Mother’s Day covers are hard to find: U.S. Stamp Notes

By John M. Hotchner 

About a year ago, I pictured a Father’s Day advertising card in the U.S. Stamp Notes column (Linn’s, July 6, 2015). This was the only example I had ever seen for this celebration.

I challenged readers to come up with a cover that noted Mother’s Day, something other than the standard first-day cover of the 1934 3¢ Mothers of America issue showing an adaptation of the painting nicknamed Whistler’s Mother.

I expected to receive dozens of reports. Instead only one reader, Scott Shaulis of Murrysville, Pa., came up with any examples, and he supplied two.

One is the 3¢ Statue of Liberty postal card with a May 7, 1960, mailer’s postmark permit cancel shown nearby.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

            Like us on Facebook 
            Follow us on Twitter
            Keep up with us on Instagram

The front of the card reads, “In Commemoration of Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8th, 1960.” The reverse of the card includes this printed message, “Henry O. Meisel, President, American Metered Postage Society, Clintonville, Wisconsin, USA.”

Shaulis also has the matching postal card for Father’s Day, dated June 18, 1960.

The second example for Mother’s Day is a 1¢ Thomas Jefferson postal card with a May 7, 1935, Chicago mailer’s postmark permit. The back of the card is an ad from Martha Washington Ice Cream & Candies, suggesting an “Ice Cream Roll for Mother’s Day.”

This Mother’s Day treat is described as a “Quart size of Vanilla Ice Cream, Peppermint Stick Ice Cream center, covered with whipped cream and decorations.”

If you bought the ice cream roll at the store it was 60¢; it cost 70¢ if you had it delivered.

This was a significant amount of money in 1935, but what a surprise for mom.