The Omaha Philatelic Society (OPS) proudly celebrates the 90th anniversary of our hosting the 1934 Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Exposition and Convention. This major week-long event was held in Omaha, Nebraska, from Monday, October 8th through Sunday the 14th.
Exhibits were displayed at the Joslyn Memorial (now the Joslyn Art Museum) beginning Monday, October 8th. The Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Exposition souvenir sheet (Scott 751) was officially issued at the convention site, the Hotel Fontenelle, on the morning of October 10th, the first day of the bourse and convention.
Below is the souvenir sheet on the official first day of issue cover of the Omaha Philatelic Society.
Omaha Philatelic Society Invites President Roosevelt to Convention
A month before the convention, the Omaha Philatelic Society invited famous stamp collector President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the convention in grand style! The Society’s invitation, shown below, measured 20 by 50 inches, the largest piece of mail that could be sent by first class mail at the time, and it was franked with six dollars in postage stamps.
The invitation event was reported in the September 2nd, 1934 edition of the Omaha World Herald. The article showed a photo of Ethelyn Helsel of the Fontenelle Hotel staff holding the invite.
The invitation was the idea of OPS member Lloyd Bumpas. The back of the official invitation was signed by Omaha Mayor Roy N. Towl, President of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce W. F. Cozad, OPS President John A. Radik Jr. (misspelled Redick in the article), and OPS Chairman R. R. Barber.
Society Asks Farley for Trans-Mississippi Souvenir Sheet
During a September 19th, 1934 visit to Omaha by James Farley, OPS officers asked the Postmaster General to order a special issue of stamps for the convention. On September 29th, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was ordered to print the one-cent Yosemite souvenir sheets for the Omaha convention, and printing was started the next day. On October 7th, 42,000 souvenir sheets were delivered to the Post Office Department.
Initial supply of 42,000 souvenir sheets sells out in first hour
The October 11, 1934 Omaha Morning Bee News reported on the brisk sales of the newly-issued Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Exposition souvenir sheets on October 10th. Three collectors waited in the Hotel Fontenelle mezzanine overnight for the sheets to go on sale. When the stamps went on sale at 8:30 am, the first person asked for 72,000 stamps, and got 3,000. The line of persons waiting extended 200 feet from the Post Office window at times.
Although the Post Office Department promised 150,000 sheets, only 42,000 were delivered in the first batch. All 42,000 sold in the first hour.
The article shows Omaha Philatelic Society Secretary Gladys Rohrs buying two of the official OPS first-day covers from Postmaster F. C. Patton at the temporary convention post office. The two FDCs were mailed to President Roosevelt and Postmaster General James Farley.
Below is a Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Exposition souvenir sheet signed by Postmaster General James A. Farley.
Wide variety of first-day cover cachets produced
In an era when cachets on first-day covers were not common, FDC makers produced a wide variety of cachets for the October 10 Trans-Mississippi souvenir sheet issue. Below is a hand-painted cachet by artist A. O. Henry.
The Trans-Mississippi Exposition first-day postcard below has a cachet showing a very busy map of the western U.S., but the map doesn’t show Omaha or the Mississippi River.
A photo of Postmaster General James Farley was used as a cachet on the first-day cover below.
