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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.
Thomas Jefferson Bicentennial Cover
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Thomas Jefferson Bicentennial Cover

Artifact IDMO 1997.15.52
Object Type Cover, Commemorative
Maker (American architect, 1901-1983)
Date1943
Mediumpaper, paint (watercolor), ink
Dimensionsoverall H 3 7/8 in x W 7 1/2 in (9.8 cm x 19.1 cm )
Physical DescriptionA stamp cover commemorating the bicentennial of Thomas Jefferson's birth. The hand designed and colored cachet on the left side of the buff-colored envelope has a profile portrait of Thomas Jefferson within a circle surrounded by a laurel leaf wreath. To the left of the portrait is the image of an eagle sculpture seated on a stars and stripes pedestal. Text above and below Jefferson's portrait reads: • 1743 ~ Thomas Jefferson ~ 1943 • / • Bicentennial • / ARCHITECT OF DEMOCRACY. The address box is also part of the cachet design, as is the designated box for the postage stamp with an eagle drawn over it. Printed and handwritten along the top of the envelope: LIMITED ISSUE • NO. 1 OF 30.

The envelope is addressed to (typed): President Franklin Delano Roosevelt / The White House / Washington D.C. Adhered in the upper right of the envelope is a U.S. 1938 purple 3¢ Thomas Jefferson stamp (Scott 807). The envelope is postmarked Shadwell, Virginia, December 10, 1943.

The return address is on the reverse: "E. J. GAMBRO, DESIGNER / 91 CHRISTOPHER STREET / NEW YORK CITY (14) N.Y." followed by the artist's original ink signature: "E. J. Gambaro." Also on the reverse are two 1943 non-postal Season's Greetings stamps and a black ink stamped message that reads: FROM THE FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT COLLECTION / AUTHENTICATED BY H. R. HARMER INC., N. Y. The circled number "R12" and the note "MISC. 262" are both written in pencil in the lower right corner. Typed on the interior of the envelope flap is a list of where copies no. 2-11 of the commemorative cover were sent.
Historical NoteFranklin 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 NoteDonated to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by the Roosevelt Institute in 1995.
Credit LineGift of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
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 StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view
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