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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 1949.129.1.60
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 (par avion) envelope is a stamped blue ink cachet featuring an oval within which are illustrations of various tools and an airfield with an airplane sitting on the runway. Text in the cachet reads: ATHOL MADE TOOLS - THE WORLD'S BEST / NATIONAL AIR-MAIL WEEK / MAY 15 - 21 1938 / Orange - Athol Airport / SPONSORED BY / ATHOL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE / ATHOL - MASS. Below the cachet is the original ink signature of the Athol postmaster: Richard Mullen 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 Athol, Massachusetts, May 19, 1938.

On the reverse, the envelope has a stamped purple ink cachet consisting of a circle within which is a plane marked "N.A.M.W", a shield, and text that reads: NATIONAL AIR MAIL WEEK / TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF AIR MAIL SERVICE / SPONSORED BY / E. H. Phillips Post #102 / American Legion / ATHOL, MASS. / MAY 15 - 21 - 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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