There have been a couple of recent posts about the Presidential series of 1938 (the Prexies). I thought I'd just throw in a few historical facts about the series.
This was one of FDR's favorite series, and he had a direct hand in selecting the design and color of each of the stamps. FDR selected the series design from 1,122 responses to a request for sketches for the 1 cent George Washington issue. A non-philatelist Elaine Rawlinson, was awarded $500 (a large sum of money in 1937) for her design. There was a bit of an uproar from stamp collecting artists, but FDR felt like the simple, unadorned design was an appropriate way to honor the deceased presidents up to that time.
With one exception the entire series was approved, stamp by stamp, by FDR. When he was shown the final proofs as a set he was pleased with all of them except the 1 ½ cent Martha Washington issue. He didn't like the color. When Postmaster General Farley checked with his staff he found out that that was the only issue that FDR had not pre-approved for some reason. Needless to say, the color was changed before production began.
First day ceremonies for the first issue, the 1 cent George Washington stamp, were on April 25, 1938. The last stamps to be issued, the 30 cent Teddy Roosevelt and 50 cent William H. Taft issues, were released on December 8, 1938. The total printings are largely unknown, but some 90,000+ first day covers were prepared for each issue.
Posted 04/21/2009 6:16 pm
