Happy National U.S. Postage Stamp Day!
Known as “America’s number one stamp collector,” Franklin Roosevelt began collecting stamps as a child. It was a hobby he shared with his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, and it was the far-flung business interests of his Delano relatives that provided the young collector with a steady supply of foreign stamps. From his stamps he gained an invaluable knowledge of cultures and of geography.
This hobby persisted with Roosevelt his entire life and he was well-known for his collection. His secretary, Grace Tully, noted that he even traveled with his stamps, which provided him a period of relaxation each day. He had little interest in the value of stamps; rather he enjoyed the study of history and culture that the stamps afforded him.
During his presidency, he approved the production of 134 commemorative and 49 regular postage stamps. In fact, his last official act was the purchase of a stamp, which he had recently approved, commemorating the United Nations Conference (see: http://fdr.blogs.archives.gov/2012/04/12/found-in-the-archives-31/).
At the time of his death, his collection of stamps numbered over 1,200,000 stamps bound in 150 albums, each filled with his handwritten notations. Most were sold at auction. Those he received as gifts from Heads-of-State and foreign governments were kept in the museum collection at the Roosevelt Library.
Seen here are a number of those items as well as the tools Roosevelt used with his stamp collection.
For more information: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/exhibit/around-the-world-with-the-roosevelts/4ALi8vqdaWVrIQ?projectId=historic-moments&position=69%3A0
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