his friend

Theodore Steinway Theodore Edwin Steinway (October 6, 1883 – April 8, 1957), of the Steinway & Sons, Steinway piano family, was a member of the Collectors Club of New York and board of trustees of the Philatelic Foundation. He was awarded the first Lichtenstein Me ...

. He was also a member of the

Royal Philatelic Society of Canada The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada is the premier philatelic organization in Canada. It is a member of the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (F.I.P.) and the Federation Inter-Americana de Filatelia (F.I.A.F.). The Patron of the socie ...

. An international philatelic judge during three decades, he was the commissioner of international philatelic exhibitions of 1913, 1926 and 1936 (the last two in New York). When he died, he was preparing the Centenary International Stamp Exhibition (CIPEX) of 1947. Lichtenstein exhibited the Buenos Aires “barquitos” tete-beche pair at the 1940 exhibition held at The Collectors Club of New York to commemorate 100 years of postage stamps. When he died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1947 (also his birthplace) and his daughter, Louise Boyd Dale, continued his philatelic legacy, it was assumed that she had possession of the pair. In March 1945 in New York City, Theodore Steinway, other philatelists and Lichtenstein founded the

Philatelic Foundation The Philatelic Foundation is a philatelic organization granted a charter in 1945 by the University of the State of New York as a Nonprofit Educational Institution. Location The Philatelic Foundation is located at 341 West 38th Street, 5th Floor, ...

. It is a non-profit educational institution whose goals are philatelic expertise, research and publications. After 1947, his daughter Louise Boyd Dale continued to support the foundation. His stamp collections and those of his daughter were sold during auctions at Harmer's between 1968 and 1971, between 1989 and 1992, and in 1997.

Tributes

In 1927, Alfred Lichtenstein signed the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their n ...

, the major British philatelic distinction. In 1948, the

American Philatelic Society The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting foundation of philately in the world. Both the membership and interests of the society are worldwide. History The organization, originally named the ''American Phil ...

added him to its ''Hall of Fame'' list of the most important deceased philatelists. In 1952, the

created a philatelic award called the Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award. Theodore Steinway was the first person to receive this prize for his work in developing philately. In 1996, this club named Lichtenstein "the Outstanding American Philatelist" of the first half of the 20th century.

Personal life

Lichtenstein married Anne Boyd, and they had one child,

Louise Boyd Dale Louise Boyd Dale (March 30, 1913 – December 15, 1967) was a philatelist of the first rank, and the daughter of fellow philatelist Alfred F. Lichtenstein. Born in New York City, she was raised as a stamp collector from an early age in the en ...

, also a philatelist.

References

External links

Biography on the APS Hall of Fame

Biography on the site of the Philatelic Foundation

The Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award, on the site of the Collectors Club of New York
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtenstein, Alfred American philatelists 1876 births 1947 deaths People from New York City Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists American Philatelic Society

Biography

Tributes

Personal life

See also

References

External links