USA FIRST DAY COVER : PASS HR 1918!

This fascinating First Day Cover from August 26, 1985, does more than just commemorate a stamp. It’s a poignant call to action by the Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A., Inc., featuring the 22-cent "Veterans World War I" stamp. The cachet vividly portrays a "Doughboy" with the powerful plea: "YOU NEEDED HIM THEN – HE NEEDS YOU NOW."

The urgent purple text, "PASS HR 1918!", directly advocated for House Resolution 1918. This legislation aimed to secure crucial service-connected pensions for WWI veterans and their surviving spouses, highlighting the ongoing needs of those who served in the Great War, decades after the armistice.

USA SEA POST : S.S. AMERICA MAIDEN VOYAGE (1940)

In August 1940, as World War II intensified in Europe, the S.S. America set sail on its maiden voyage, a "Neutrality Cruise" through the Caribbean. This postal cover, cancelled at sea near Puerto Rico, serves as a rare time capsule from that era of maritime elegance. The striking blue cachet details the ship’s route through Charlotte Amalie, San Juan, and Havana.

However, the history of this cover is tinged with irony. While the "Sea Post" postmark represents the height of luxury travel, the S.S. America’s career as a civilian queen was short-lived. Just one year after this letter was processed, the ship was stripped of its finery and commissioned into the U.S. Navy as the USS West Point, trading vacationers for thousands of troops. This cover remains a poignant artifact, capturing the S.S. America in its brief moment of peace before it exchanged its white paint for the battleship gray of war.

USA POST MARK CANCELLATION : SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS (1890)

Location: SPRINGFIELD,  MASSACHUSETTS

Date: MARCH 5, 1890.

Time: 6.30 PM.

USA FANCY CANCELLATION : "3" KILLER (1889)

 Location: NEW YORK, N.Y.

Date: October 18, 1889.

Time: 5 PM.

USA FANCY CANCELLATION : "8" KILLER (1887)

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Date: November 21, 1887.

Time: 11 PM.

 

DETROIT RIVER MAIL BOAT SERVICE 1980 : CARRIED COVER PHILATELY

 

This commemorative envelope was issued to celebrate the first mail run of the 1980 season for the Detroit River Mail Boat Service. This unique postal operation is famous for being the only floating ZIP code (48222) in the United States, utilizing the tugboat J.W. Westcott II to deliver mail to massive freighters while they are still in motion. The envelope features a "cachet" (the artwork on the left) provided by the Motor City Stamp & Cover Club, which depicts the small mail boat alongside a towering freighter to illustrate the "mail-in-the-pail" delivery method.

The postmark is dated April 9, 1980, marking the official start of that year's delivery season after the winter ice had cleared from the Great Lakes. To make it a true collector's item, it includes both a standard circular date stamp and a special pictorial cancellation—the ink illustration over the 15-cent flag stamp—which features a ship and the text "Since 1855." These specific markings verify that the envelope was actually processed through the Detroit Marine Post Office on that historic day rather than just being a souvenir print.

COMIC THEME COVER : USA