FDC Hidden In Old Collection! Interesting Addressee!

It's well-known that Roosevelt was an avid stamp collector, so this 1937 FDC is one of those thought provoking and "fun" items that one occasionally stumbles across. I found this FDC virtually hidden in a very old stamp collection I recently acquired. This collection lay dormant and had been apparently untouched for over fifty years. Just thought you might enjoy seeing it!

Now that is an awesome find!

Unfortunately, the name an address could have been added at any point.

Pretty cool though

At least the zip code was left off :)

Granted, the name and address could have been added at any time, but they were, in fact, written with a fountain pen and not with a ballpoint pen. Additionally, the ink, itself, is clearly reminiscent of a bygone era, an era where the writer was well-versed and comfortable in the use of a fountain pen. If you look carefully at the writing, the flowing, "non-faltering" penmanship indicates that the writer was quite used to a fountain pen. This, I believe, lends credence to the idea that it was from that period and not inscribed at a later time. It appears to be authentic.

Parenthetically, there's this: How did any serious stamp collector back in the 1930's get their FDCs? That's right ... someone addressed it and mailed it to them. I'm sure, just like any other collector, FDR received his FDC's the same way ... by mail.

Wait...here is one on ebay which says it is 'the only one in the world'
http://www.ebay.com/itm/franklin-d-...AOSwa-dWqQie
Don

It's a fun cover.

Don, the person vending the FDR FDC on ebay is, understandably, doing what a lot of people do in order to sell a product; they make the product sound like it's "the only one in the world." There must be a number, albeit limited number, of such FDC's addressed to FDR. He undoubtedly received FDC's for all the stamps that were issued in his day. That said, to actually have one of them is rather interesting, isn't it?
James

I believe most FDR items in his collection were later sold and were marked on the back, (https://goscf.com/t/32842 )does this cover have any marking on the back?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NobleSpirit...AOSw2FxZwvkY

http://www.ebay.com/itm/From-FDR-Co...AOSwr7tZgfDb

Here is a FDC that was also 'addressed' to FDR but note how the dealer was careful how he described it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-FDC-810-...AOSwttRZtYZS

The handwriting is not FDR's; without additional evidence or provenance then connecting this cover to FDR is not going to be possible. As Mike mentioned, it is unclear if the addressing is even contemporary. (I understand your point about a fountain pen but I have a friend who to this day still uses one; it is a dying art but not unheard of. But I agree that the ink shows signs of age.)

It is a Grandy cachet but perhaps you should post this over on the Delphi forum and ask for opinions, there are a lot of FDC collectors there.
Don

There's no reason to doubt that the above FDC was indeed posted to FDR. We all know he was a prolific stamp collector and many collectors of the day sent him "fancy" covers. His huge stamp collection was auctioned by Harmer's after his death and the majority of common covers such as this were purchased in large lots by stamp dealers for resale. The covers were stamped on the back stating they came from the president's collection and can normally be purchased for between $10-$20 depending on cachet/design/postmark etc.

That's right! The FDR collection was, by all accounts, massive. The auction took place in 1946. The collection I acquired was from a person who was an active and ardently discerning collector who flourished during the 1930's, 40's and 50's. That fits the narrative. Certainingly, there are other FDC's addressed to FDR out there in "Stampland", but it's still nice to have one.

There is very large number of people these days who write with fountain pens every day. I am one of them and have almost a dozen different ones, including half of them being restored antiques from the 1920s through 1940s. In many countries around Europe, children are given fountain pens as the first pen they learn to write with since fountain pens are MUCH easier to write with than ballpoints and similar pens and you get a MUCH smoother flowing writing style with them than you get with ballpoints and similar styles. There are a great many companies that make and sell fountain pens these days including ones such as Parker, Sheaffer, Pelikan, Montblanc, Aurora, Conklin, Cross, Pilot, Waterman, Visconti, etc. And there is a very large number of companies making fountain pen inks in every color and shade you can imagine. Seeing writing in fountain pen is not a reliable way to date when something was written. On the other hand, seeing something written in ball point pen does set an "earliest possible" date of around 1943 to 1945.

Like Kimo, I use a fountain pen. So does my daughter, who's 25.

I have no reason to doubt anyone's use of a fountain pen, but that's not really the point. The "real" point is that the writing on the FDC is worn and faded and greatly belies the work of a more modern writer. That particular element being obvious, let's keep it simple without clouding the issue by bringing a list of "modern" fountain pen users into this. I know that people who use fountain pens still exist, but they didn't address this FDC. All I really wanted to do was to show anyone who was interested the FDC, that's all. Finally, and just in passing, I haven't used a fountain pen in well over sixty years; not since I was a lad in school. All the best!