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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.
Arizona, Nevada, and California 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.

Arizona, Nevada, and California First Flight U.S. Commemorative Cover

Artifact IDMO 1949.129.2.1
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 1937 U.S. air mail first flights from Arizona, Nevada, and California. On the left side of the white air mail envelope is a stamped purple ink cachet in the shape of a shield with an illustration at the center of an airplane flying over mountains. Text above and below the illustration reads: FIRST FLIGHT / AM 37 / WINSLOW ARIZ. / LAS VEGAS NEV. / FRESNO CAL. / SAN FRANCISCO CAL. / united states air mail. Below the cachet is the original ink signature of the Fresno postmaster: Charles H. Hood, / Postmaster.

The envelope is addressed to (handwritten in ink): Hon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, / President of the United States, / Washington, D. C. / Via - / Winslow, Arizona. 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 Fresno, California, September 5, 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 StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view