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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
1938 National Air Mail Week U.S. Commemorative Cover
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

1938 National Air Mail Week U.S. Commemorative Cover

Object numberMO 1949.129.1.80
Date1938
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall H 3 5/8 in x W 6 1/2 in (9.2 cm x 16.5 cm )

DescriptionA stamp cover commemorating National Air Mail Week in 1938. On the left side of the white air mail envelope is a printed blue and red cachet consisting of an illustration of the world globe – with North and South America visible – over which flies an airplane. Text in the cachet reads: “WINGS OVER AMERICA” / TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY / U. S. AIR MAIL / FIRST NATIONAL / AIR MAIL WEEK / MAY 15-21 • 1938. Typed over the center of the cachet is a message that reads: COOPERSBURG, PENNA. / A Thriving Town / In The Saucon Valley; / Beautiful As Its Scenery; / Substantial As Its Granite. Below the cachet is the original ink signature of the Coopersburg postmaster.

The envelope is addressed to (typed): President Franklin D. Roosevelt, / White House, / Washington, D.C. Adhered in the upper right corner of the envelope is a U.S. 1938 blue and red 6¢ Air Mail postage stamp (Scott C23). The envelope is postmarked Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1938.

On the reverse, the envelope has an unreadable postmark.
Label TextFranklin Roosevelt was an avid, lifelong stamp collector who gathered over 1.2 million stamps into his personal collection during the course of his life. He began collecting stamps at the age of eight at the suggestion of his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, who passed on her collection to him.

After FDR's death, his personal stamp collection, including this stamp cover, was sold at public auction in 1946 in accordance with his wishes.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteLent to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Charles M. Abbott in 1949. It was donated as a bequest of Abbott to the Library in 1952.
Credit LineGift of Charles M. Abbott
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
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