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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.
North Carolina First Flights 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.

North Carolina First Flights U.S. Commemorative Cover

Artifact IDMO 1949.129.2.14
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 North Carolina U.S. air mail flights in 1937. On the left side of the white air mail envelope is a stamped gray-black ink cachet in the form of a box with a circular illustration in the center featuring the Wright Brothers Monument. Text above and below the illustration reads: FIRST ALL NORTH CAROLINA / AIR MAIL FLIGHTS / OCT. 11-16, 1937 / WRIGHT MEMORIAL / KITTY HAWK N.C. / ELIZABETH CITY / “COASTAL PARK GATEWAY” / The Great Silver Fleet / EASTERN Air Lines / U.S. MAIL EXPRESS PASSENGERS. Below the cachet is the original ink signature of the Elizabeth City postmaster: Wm. T. Culpepper / Postmaster.

The envelope is addressed to (typed): HON. FRANKLIN DELANOR [sp.] ROOSEVELT, / PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, / WASHINGTON, D.C. Adhered in the upper right corner of the envelope is a U.S. dull orange 6¢ Air Mail postage stamp (Scott C19). The envelope is postmarked Elizabeth City, North Carolina, October 12, 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
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
Not on view