|
|
Post by smauggie on Sept 10, 2017 15:29:29 GMT
United States of America - National Airmail Week, May 15-21, 1938The United States Post Office decided to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of air mail service with a celebration called National Air Mail Week (often abbreviated NAMW). This was also a way to support many of the private contractors that served the US Post Office by providing Air Mail flight service. Special air mail flights were created to crisscross the entire nation and visiting as many different cities and towns as possible (that had a viable airfield). For just about every town that got a visit a separate special cachet was made to celebrate the town in question. Some were created by local officials while others were voted upon by the local community. Every citizen was encouraged to send a letter using the air mail service at some point during the week. There is one online resource for these cachets and the air mail flights: Aerodacious - National Air Mail WeekAlso a new air mail stamp was designed for the celebration. The initial design was provided by president Franklin Roosevelt with some art-deco touches added by a separate artist to give us the final design. Scott#C23 Issued May 14, 1938 At this point I will admit that I only collect NAMW covers from the state of Minnesota, though covers from all over the country are welcome here as well. For the first installment we have a cover from Taylor's Falls, Minnesota. The cachet features a plane flying over the Saint Croix river which forms part of the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Taylor's Falls is right on the banks of the river. Featured also is the Old Man of the Dalles, a rock formation that looks like the face of an old man. The Dalles is a section of the river that was formed by a great amount of volcanic activity and is now part of the Interstate State Park (a park shared by Minnesota and Wisconsin).  Taylors Falls is located in Chisago county and is about a 1-hour drive from the heart of the Saint Paul/Minneapolis metro area. 
|
|
|
|
Post by smauggie on Sept 15, 2017 3:31:14 GMT
Owatonna, Minnesota (County Seat)
Steele CountyFor some reason they have the US Capitol building in their cachet. Most prominent is a box of butter touting "Steele County Butter". It also shows crops and buildings in the background and a steam and diesel train on either side of the bottom.  
|
|
|
|
Post by smauggie on Sept 18, 2017 18:04:25 GMT
Franklin, MinnesotaRenville CountyThis is the only case I am aware of where three cities shared the same cachet, in this case honoring the President of the United States at the time. Of the three I have only been to Delano myself.  
|
|
|
|
Post by smauggie on Sept 27, 2017 3:27:04 GMT
Moorhead, Minnesota
Clay County (County Seat)Moorhead does boast of three institutions of higher learning among it's largest employers. The population of Moorhead was only 9491 in 1940. Moorhead is the smaller sister city to Fargo, North Dakota just accross the border. Lake Agassiz was a glacial lake that drained about 10,000 years ago. The wording makes it seem like that started building as soon as the lake receded. The Red River Valley is one of the most fertile stretches of land in the world.  
|
|
|
|
Post by smauggie on Oct 29, 2017 17:03:05 GMT
Ceylon, Minnesota
Martin County
1940 Population: 549Yes, Ceylon, MN was named after the island in the Indian Ocean. Minnesota does have some of the oddest town names. I have no idea why they call themselves the biggest little town in Minnesota. Walter Mondale is from Ceylon.  
|
|
Ryan
Moderator 
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,749 
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
|
Post by Ryan on Nov 1, 2017 5:48:14 GMT
I've been on the Aerodacious site before while trying to sort out CAM flights vs. FAM flights but I hadn't noticed this page for National Air Mail Week. I'm glad you posted that, some of those cachets are quite elaborate. Ryan |
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Nov 1, 2017 15:46:53 GMT
In the late 1950s, Postmaster General James A. Farley (serving from 1933-1940) gifted many items from his personal philatelic collection to the Smithsonian Institution. Included was his collection of air mail covers addressed by postmasters throughout the U.S. to Farley during National Air Mail Week (May 15-21, 1938). The collection consisted of 35 binders with several thousand covers, including 166 covers from Minnesota towns (A-Z). This " finding aid" from the National Postal Museum provides a breakdown of the contents of each of the binders. My extensive collection of NAMW covers (3 thus far) pales in comparison to Farley's...here is my nicest one from Elyria, Ohio that was postmarked on May 19, 1938. |
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Nov 6, 2017 13:00:06 GMT
Waverly, New York
May 19, 1938
Interesting routing on this cover destined for to Lynn, Massachusetts; flown in the opposite direction to Buffalo before heading on to Lynn.  
