Skip to main content
Collections Menu
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

Artifact IDMO 1949.129.1.97
Object Type 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 )
Physical DescriptionA stamp cover commemorating National Air Mail Week in 1938. On the left side of the white air mail envelope is a stamped red ink cachet consisting of a box in which are the illustrations of an airplane and a flag with two crossed swords and the wording "LIBERTY OR DEATH." Text in the cachet reads: Reynolds Air Field 1938 NATIONAL AIR MAIL Week MAY 15-21, 1938 WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. / Lincoln Beachey, July 1912 / First Plane / to Carry Mail / Westchester Co. Fair Grounds to / White Plains, N. Y. P. O. / BATTLE OF WHITE PLAINS / OCT. 28 1776. Below the cachet is the original ink signature of the White Plains postmaster

The envelope is addressed to (typed): Honorable 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 White Plains, New York, May 19, 1938.

On the reverse, the envelope is postmarked Brooklyn, New York, May 19, 1938.
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 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.
In Collection(s)
Not on view