First United States airmail issue
Record status
Individual type · research required
Period
1918
Issuing entity
United StatesThe first United States airmail issue consists of postage stamps issued in 1918 specifically to prepay postage for newly established scheduled domestic airmail service. Designed by Clair Aubrey Huston, the stamp was created to meet a 24-cent rate established for inaugural air routes connecting Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City.
The central vignette, engraved by Marcus Baldwin, depicts a Curtiss Jenny JN-4HM biplane modified to carry mailbags. The stamps were patriotically printed in two colors, featuring a red frame and a blue airplane. Production took place in sheets of 100 stamps on flat-bed printing presses, which required each sheet to pass through the press twice.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 4
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The United States Post Office Department established domestic airmail as an official mail service on May 15, 1918, following experimental trial flights conducted earlier in the decade. The Post Office set a 24-cent rate for the inaugural route between Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City, necessitating a new stamp issue. Production was executed rapidly: engraving began on May 4, printing started on May 10, and deliveries reached post offices on May 13. On May 15, Jenny biplane number 38262 departed Washington at 11:47 a.m. on the inaugural flight. Because the stamps required two press passes to print both colors, the production run famously resulted in sheets where the central airplane was inverted.
Identification
- Recognition pointers (from background sources)
- Bicolor design consisting of a red border frame surrounding a blue central vignette. Central vignette depicts a Curtiss Jenny JN-4HM biplane. Carries a 24-cent denomination. Printed in sheets of 100 subjects on a flat-bed printing press.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Catalogue numbers and printing quantities await transcription
- Plate number blocks and positions need a specialist reference