Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Georgia First Flight U.S. Commemorative Cover
Artifact IDMO 1949.129.2.3
Object Type
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 )
Physical 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 illustration of a rose at the center. Text above and below the illustration reads: FIRST ALL GEORGIA / AIR MAIL FLIGHT / AUG. 9 – 16, 1937 / Thomasville, Ga. / “City of Roses” / The Great Silver Fleet / EASTERN AIR LINES / U.S. MAIL ---- EXPRESS ---- PASSENGERS. Along the left side of the cachet is the original ink signature of the Thomasville postmaster: B. Clayton Blanton, Postmaster.
The envelope is addressed to (typed): The Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt, / President of the 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 Thomasville, Georgia, August 9, 1937.
Historical NoteFranklin 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): The Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt, / President of the 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 Thomasville, 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.In Collection(s)
Not on view