It all started with a philatelic President…

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an avid stamp collector. He inherited his collection from his mother and uncle and added to it. As president, he asked his secretaries to save stamps and envelopes (“covers”) for his collection. World leaders, dignitaries, and citizens from around the world sent FDR stamps.

FDR was very enthusiastic that people should know that stamp collecting wasn’t just a kid’s hobby, but a legitimate activity in its own right. He did, however, feel that children should start collecting at an early age and continue to appreciate it throughout their years.

No one knows for certain who came up with the idea of the philatelic truck — but it certainly encapsulates FDR’s line of thinking. Supported by Postmaster General (PMG) James A. Farley and FDR, the philatelic truck was a means to demonstrate the “cool factor” or fascinating aspect of stamp collecting as a hobby.

As a further means of directing public attention to the benefits of stamp collecting, the Department authorized the construction of a special motorized postage-stamp-display car for touring purposes through the country, thereby giving collectors and the public distant from Washington an opportunity to inspect specimens of all issues of postage stamps ever provided by the Department, as well as first-hand information with regard to the processes employed in the designing and printing of United States Stamps. Some estimates put the value of the items on the truck at over $1 million ($21 million in today’s money)!.

Annual Report of the Postmaster General for the Fiscal Year June 30 (1939)