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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 1949.129.1.18
Name Cover, Commemorative
Maker
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 and hand-colored illustration of a house fronted by trees and a small shed, and text identifying the house as: THE HOME OF DR. JOSEPH PRIESTLY / THE DISCOVERER OF OXYGEN / NORTHUMBERLAND, PA. Additional printed and stamped text above and below the illustration reads: NATIONAL AIR MAIL WEEK • MAY 15- 21, 1938 / This Letter Carried by First AIR MAIL Pickup / From Northumberland, Pa., May 19, 1938. Below the cachet is the original ink signature of the Northumberland postmaster: Charles Gubice / Postmaster.

The envelope is addressed to (typed): Franklin D. Roosevelt, / President of The / United States / 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 Northumberland, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1938.

On the reverse, the envelope is postmarked Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, May 19, 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
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesStamp Collecting Materials (National Archives Identifier 749938)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
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