Anyone who’d like to get a special first-day-of-issue postmark for the new holiday stamps has 60 days from the stamp’s issue to request it. Requests for the first-day-o-fissue postmark for the Christmas stamp must be received by December 21, requests for the Winter Holidays stamps must be received by December 9 and requests for the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa stamps must be received by December 10.

To get the postmark, customers should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

(Winter Holidays) (Hanukkah) (Kwanzaa) Stamp(s)
Postmaster
421 Eighth Ave., Rm. 2029B
New York, NY 10199-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for this service.

At the peak of its success during the early 1970’s, international airline Pan was well known for its trademark slogan, “World’s Most Experienced Airline.”  And some of that experience dates back to the birth of Foreign Air Mail.

In the 1920’s, as airmail was ‘taking off’ all across America, the U.S. government was eager to develop mail service between North and South America. On March 8, 1928, Congress passed the Foreign Air Mail Act to regulate that international service.  A few weeks later, the Postmaster General solicited bids for companies to take over a wide-ranging network of mail routes all across Latin America and the Caribbean. Read the rest

By 1917, the U.S. Government had seen enough progress in the development of its air fleet that the administration decided to try something new:  air mail. To get the idea off the ground (literally), Congress appropriated $100,000 for an experimental airmail service.  The innovative service was under the joint control the Army and the Post Office.  It operated between Washington and New York, with an intermediate stop in Philadelphia. The first flight left Belmont Park, Long Island, for Philadelphia on May 14, 1918, and the next day continued on to Washington where it was met by President Woodrow Wilson.  Read the rest

What’s on the design A-List when it comes to Civil War patriotic covers?  President Abraham Lincoln is one of the most expensive, while the Rose of Washington by Charles Magnus is undoubtedly one of the most popular.

The Rose of Washington is a multi-colored Civil War patriotic designed by Charles Magnus.  It is his arguably his best-known work.   The colorful and elaborate rose is printed in blue on one side and bronze on the other.  The Rose of Washington cover features a foldout rose enclosure with numerous scenes and monuments of Washington, D.C.

President Herbert Hoover appointed Walter Folger Brown as his postmaster general in 1929. In 1930, Brown, citing inefficient and expensive air mail delivery, requested legislation from Congress granting him authority to change postal policy.  The legislative body obliged, passing the Air Mail Act of 1930 which gave Brown strong, almost dictatorial power over the nation’s air transportation system.

The main provision of the Air Mail Act changed the manner in which payments were calculated.   The purpose of the provision was to discourage the carrying of bulk junk mail to boost profits and to encourage the carrying of passengers instead.  A second provision allowed any airmail carrier with an existing contract of at least two years standing to exchange its contract for a route certificate giving it the right to haul mail for 10 additional years. 

But it was the third and most controversial provision that raised concern.  The Act gave Brown authority to extend or consolidate routes based on little more than his personal judgment.  Brown took full advantage of his new powers which resulted in one of the most notorious ‘black eyes’ in Post Office history.
Read the rest

When railway mail service began, mostly letter mail was sorted on the cars, which were not equipped to distribute other kinds of mail. By about 1869, other mail, except packages, was sorted as well.

In 1930, more than 10,000 trains were used to move the mail into every city, town, and village in the United States. Following passage of the Transportation Act of 1958, mail-carrying passenger trains declined rapidly. By 1965, only 190 trains carried mail; by 1970, the railroads carried virtually no First-Class Mail.

On April 30, 1971, the Post Office Department terminated seven of the eight remaining routes. The lone, surviving railway post office ran between New York and Washington, D.C., and made its last run on June 30, 1977.

The largest airmail customers were in the banking business. They used the service to send checks and financial papers more quickly. Bankers wanted to reduce the float time of checks and pushed for an extension of routes. Financial papers were light, and the cost to send them was low—just 16 cents an ounce, having been reduced from 24 cents in July 1918 to attract more customers. It was further reduced to six cents per ounce on December 15, in an effort to draw even more customers. In July 1919, the extra charge for airmail was eliminated completely and airplanes began to carry a random selection of mail. The charge would be reinstated in 1924 when regular transcontinental service began.

Postal aircraft could fly with sacks of mail for an average cost of $64.80 for each hour in the air. Pilots received a base pay of about $3,600 per year and then were paid five to seven cents more for each mile they flew, flying an average of five to six hours each day. After a year in operation, postal revenues for the year totaled $162,000. The cost to fly the mail had been just $143,000. This first year of operation was to be the only time in airmail history that the service showed a profit.

The phrase ‘historic event covers’ conjures up images of scruffy old envelopes that passed through the mails when your great-granddad wore short pants and the world moved at a slower pace. 

Also known as souvenir covers and special event covers, these artful message carriers were created for a wide range of unique occasions.  The covers often include a descriptive write-up to explain the event.  One such one-and-only cover:  “President Richard M. Nixon Resignation.” (The Nixon cover includes both text and a photo of the disgraced Commander-in-Chief )

Event covers mark achievements in aviation, entertainment, politics, transportation, sports, and even philately!  The Postal Service traditionally kicks off National Stamp Collecting Month by issuing new commemorative stamps in late September or early October.

So event covers, those collectible bits of history that celebrated World’s Fairs and Amelia Earhart’s around-the-world flight in 1937, are as modern as contemporary space travel.  Covers honoring the 1991 Apollo Space flight and covers dedicated to the new millennium attest to the our continuing fascination with history captured on envelopes and postcards.  Still, however, the allure of days-gone-by and the charm of early 20th Century event covers make them especially prized.

Among the most popular of bygone times captured by event covers is the 1933 Century of Progress.  From May 27 to November 1, 1933, the civilized world was focused upon 424 acres of land along the shore of Lake Michigan, edging Chicago.  It was the one place on earth where you could see ‘tomorrow’…today.  And people brought home a little piece of the future when they purchased colorful event covers and other printed souvenirs.