|
|
Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,911
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
|
Post by Beryllium Guy on Nov 6, 2017 14:21:50 GMT
U.S. NAMW EphemeraSorry to say that I do not have any covers from the NAMW in 1938, but I recently saw a decorator item in the lobby of a hotel here in Arizona. As a stamp collector, of course, my eye was drawn to the philatelically inspired design. When I went to take a closer look, I saw the items in the glass jar are oversized matchboxes, which have reproduced a portion of an air mail envelope. Upon even closer inspection, I noticed that the CDS postmark, from the which the city and state names have been removed, was dated 17th May 1938, placing it right in the middle of the NAMW. I just found this to be one of those remarkable little coincidences that sometimes happen in life if you pay attention to details. By the way, if anyone thinks it inappropriate to post this sort of thing on this thread, I will either move it elsewhere or just delete it. I do not want to detract from the images of genuine NAMW material which have been posted here.  
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Nov 8, 2017 22:39:34 GMT
U.S. NAMW Ephemera...By the way, if anyone thinks it inappropriate to post this sort of thing on this thread, I will either move it elsewhere or just delete it. I do not want to detract from the images of genuine NAMW material which have been posted here. The only other logical spot would be on the ephemera board and it wouldn't have nearly the impact that it does here. I see that HomArt is still in business and it might be interesting to learn from them when this item was created.
Newburgh, New York
May 19, 1938
Backstamped on the same date in Brooklyn, New York with slogan "Air Mail Saves Time" |
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Nov 10, 2017 0:46:33 GMT
Wakefield, Massachusetts
May 19, 1938
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Nov 14, 2017 15:31:18 GMT
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 15, 1938I spent the weekend in Philadelphia so I thought it fitting to share this cover bearing that city's National Air Mail Week cachet. What I find most interesting about this cover addressed to Long Beach, California is that, rather than a receiving stamp, the cover's reverse bears the Long Beach National Air Mail Week cachet.
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Nov 16, 2017 12:39:33 GMT
Russell, Minnesota
May 16, 1938Here is an interesting cover sent from Russell that was addressed by someone possessing serious calligraphy skills. The postmaster in Russell either didn't have a stamp with which to apply a special cachet or the office's cachet wasn't applied because the cover was sent prior to national pick-up day (May 19). The Stockton, Iowa postmaster, clearly having taken the spirit of National Air Mail Week to heart, corrected this deficiency by applying Stockton's cachet to the cover.
|
|
|
|
Post by smauggie on Nov 17, 2017 0:17:14 GMT
I would be surprised if Russell had it's own airfield. The machine cancel is rather unusual (I have a couple of examples). That design American Postal machine cancel was only used in Boston. What I think happened is that the Russell PO bought an old American Postal machine from Boston around 1935.
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Nov 19, 2017 14:31:56 GMT
Chicago, Illinois
May 19, 1938I spent the first 18 years of my life in a suburb of Chicago and was unaware of Chief Chicagou until last week when I acquired this cover.  EDIT: I failed to mentioned that this air post stamped envelope and the one previously shown from Russell, MN are both categorized as Scott UC3 (6c orange, die 2a; July 1, 1934).
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Nov 19, 2017 16:50:22 GMT
Here is an educational documentary promoting National Air Mail Week that was produced in 1938. |
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Nov 20, 2017 13:23:53 GMT
Alameda, California
May 16, 1938
Here is a cover bearing a cachet from Alameda's local celebration held March 13-19, 1938. The cover was postmarked on March 31, 1938 and bears a 6 cent dull orange, perf. 10.5x11 Winged Globe air post stamp (Scott C19; Jun 30, 1934) with "AIR-MAIL/SAVES TIME" slogan cancel.
