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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
New Orleans, Louisiana First Flight U.S. Commemorative Cover
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

New Orleans, Louisiana First Flight U.S. Commemorative Cover

Object numberMO 1949.129.2.12
Name Cover, Commemorative
Maker (American, founded 1932)
Date1934
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 1934 U.S. air mail first flight from New Orleans, Louisiana. On the left side of the white air mail envelope is a stamped blue ink cachet consisting of a box within which is an illustration of an airplane in flight with the original ink signature “A. L. Shushan” written across the wings. Text above and below the illustration reads: FIRST AIR MAIL FLIGHT / FROM / SHUSHAN AIRPORT / NEW ORLEANS, LA. / Cachet by Crescent City Stamp Club / [signature of club president]. Along the top and right sides of the cachet are the original ink signatures of the pilot and the New Orleans acting postmaster.

The envelope is addressed to (typed): Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt, / President of the United States, / Washington, D. C. The return address is typed in the upper left corner: Chas. A. Stevens, / Acting Postmaster, / New Orleans, La. In the upper right corner of the envelope is a preprinted U.S. olive green 8¢ Air Mail postage stamp (Scott UC7). The envelope is postmarked New Orleans, Louisiana, January 15, 1934.
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.

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