Skip to main content
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 1949.129.1.4
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 and lower right corner of the white air mail envelope is stamped red text that reads: Observe National / AIR MAIL WEEK / May 15 - 21, 1938./ Atmore, Ala. / SPECIAL DELIVERY / FIRST FLIGHT / Air Mail Pickup / at Atmore, Ala./ Cert. By [followed by the original ink signature of the Atmore postmaster: Jas. Y. Brown, p.m.].

The envelope is addressed to (typed): HON. FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT, / PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, / WASHINGTON, D.C. The return address is typed in the upper left corner: Jas. G.Brown, Atmore, Ala. Adhered in the upper right corner of the envelope is a U.S. 1938 red and blue 16¢ Air Mail postage stamp (Scott CE1). The envelope is postmarked Atmore, Alabama, May 19, 1938.

On the reverse, the envelope is postmarked Washington, DC, May 20, 1938.
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 StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
No expuestos