JAMES A. FARLEY (Submitted By Michael S. Turinni)
The Man Behind "Farley’s Follies"
Postmaster General 1933--1940
James A. Farley is fairly well-known to most all United States
philatelists, and Scott’s listed his famous, or infamous,
Farley’s Follies’ as Scott #752 through #771.
In my halcyon and long gone youthful days,
those ‘Farley’s Follies’ were among my first philatelic
purchases, from one who actually obtain those from the post office back then.
Over the years, knowledge about the man has been learned. Surprisingly, Farley----who stated numerous times that he did not collect stamps----had an established and nationally career in politics and later with Coca-Cola. My humble and poor endeavor here at a ‘philatelic gem’ is submitted to the distinguished and enlightened members of the Redwood Empire Collectors Club (RECC) and others, to add, to supplement, or just to inform more about Farley, the man, rather than his ‘Follies’
** His full name was JAMES ALOYSIUS FARLEY
** He enjoyed both boxing and baseball, and maintained for years at the old Yankee Stadium his
‘Farley Box’, sitting in a simple wooden chair.
** He was among the most important and influential individuals securing Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1932 Democratic Party nomination for the Presidency.
** But, he would break with Roosevelt in 1940 over the two term tradition.
** Farley actually sought to be nominated by the Democrats at their 1940 Chicago Convention and
It was Joseph P. ‘Joe’ Kennedy, Jr. (1915—1944), the eldest son of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., who placed Farley’s name in nomination at the Convention, something that Farley remembered and recorded proudly in his autobiography.
** He was at the dedication of numerous New Deal constructed Post Offices, including St. Helena and Vallejo, California, to name just two.
** ‘Farley’s Rule’, a political thought that Farley developed in this two national campaigns for Franklin D. Roosevelt states ‘most voters decide by October before the November election’.
** After resigning as Postmaster General, he would write two books----BEHIND THE BALLOTS and JIM FARLEY’S STORY----and develop for Coca-Cola a strong international presence.
** Regardless of his ‘break with Roosevelt’ over the third term, Farley remained a presence in national politics was the ‘First Guest’ on MEET THE PRESS.
** President Kennedy, knowing Farley’s presence and prestige, attending Mass with him at New York’s famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and was sure to be photographed for the print media.
** Farley died in 1976, the last member of the Roosevelt’s New Deal Cabinet. At the time, he resided at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where both former President Herbert Hoover and General Douglas C. MacArthur had lodging.
** When he died, he was dressed in a tux ready to leave for one of his numerous involvements.
** He signed all correspondence in ‘Irish green ink’.
Here we will be presenting items that are from our members and are dear to our collecting interests. We at times have variant interests and as such you will see some pretty fascinating postings. Send us something to post!
The two snapshots taken at the recent RECC meeting are of weird, and varied, examples of how some in the mid-1930s cut and arranged 'Farley's Follies'. There seemed to be a whole realm of how stamp collectors, once 'Farley's Follies' were allowed to anyone, would obtain and then cut large sheets, certainly more than singles or blocks. Any standard philatelic reference could explain the origin and background of James A. Farley's 'Follies'; incidentally, Farley was never a stamp collector and stated many times that fact. However, he was famous for his signature in Irish green pen ink, and his knowledge of politics. He died in 1976, the last living member of FDR's Cabinet.
UNIQUE POSTAGE DUE SHEET (Submitted by Dan Pagter)
A bulk postage due sheet for Scientific Notebook Company, 1959 to date, which keeps a running account with the post office for payment of postage due. Here $3.74 was collected by deduction from the account and shown as paid with the attached and cancelled stamps totaling the amount due on this March 6, 1998, Stevensville, MI 49127 (USA) document. The remaining account balance is noted at the top as $35.99.
What is remarkable about this item is the unusual use of the then current Mars Pathfinder, Scott 3178, released December 10, 1997 mini-sheet with a face value of $3.00 designed to pay a then current Priority Mail rate.
The reverse is blank.
REGISTERED AMERICAN EXPRESS ENVELOPE (Submitted by Dan Pagter)
A legal sized envelope with American Express (AE) Advertising used by AE for many purposes including forwarding of mail for customers who are traveling. Here this 1915 use of the 15 cent US Scott Q-7 pays the 10 cent international registry fee as well as the UPU (Universal Postal Union) first unit international letter rate to Holland. While uncommon to find on cover, the most frequent usage of the 15 cent Parcel Post Stamp is on registered international letter mail. When issued for use beginning January 1, 1913 the Parcel post Stamps were restricted to use on Parcel Post Matter, domestic or international. On July 1, 1913 the Parcel Post Stamps were allowed by order of the Postmaster General to be used on any mail matter in the manner of ordinary postage stamps.
The reverse, not shown, includes more text advertising for AE on the flap only, registry postmarks of 9-23-1915, Bangor, Maine, two strikes; 9-24-1915 rec'd registry oval New York Foreign (12), two strikes; and, an Amsterdam 10-6-1915 received marking.