Roosevelt & Morgenthau Signed 5 Sheets of Stamps, 1940

Roosevelt & Morgenthau Signed 5 Sheets of Stamps, 1940 Famous Americans - Composers

A group of five mid-20th century stamp sheets, all measuring 10.25" x 9", Chester, Connecticut, [1940]. The five sheets are of various denominations, and all are signed by President Roosevelt, "Franklin D Roosevelt", and his Secretary of the Treasury, "Henry Morgenthau Jr." The stamps were designed as part of the "Famous Americans Series - Composers". Each full sheet contains 70 stamps:

1. 1 cent stamps. Green color with a portrait of Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864). Sheet No. 22564.
2. 2 cent stamps. Red color with a portrait of John Philip Sousa (1854-1932). Sheet No. 22568.
3. 3 cent stamps. Maroon color with a portrait of Victor Herbert (1859-1924). Sheet No. 22571.
5. 5 cent stamps. Blue color with a portrait of Edward A. MacDowell (1860-1908). Sheet No. 22574.
5. 10 cent stamps. Brown color with a portrait of Ethelbert Nevin (1862-1901). Sheet No. 22576.

Sheets are near mint, with very minor separations at the perforated edges. Bold signatures to all. Light soiling to the Harco International folder the stamps are housed in.

In 1938, the Post Office Department announced plans for a series of stamps recognizing 10 famous Americans and invited the public to submit recommendations. The response was so great that it was decided to increase the number from 10 to 35. Seven categories were decided upon – authors, poets, educators, scientists, composers, artists, and inventors, with each category having five denominations – 1¢, 2¢, 3¢, 5¢, and 10¢. The denominations also shared a consistent coloring scheme: 1¢ is bright blue-green; 2¢ is rose carmine; 3¢ is bright red-violet; 5¢ is ultramarine; and 10¢ is dark brown. The oldest birth date of the famous American was assigned to the 1¢ stamp, with the most recent birth date on the 10¢ stamp. Each category was also assigned its own engraved symbol in the engraving – a scroll, quill pen and inkwell for authors; a winged horse (Pegasus) for poets; the “Lamp of Knowledge” for educators; a cogwheel with uplifted wings and a lightning flash for inventors; and laurel leaves and the pipes of the Roman god Pan for composers.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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