Ernest Anthony Kehr (September 10, 1911 – November 13, 19867 November 1986, according to the
Background notes on The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists September 2011
', Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Trust, London, 2011
Archived here.
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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 ...

, was a promoter and spokesman of

stamp collecting Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...

, creating interest for the hobby using all media at the time, including radio, television, books, articles and newspapers columns devoted to

philately 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 poss ...

; an American

philatelist 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 ...

who was added to 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 ...

in 1975.

Philatelic literature

Kehr had philatelic columns in numerous newspapers, including the ''

New York World-Telegram The ''New York World-Telegram'', later known as the ''New York World-Telegram and The Sun'', was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966. History Founded by James Gordon Bennett Sr. as ''The Evening Telegram'' in 1867, the newspaper began ...

'', the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'', and Long Island’s ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

''. On radio and television, he promoted philately in over two thousand shows. He wrote several books, with the most popular one being “The Romance of Stamp Collecting” published in 1947.

Philatelic activity

Kehr was active in 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 ...

and wrote numerous articles in their philatelic publications. He was the special representative for the United States for the

Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...

Honors and awards

Besides being named an Honorary Fellow of the Collectors Club of New York, Kehr received the

Lichtenstein Medal The Lichtenstein Medal, also known as the ''Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Philately'' is given annually to a living individual for outstanding service to philately. Origin The Lichtenstein Medal was establishe ...

in 1974, signed the

in 1975, and was awarded the

Luff Award The Luff Award is awarded by the American Philatelic Society (commonly known as the APS) for meritorious contributions to philately by living philatelists. Established The award was established in 1940 in memory of John N. Luff, distinguished ...

in 1976 for Exceptional Contributions to Philately. He was named to the

American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame The American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame award honors deceased philatelists who have contributed significantly to the field of national and/or international philately. History The APS ''Hall of Fame'' award was founded at the 1940 American P ...

in 1987.

Legacy

The Ernest A. Kehr award for excellence in the promotion of Youth Philately was established by 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 ...

in 1991 in his honor.

Notes

References

Ernest Anthony Kehr

Kehr Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kehr, Ernest Anthony 1911 births 1986 deaths People from New York City Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Philatelic literature American Philatelic Society Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London American philatelists Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany