John Robert Boker Jr. (January 29, 1913 – April 12, 2003) was 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. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

who amassed some of the most prestigious collections of 19th century stamps ever seen by

stamp collector 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 ...

s. Before his death in 2003, 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 purp ...

declared him, in 1996, to be the "outstanding philatelist of the last half of the twentieth century."

Collecting interests

Boker was able to put together some of the finest collections of rare postage stamps ever seen in

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. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possibl ...

, with his

German States The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

collection probably being his finest. He was also an expert in early American

postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and Cover (philately), covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal system ...

, and was responsible for rewriting large sections of the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalog with regard to United States postmaster provisionals, locals and carriers. John Boker also accumulated large collections of

Australian States The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the feder ...

State of Buenos Aires The State of Buenos Aires () was a secessionist republic resulting from the overthrow of the Argentine Confederation government in the Province of Buenos Aires on 11 September 1852. The State of Buenos Aires was never explicitly recognized b ...

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

, Fernando Po,

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, and the Spanish

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. His research of U.S. postal history allowed him to write extensive articles on the subject. He owned the only known surviving copy of the Buenos Aires 1859 1p "In Ps" tete-beche pair. He was also interesting in

precancel A precanceled stamp, or precancel for short, is a postage stamp that has been legitimately cancelled before being affixed to mail. A number of nations of the world use precancels, typically in the form of an overprint on definitive series stamp ...

s of

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

stamps, and had almost a complete collection. Among other work he dedicated to the subject, he was editor of the Hoover Brothers ''Precancel Town List''.

Philatelic activity

In addition to writing numerous articles on philatelic subjects, Boker remained very much involved in philatelic activities, such as at major philatelic exhibitions, where he served as judge. At the

he served as president and as governor. At 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 353 Lexington Ave Suite 804, New ...

he served as trustee and as chairman of the expert committee.

Honors and awards

Boker received numerous awards and honors. These included the Lichtenstein award in 1967, the

Tilleard Medal :::''See also'' Crawford Award for fantasy novels. :::''See also'' Max Crawford Medal Australian academic award. The Crawford Medal is a vermeil medal awarded by the Royal Philatelic Society London for the most valuable and original contribution ...

in 1965, 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 ph ...

in 1978, the

Lindenberg Medal The Lindenberg Medal is an award given to those who provide “conspicuous service to philately” because of their investigations and contributions to philatelic literature. It is considered by some as the Nobel Prize of Philately.Horst Hille: ' ...

in 1981, the Neinken medal in 1983, and the Robson Lowe memorial medal in 2000. He 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 to honour those who have advanced philately through research, expertise, or service. ...

in 1964, and received the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

’s Philatelic Achievement award. He was named a Distinguished Philatelist by the United States Philatelic Classics Society in 2002, elevated 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 Phil ...

in 2004

Legacy

The sale of his German States stamp collection, from 1985 to 2000, was so extensive that it required eighteen auctions by Köhler to complete its sale. The illustrated auction catalogs of this sale represent a significant contribution to philatelic literature and philatelic knowledge.

References

External links

APS Hall of Fame entry for John Robert Boker Jr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boker, John Robert 1913 births 2003 deaths Philatelic literature American philatelists Collectors from New York City Recipients of the Lindenberg Medal Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists American Philatelic Society