# 740-49 - Complete Set - 1934 National Parks Collection
Get a Complete Collection of 1934 National Parks Single Stamps
This is your chance to get all 10 National Parks single stamps issued in 1934. This was the first set of stamps to honor America’s national parks. Read on to discover the stories behind these stamps…
National Parks Issue
Decades before it had been suggested that more US stamps feature natural scenery, but most stamps stuck to the tradition of picturing deceased military and political leaders. When Stephen Mather became the first director of the National Park Service, he specifically recommended that national parks be pictured on US stamps, but no action was taken during his tenure.
Then in 1933, a newspaper editor shared his opinion in the Greely (Colorado) Tribune Republican, “While the (Eastern) seaboard flocks to Europe on vacations, Uncle Sam misses a great opportunity by not issuing series of pictorials on the national parks. It would be Federal advertising paid for many times over by philatelists.”
The first stamp honoring Yosemite was issued on July 16, 1934. The stamp, printed in bright green, pictured the park’s famed El Capitan. Between July and October, a total of 10 stamps were issued in the series. In addition to the 10 single stamps, there were also two imperforate national parks souvenir sheets issued. One was for the American Philatelic Society Exhibition and the other for the Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Exhibition. The national parks issue was popular with collectors and postal patrons alike, and was also part of one of the most infamous stamp stories in our nation’s history…
Farley’s Follies
As the stamp sheets were coming off the printing press, postmaster Farley removed a few sheets before they were gummed or perforated and autographed them for friends and family. He was creating precious philatelic rarities. Farley had been doing this since 1933, and once stamp collectors learned of what he was doing, they were outraged.
Click here for the rest of the National Parks stamps.
Get a Complete Collection of 1934 National Parks Single Stamps
This is your chance to get all 10 National Parks single stamps issued in 1934. This was the first set of stamps to honor America’s national parks. Read on to discover the stories behind these stamps…
National Parks Issue
Decades before it had been suggested that more US stamps feature natural scenery, but most stamps stuck to the tradition of picturing deceased military and political leaders. When Stephen Mather became the first director of the National Park Service, he specifically recommended that national parks be pictured on US stamps, but no action was taken during his tenure.
Then in 1933, a newspaper editor shared his opinion in the Greely (Colorado) Tribune Republican, “While the (Eastern) seaboard flocks to Europe on vacations, Uncle Sam misses a great opportunity by not issuing series of pictorials on the national parks. It would be Federal advertising paid for many times over by philatelists.”
The first stamp honoring Yosemite was issued on July 16, 1934. The stamp, printed in bright green, pictured the park’s famed El Capitan. Between July and October, a total of 10 stamps were issued in the series. In addition to the 10 single stamps, there were also two imperforate national parks souvenir sheets issued. One was for the American Philatelic Society Exhibition and the other for the Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Exhibition. The national parks issue was popular with collectors and postal patrons alike, and was also part of one of the most infamous stamp stories in our nation’s history…
Farley’s Follies
As the stamp sheets were coming off the printing press, postmaster Farley removed a few sheets before they were gummed or perforated and autographed them for friends and family. He was creating precious philatelic rarities. Farley had been doing this since 1933, and once stamp collectors learned of what he was doing, they were outraged.
Click here for the rest of the National Parks stamps.