Extraordinary pair of postage stamp sheets from the personal collection of Franklin D. Roosevelt signed by himself and cabinet members, handwritten notes by FDR on new stamp design proposals, and an unsigned stamp sheet from his collection. First is a 10 x 9.5 sheet of one hundred red three-cent stamps honoring the Maryland Tercentenary, signed in the blank upper margin in fountain pen by Franklin D. Roosevelt, John N. Garner, George H. Dern, Cordell Hull, Claude A. Swanson, Henry A. Wallace, Frances Perkins, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Harold L. Ickes, Homer S. Cummings, Daniel C. Roper, and James A. Farley. Second is a 9 x 10 sheet of one hundred purple patriotic ‘Win the War’ stamps, signed vertically in the blank right margin in fountain pen by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Henry Morgenthau, Jr. Third is a memo from the president forwarded to the postmaster general, listing “Public Buildings and Monuments in Washington which have been displayed on United States postage stamps,” with a handwritten list in pencil by FDR offering further suggestions: “1. CCC Camp, 2. Soil Erosion, 3. Navigation Upper Mississippi, 4. The Power Dam & Transmission Line, 5. Grade Crossing Elimination, 6. New Rural Community, 7. Farm to Market Highway, 8. New Water Works for City, 9. Slum Clearance, 10. Child Labor Elimination.” In the right margin, he writes: “How about Lithograph Center?” Included is the third assistant postmaster general’s letter regarding the list, dated March 8, 1935, as well as a block of ninety-nine 1941 ‘Merry Christmas’ lighthouse stamps from Roosevelt’s personal collection still held within the paper folder from H. R. Harmer’s sale in 1946. In overall fine condition. Provenance: The Collection of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, H. R. Harmer, 1946.
President Roosevelt was famed for his stamp collecting hobby and as president significantly influenced the issue of stamps by the US Post Office Department, often becoming personally involved in supervising their creation. He viewed philately as not just a wholesome hobby but a method of educating the masses about the history of the United States and promoting the postal service; thanks in large part to his advocacy, sales through the Post Office Department Philatelic Agency jumped over six hundred percent during his administration. Given FDR’s close association with stamp collecting and the desirability of uninscribed material signed by a president and his full cabinet, this is a truly remarkable grouping. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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