Pan American Clipper First Flight U.S. Commemorative Cover
Object numberMO 1949.129.2.8
Name
Cover, Commemorative
Maker
Unknown
Date1935
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall H 4 in x W 7 1/2 in (10.2 cm x 19.1 cm )
DescriptionA stamp cover commemorating the first flight from Hawaii to California of the Pan American Clipper in 1935. In the bottom center of the white envelope is a stamped blue ink cachet in the form of a box featuring an illustration of a low-flying airplane over water. Text above and below the illustration reads: FIRST FLIGHT / PAN AMERICAN CLIPPER / HAWAII • CALIFORNIA.
The envelope is addressed to (typed): His Excellency Franklin D. Roosevelt, / President of the United States, / The White House, / Washington, D.C. The return address is printed along the left side: Pan American Airways, Inc. / Honolulu, T. H. To the left of the return address is the original ink signature of the Honolulu postmaster: John H. Wilson, Acting Postmaster, / Honolulu, Hawaii. Adhered in the upper right corner of the envelope are two U.S. 1934 dull orange 6¢ Air Mail postage stamps (Scott C19). The envelope is postmarked Honolulu, Hawaii, April 22, 1935 and San Francisco, California, April 23, 1935.
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.The envelope is addressed to (typed): His Excellency Franklin D. Roosevelt, / President of the United States, / The White House, / Washington, D.C. The return address is printed along the left side: Pan American Airways, Inc. / Honolulu, T. H. To the left of the return address is the original ink signature of the Honolulu postmaster: John H. Wilson, Acting Postmaster, / Honolulu, Hawaii. Adhered in the upper right corner of the envelope are two U.S. 1934 dull orange 6¢ Air Mail postage stamps (Scott C19). The envelope is postmarked Honolulu, Hawaii, April 22, 1935 and San Francisco, California, April 23, 1935.
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