The issues that motivated and angered philatelists of generations ago don’t resonate much with newer philatelists. Some of the most popular United States stamp issues of the mid twentieth century are the so called Farley issues. Their story was often told and widely known in my youth, but is not much related anymore.
James Farley was a New York businessman and politician. He was very well connected and served as Franklin Roosevelt’s campaign manager for his two successful runs for New York governor and his first two runs for the White House. It was said, that it was upon his election as President, that Roosevelt offered Farley any office that he wanted. Farley chose the office of Postmaster General, as the workload was modest and the opportunities for patronage were great. Farley was not a stamp collector but he was surrounded by people, including the President, who were. As the 1930’s progressed, Farley would go to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and have special runs of current postage stamps made for him. He would give imperf sheets, often in formats other than in the way that they officially issued in, to friends and to the President. This was fine as long as no one knew about it, but before long these imperf sheets began appearing on the philatelic market and the political fallout for Farley and the President was unpleasant. Farley’s solution was to issue these imperforate sheets to the public at face value, thus destroying the premium value for the sheets that he produced privately.
The imperforate issues that followed are called the Farley Issues and are listed in the Scott catalog as #752-771. Technically, they are reprints or reissues and because they were issued in formats other than the correctly issued stamps, Scott’s own listing policy should preclude them being in the catalog. But they have a cachet and an interesting story and are a very popular sub specialty of mid twentieth century US philately. Collectors like them because the imperf sheets can be cut up in a multitude of different ways providing the hobby with such varieties as gutter pairs and blocks of four with crossed gutters. Because the entire groups of Farley’s were issued to collectors in full panes of 400, and collectors could buy as many as they wanted, the Farleys are not rare. But there are enough varieties to make the game of collecting interesting. And the price point is high enough to add a bit of spice. If you have gotten to the point where each new addition to your US collection makes a painful dent in your checking account a little detour into the Farley’s could be quite enjoyable.
