Last Air Mail Flight In Open Cockpit

Bought this cover at auction mainly for the reference to the "Pony Express of the Air". A fun addition to my early western US postal collection.

When it arrived I looked closely and noticed the event logo says Oct. 14, 1935 yet the large Chicago handstamp reads Oct 14, 1932.

Can someone help me explain the 3 year difference?

Bill



Timeline from EAL history confirms the event:

1935- On January 1, 1935, Captain E.V. Rickenbacker was named General Manager of Eastern Air Lines Division of North American Aviation. In July the Operations and Maintenance Base was moved from Atlanta to Miami. On Oct. 14th the last open-cockpit airmail flight by a scheduled carrier was made by Captain Shelly Charles in a Pitcairn Mailwing from Chicago to Atlanta, and continued on to Jacksonville by Captain J.F. Buckman. By the end of 1935, Eastern had 14 DC-2s and 5 Lockheed Electras. There were 589 employees.

Another link to a picture of the pilot who flew the Chicago to Atlanta leg:

http://forum.virtualthunderbirds.co...=3315&sid...

You have a very interesting piece there. Obviously, the handstamp postmark is in error, as someone apparently put the wrong date slug into the stamp.

What is just as interesting (if not more interesting) is the fact that the embossed envelope is Scott UC3 which was not even issued until July 1, 1934, so you technically have a first day cover postmarked nearly two years before it was even in use!

I'm not sure what the premium is for such an error, but assuming you got it for a relatively reasonable price, I think you've got a definitive "find" there!

Congratulations...and thanks for posting.

This is not my cover, but simply a first day cover for sale on the internet that documents the correct first day of issue of July 1, 1934 for the Scott UC3 postal staionery item:



Just further evidence to prove that your scanned cover postmarked October 14, 1932 contains an incorrect date, as it is postmarked some 21 months before the cover was even issued by the USPOD!