NNP

The Souvenir Card Collectors Society (SCCS) promotes the study and collecting of souvenir cards, which are typically issued to mark special occasions and are printed on high quality card stock using intaglio methods (steel plate engravings). SCCS maintains a catalog of souvenir cards and further publishes the Souvenir Card Journal, which is currently in its 44th year. The SCCS has recently extended its run of back issues on Newman Portal, and these are now available through the year 2018.

Illustrated here is an example of the FPS-1939A souvenir card, which commemorates a 1930s traveling exhibit that showed Americans how stamps were made. President Roosevelt was a well-known stamp collector and presumably greased the proverbial wheels of this project, which consisted of a traveling truck with exhibits mounted inside. As visitors exited the truck, they were presented with this souvenir card depicting the White House. Arlie Slabaugh wrote in the November 1982 issue of Coins magazine: “Some collectors consider the Philatelic Truck souvenir sheet to be the first of the Post Office cards. It was issued during 1939-1941 and came in both gummed and ungummed versions and was much smaller than the usual souvenir cards, which are frequently eight-by-six inches.”

Newman Portal acknowledges Greg Alexander, Souvenir Card Journal editor, for his assistance with this title.

Link to Souvenir Card Journal on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/534278
Link to Souvenir Card Collectors Society home page: https://www.souvenircards.org/html/menu_home.html

Image: FPS-1939A, Visit of the philatelic truck