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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 1949.129.1.6
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 stamped lime-colored ink cachet consisting of a box enclosing an illustration of the Vista House building in Oregon with a plane flying overhead. Text in the cachet reads: NATIONAL AIR MAIL WEEK / MAY 15 - 21, 1938 / WORLD FAMOUS SCENIC VIEW / VISTA HOUSE ~ CROWN POINT / CORBETT, OREGON. Above the cachet is the original ink signature and stamped title of the Corbett postmaster: Louis H. Arneson / Postmaster.

The envelope is addressed to (handwritten in ink): Mr. Franklin D. Roosevelt / President of United States / Executive Mansion / 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 Corbett, Oregon, May 17, 1938.

On the reverse, the envelope is a red, blue, and white sticker featuring an image of the Bonneville Dam and commemorating the 1938 National Airmail Week.
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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