Newport Harbor Flight 25th Anniversary U.S. Commemorative Cover
Object numberMO 1949.129.2.16
Name
Cover, Commemorative
Maker
Unknown
Date1937
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall H 4 1/8 in x W 9 1/2 in (10.5 cm x 24.1 cm )
DescriptionA stamp cover commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1912 Newport Harbor, California flight. On the left side of the white air mail envelope is a box with a blue halftone map illustration of Newport Harbor, a photographic portrait of Glenn L. Martin, and photographic images of the airplanes that flew the original May 10, 1912 flight and the commemorative May 10, 1937 flight. Printed and stamped text above and below the illustration reads: 25TH. ANNIVERSARY NEWPORT HARBOR FLIGHT ★ / [descriptive text regarding the May 10, 1912 flight by Glenn L. Martin piloting the first seaplane over any part of the Pacific with his flight of a China Clipper from Newport Harbor to Avalon and back via Long Beach] / Carried by CHINA CLIPPER / Newport Beach to Avalon and / Return. May 10th, 1937 / 25th Anniversary: Martin Flight. Along the right side of the envelope, running vertically, is the original ink signature of Glenn L. Martin.
At the center of the envelope, to the right of the cachet, are the original ink signatures and typed titles of the four postmasters involved with the commemorative flight:
Wm. H Adams / P. M. NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.
Alfonse Hamann / POSTMASTER BALBOA, CALIF.
James B. Ogden / POSTMASTER AVALON, CALIF.
Mary Evalyn Rider / P. M. BALBOA ISLAND, CALIF.
The envelope is addressed to (typed): HON. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, / THE PRESIDENT, / WASHINGTON, / D. C. Adhered in the upper right corner of the envelope are two postage stamps from the U.S. Navy Issue series: one 1937 carmine 2¢ postage stamp (Scott 791), and one 1937 gray 4¢ postage stamp (Scott 793). The envelope is postmarked Newport Beach, California, May 10, 1937.
On the reverse, the envelope is postmarked Balboa Island, California, May 10, 1937. The return address is typed along the top: AFTER 5 DAYS, RETURN TO / E. J. LOUIS, / 124 WEST FOURTH STREET / LOS ANGELES, CALIF. The envelope is sealed with a red, white, and blue Newport-Balboa sticker.
Label TextFranklin Roosevelt was an avid, lifelong stamp collector who gathered over 1.2 million stamps into his personal collection during the course of his life. He began collecting stamps at the age of eight at the suggestion of his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, who passed on her collection to him.At the center of the envelope, to the right of the cachet, are the original ink signatures and typed titles of the four postmasters involved with the commemorative flight:
Wm. H Adams / P. M. NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.
Alfonse Hamann / POSTMASTER BALBOA, CALIF.
James B. Ogden / POSTMASTER AVALON, CALIF.
Mary Evalyn Rider / P. M. BALBOA ISLAND, CALIF.
The envelope is addressed to (typed): HON. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, / THE PRESIDENT, / WASHINGTON, / D. C. Adhered in the upper right corner of the envelope are two postage stamps from the U.S. Navy Issue series: one 1937 carmine 2¢ postage stamp (Scott 791), and one 1937 gray 4¢ postage stamp (Scott 793). The envelope is postmarked Newport Beach, California, May 10, 1937.
On the reverse, the envelope is postmarked Balboa Island, California, May 10, 1937. The return address is typed along the top: AFTER 5 DAYS, RETURN TO / E. J. LOUIS, / 124 WEST FOURTH STREET / LOS ANGELES, CALIF. The envelope is sealed with a red, white, and blue Newport-Balboa sticker.
After FDR's death, his personal stamp collection, including this stamp cover, was sold at public auction in 1946 in accordance with his wishes.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteLent to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Charles M. Abbott in 1949. It was donated as a bequest of Abbott to the Library in 1952.
Credit LineGift of Charles M. Abbott
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesStamp Collecting Materials (National Archives Identifier 749938)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.Collections
Non exposé