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FDR Free Franked Envelope

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:0.00 USD
FDR Free Franked Envelope
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White House envelope free franked ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' as President, postmarked Washington, DC, 20 May 1935. Addressed by typewriter to ''Edward Stern, Esq., 87 Nassau Street, New York, N.Y.'' Engraved in the upper left ''THE WHITE HOUSE / Official Business'' and in the upper right ''Penalty for Private Use to Avoid / Payment of Postage, $300.'' Neatly slit open at bottom edge and in near fine condition. Franked on the more desirable standard size 6.5'' x 3.5'' envelope rather than the business size envelope, it is depicted in the definitive book on free franks authored by renowned philatelist and envelope's recipient Edward Stern ''History of the ‘Free Franking’ of Mail in the United States,'' New York: H.L. Lindquist: 1936. These ''penalty'' envelopes were to be used by officers of the United States who did not have the franking privilege, for official business, with a fine imposed if used ''for private use.'' In 1873, because of widespread abuse, Congress passed and President Ulysses S. Grant signed ''An act to abolish the franking privilege,'' thereby making President Grant the last U.S. President to have the right to free frank his presidential mail. Not until a President leaves office is the franking privilege bestowed upon the former Chief Executive for life. Because he never served in Congress and did not survive the presidency, Franklin D. Roosevelt never had the franking privilege which makes this envelope, franked as President, of utmost rarity and desirability. In ''Collecting Autographs and Manuscripts,'' autograph pioneer Charles Hamilton relates a story told to him by noted collector Alden S. Condict of ''the day I tried to persuade the President of the United States to break the law…I had done several favors for Franklin D. Roosevelt, but I had never asked anything in return…After he was elected President, there was one thing that I did want from him and wanted desperately…What I hoped to get from Roosevelt was a bona-fide Presidential frank…During one of my visits to Hyde Park [in 1940] I dropped in on him. We chatted for a while, and then, with a thumping heart, I sprang the big question, ‘I wonder, Mr. President, if you would mind letting me have your signature in the upper right corner of a White House envelope?’ I put the question casually, as though it weren’t important, but Roosevelt was an autograph and stamp collector, and he knew instantly that I was asking for a ‘frank.’ His genial manner left him abruptly, and his face became hard. His eyes flashed, and he said icily, ‘You’re asking me to break the law.’ If only I could have dropped through the floor!…I was sure I had bungled the matter hopelessly…Weeks passed. Then, about two months later, I received through the mail a large stamped White House envelope. Afire with eagerness, I opened it up, and inside I found two magnificent White House envelopes, each boldly franked by the President…each bearing a very clear Washington, D.C. postmark…Not long afterward, when I needed money badly, I was offered ten thousand dollars [for one envelope]…You see, the Republicans wanted it for propaganda. They wanted to prove that Franklin D. Roosevelt had no respect for the laws of this country, and even franked his mail when he had no legal right. Of course, I refused the offer. I couldn’t violate the President’s confidence…” Hamilton concludes, ''I was delighted when this rare frank passed into my possession.''