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.
Panama Canal Zone First Day Cover
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Panama Canal Zone First Day Cover

Artifact IDMO 1953.437
Object Type Cover, First Day
Maker (American philatelic cachet specialist, 1881 - 1947)
Date1939
Mediumpaper
Dimensionsoverall H 3 5/8 in x W 6 1/2 in (9.2 cm x 16.5 cm )
Physical DescriptionAn unused envelope with a thermographic cachet honoring the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal Zone on August 15, 1939. The upper half of the gold-colored cachet features the Great Seal of the United States with text above and below that reads: FIRST DAY PANAMA CANAL ISSUE / Commemorating the Twenty-fifth Anniversary / Opening of the Panama Canal, August 15, 1939. In the lower half of the cachet is an illustration of the canal bordered by palm trees, mountains, and flying planes. Adhered on the illustration is a small sepia tone photographic portrait of Theodore Roosevelt within a drawn "frame" including the wording "PANAMA CANAL 1939". The photograph is captioned below with text that reads: PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT / 1904 he appointed a canal commission. In May took formal / possession. 1907 a corp of engineers took charge under him.
Historical NoteThis envelope is one in a group of twenty-four First Day covers (MO 1953.420-MO 1953.443) produced by philatelist Walter G. Crosby to honor the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal Zone on August 15, 1939.
Additional Details
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
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