Skip to main content
Collections Menu
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Great Falls to Lewistown, Montana 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.

Great Falls to Lewistown, Montana First Flight U.S. Commemorative Cover

Artifact IDMO 1949.129.2.23
Object Type Cover, Commemorative
Maker
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 1937 U.S. air mail first flight from Great Falls to Lewistown, Montana. On the left side of the white air mail envelope is a stamped purple ink cachet consisting of a circular illustration, crossed by a shovel and pick, of an airplane flying over a mountain range in front of which graze various animals. Text encircling the illustration reads: AM UNITED STATES AIR MAIL 28 / GREAT FALLS-LEWISTOWN / MONTANA / FIRST FLIGHT. Below the cachet is a typed message and the original ink signature of the Lewistown postmaster: GREETINGS FROM MONTANA, / First Air Mail Flight, / from / Francis Crowley, P.M. & all employees. / Francis Crowley [signature] Postmaster.

The envelope is addressed to (typed): Hon. 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 Lewistown, Montana, December 24, 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.

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