Do You Remember...
When it was released in December of 1941, the event cover commemorating the first trip of New York Central's flashy, streamlined Empire State Express train - serving New York, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Detroit - was scheduled to be front page news across the country. While the cover certainly achieved status as railroad postal history in 1941... other news of the day eclipsed its significance.
Passengers on the inaugural run were very surprised at the low turnout at trackside en route. But as it happens, the Empire State Express made its inaugural run on December 7th , the day that 350 planes under the command of Japanese admiral Chuichi Nagumo attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor. American dead numbered 2,403
Of the more than 90 ships at anchor, the primary targets were eight battleships. And when the stunning attack ended less than two hours after it began, 21 ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged. American technological skill raised and repaired all but three of the ships: the USS Arizona (considered too badly damaged to be salvaged), the USS Oklahoma (considered too old to be worth repairing)
It was a day that would live in infamy... and serve as the catalyst for one of the most interesting and emotionally compelling areas of naval postal history collecting: Pearl Harbor ship covers. More Interesting Facts...
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| Dear don,
This is not SPAM. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to it either at eBay or my web site. If you wish to unsubscribe see the bottom of this email for more info.
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| A Message from Don |
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Many of you wrote in response to the recent article on naval covers wanting more information. I'm happy to oblige!
Let's start with the past. Naval cancels first appeared in 1908, but little was written or known about them (and there were few collectors) prior to the 1920's. It was at that time that Lieutenant Commander Francis E. Locy wrote an article on the subject, and shortly thereafter he created a system for classifying navy ship cancels.
So how am I doing? I would love to get some feedback from you regarding the newsletter. Let me know about the types and quality of the articles or anything else regarding the newsletter. Email me at don@estampsnet.com.
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| Naval Cancels Then and Now |
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Covers from naval vessels that have been de- commissioned or destroyed (like those from the Pearl Harbor fleet) may be purchased through auctions (like mine) or made by traded for between private collectors. The number of available covers is limited, of course, which increases their cost.
Ships currently in commission, on the other hand, are a rich source for FREE naval covers. And savvy collectors are wise to realize that these relics of the present are 'tomorrow's history,' likely to increase in value as time goes by. The beauty of contemporary covers is that you can create your own by simply sending envelopes to various ships for cancellation. What's more... there's no charge for the service! All it takes is a short note asking that your cover be postmarked and/or cacheted and returned to you.
Address the outer envelope to the correct Fleet Post Office (FPO). You may request more than one cover be cancelled and/or cacheted, but I recommend that you limit your request to no more than two covers so as not to impose on the ship's postal crew. It's also important to put your note and your cover into a large size envelope so that you don't have to fold your cover. A fold detracts from the appearance of the cover and also its value.
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| What's On eBay? |
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Weekly Auctions now closing every Sunday.
I have a good mix of covers this week. Air mail, advertising covers, transatlantic covers and some interesting postmarked covers.
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| FDR The Stamp Collectors President |
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Stamp design is a collaborative effort... even when the lead designer is the President of the United States. A case in point is FDR's sketch for the 1933 Polar Stamp. As a favor to Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, the President designed a commemorative-size stamp. It showed the eastern coast of the United States and South America, western areas of Europe and Africa, and the routes of Byrd's trans-Atlantic, North Pole and South Pole flights.
The 1933 'Little America' Postmark - When FDR insisted that mail bearing his polar stamp be sent to Admiral Richard E. Byrd's expedition base known as 'Little America,' he was motivated by his own understanding of postal history. He realized that collectors would pay dearly for the special cancellation from 'Little America.' The cost of a cover was 53- cents - with 3-cents allocated to postage and 50- cents to finance Byrd's expedition. Admiral Byrd was, of course, deeply appreciative, and wrote the President: "Dear Franklin: I am greatly moved by the wonderful way in which you have helped me at this time of great crisis in my life. My expedition has been so costly that I have been threatened with bankruptcy. It is rather beautiful, Franklin, the way you have come to the rescue of your old friend." Roosevelt's sole request of Byrd was "a letter for my stamp collections." Naturally, FDR received quite a few.
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| Did You Know? |
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1941 was an historic year for the world and for the U.S. Post Office. In response to the continuing withdrawal of Railway Post Office (RPO) trains, the USPS launched a fleet of large busses to handle mail distribution. Experimental HPO (Highway Post Office) service started on February 10th between Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg, VA. It was a success from the start, but its expansion was sidelined with the onset of World War II. When peace was restored, HPO service grew by leaps and bounds with more than 130 routes established between 1948 and 1955. Eventually, both RPO (rural post office) and HPO delivery began to vanish. The last of the 'big bus' routes to operate in the U.S. was the Cleveland, Ohio/Cincinnati, Ohio HPO, which was discontinued in 1974.
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