Georgia First Flight U.S. Commemorative Cover
Object numberMO 1949.129.2.13
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 first all Georgia U.S. air mail flight in 1937. On the left side of the white air mail envelope is a stamped purple ink cachet in the form of a box with an outline illustration of the state of Georgia in the center, on which is marked the location of Columbus, Georgia from where the first mail to leave by airplane took place on August 9, 1937. Text above and below the illustration reads: FIRST ALL GEORGIA / AIR MAIL FLIGHT / AUG. 9 – 16, 1937 / The Great Silver Fleet / EASTERN AIR LINES / U.S. MAIL ---- EXPRESS ---- PASSENGERS. Below the cachet is the original ink signature of the Columbus postmaster: Leighton W. McPherson.
The envelope is addressed to (typed): Hon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, / President, United States, / Washington, D. C. In the upper right corner of the envelope is a preprinted U.S. 1934 orange 6¢ Air Mail postage stamp (Scott UC3). The envelope is postmarked Atlanta, Georgia, August 9, 1937.
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): Hon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, / President, United States, / Washington, D. C. In the upper right corner of the envelope is a preprinted U.S. 1934 orange 6¢ Air Mail postage stamp (Scott UC3). The envelope is postmarked Atlanta, Georgia, August 9, 1937.
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