 While the concept of a "National Air Mail Week" has been credited as the brainchild of Postmaster General Farley, my research has shown that Postmaster General Harry S. New marked the tenth anniversary of air mail by officially designating the week beginning May 14, 1928 as "Air Mail Week." In Oakland, California, as part of the Boeing Company's air mail week program, a celebration was held during January 1928 in conjunction with the opening of the Oakland Municipal Airport.
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Dec 3, 2017 19:54:25 GMT
Carmel, New York
May 19, 1938Enoch Crosby, one of America's first spies, is featured in Carmel's National Air Mail Week cachet. The cover has a Brooklyn, New York "Air Mail Saves Time" transit mark of the same date on the reverse. 
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Dec 13, 2017 0:41:01 GMT
Wichita Falls, Texas
May 20, 1938This commercial cover with Wichita Falls, Texas cachet, is the only one that I currently own that was from Texas. The #10 envelope has a Northwest Texas Novelty Co. corner card and was mailed to the G[r]oetchen Tool Company in Chicago, Illinois. There are no backstamps.
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Dec 13, 2017 18:14:54 GMT
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Dec 17, 2017 15:02:06 GMT
Neguanee, Michigan
May 19, 1938The city of Neguanee is located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. As suggested in the cachet, its genesis was the discovery of iron ore in 1845. At present, this is one of only 3 Michigan NAMW covers in my collection (Farley's collection had 131 different Michigan cities and towns).
|
|
|
|
Post by jamesw on Dec 17, 2017 19:40:02 GMT
Gentlemen, if I may be allowed to add a cover to this collection. Morgantown WV is the county seat of Monongalia County in West Virginia, and the home of West Virginia University, which is featured on this cover.  Sadly, this cover seems to have been too close to someone's cup of morning coffee, at some point in its career. |
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Dec 23, 2017 22:03:02 GMT
Bloomington, Illinois
May 19, 1938
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Jan 10, 2018 11:23:52 GMT
Allentown, Pennsylvania
May 19, 1938
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Jan 13, 2018 21:30:43 GMT
East Palestine, Ohio
May 15 and May 21, 1938The first cover shown is hand-painted and the plane/cloud underneath the CDS is a cut-out that has been glued to the cover. If you didn't already know, it appears that East Palestine was (is?) renown for its fine dinnerware.
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Jan 24, 2018 17:15:47 GMT
Fruitland Park, Florida
May 17, 1938Fruitland Park is apparently where Summer spends the Winter.  This is one of the covers recently sent to me by firstfrog2013 .
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Feb 19, 2018 21:39:33 GMT
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
May 19, 1938The first cover with the 6 cent dull orange, perf 10.5x11 Winged Globe (Scott C19; Jun 30, 1934) and the second with the 6 cent dark blue & carmine, perf. 11 Eagle holding shield, olive branch and arrows (Scott C23; May 14, 1938). The certifying handstamps bear the signature of the Lancaster postmaster, Charles M. Howell, who became the acting PM on June 30, 1934 and was appointed PM on March 18, 1935.
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Mar 4, 2018 17:27:59 GMT
Here are a few more GRIT Publishing covers that were flown during National Air Mail Week: Barnet, Vermont
May 16, 1938
 Hampton, Tennessee
May 17, 1938
Holladay, Tennessee
May 17, 1938
  Pettit, Texas
May 16, 1938
 Port Arthur, Texas
May 16, 1938 |
|
tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,385
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Mar 16, 2018 12:45:08 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by ronbreznay on Jun 2, 2018 1:14:19 GMT
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 
|
|
This is one of the covers recently sent to me by 
