National Parks issue

1934 National Parks Issue

U.S. #740-49
U.S. #740-49

As a stamp collector, President Franklin D. Roosevelt personally oversaw the selection of stamp subjects and designs during his administration. As Roosevelt was reviewing suggestions for the 1934 schedule, Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes saw an opportunity to advertise the national park system. Ickes felt many Americans were unaware the federal government had set aside vast amounts of land for their enjoyment and for future generations. At his suggestion, 1934 had been declared National Parks Year. Ickes now proposed the legacy of the national parks be portrayed on postage stamps to give people a glimpse of their diversity and natural beauty. FDR approved the idea immediately, and ten parks were chosen, each to be pictured on a different denomination ranging from 1¢ to 10¢.

US #740 Yosemite, California
US #740
Yosemite, California
US #741 Grand Canyon, Arizona
US #741
Grand Canyon, Arizona
US #742 Mount Rainier, Washington
US #742
Mount Rainier, Washington
US #743 Mesa Verde, Colorado
US #743
Mesa Verde, Colorado
US #744 Yellowstone
US #744
Yellowstone
US #745 Crater Lake, Oregon
US #745
Crater Lake, Oregon
US #746 Acadia, Maine
US #746
Acadia, Maine
US #747 Zion, Utah
US #747
Zion, Utah
US #748 Glacier National Park, Montana
US #748
Glacier National Park, Montana
US #749 Great Smokey Mountains North Carolina and Tennessee
US #749
Great Smokey Mountains
North Carolina and Tennessee

On August 28, 1934, the Post Office Department issued U.S. #750 as a souvenir sheet in conjunction with the American Philatelic Society’s Convention and Exhibition being held in Atlantic City. The sheet contained six 3¢ stamps featuring the breathtaking beauty of Mt. Rainier.

US #750 American Philatelic Exhibition
US #750
American Philatelic Exhibition
US #751 Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Exhibition
US #751
Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Exhibition

The National Parks series was issued imperforate in 1935 as part of the infamous “Farley’s Follies.”

US #756-65
US #756-65
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