1930 CAM 20 First Night Flight Cover Buffalo NY Scott UC1 Unclaimed Airmail For Sale

1930 CAM 20 First Night Flight Cover
Buffalo NY Scott UC1 Unclaimed Airmail
Buffalo-St. Petersburg Cover, Held & Marked UnclaimedDESCRIPTIONThis 1930 U.S. air mail stationery envelope carries the 5-cent Scott UC1 indicia, the first air mail stamped envelope the Post Office Department ever issued to the public, introduced in January 1929, making it a distinct postal stationery entire rather than a later-affixed adhesive stamp.It traveled on Contract Air Mail Route 20\'s Cleveland...Buffalo...Albany corridor, flown by Colonial Western Airways, and carries a purple pictorial cachet with a hand-illustrated route map and airplane graphic, boxed and captioned \"FIRST-ALL-NIGHT FLIGHT-JAN. 27, 1930,\" documenting the route\'s shift to round-the-clock night flying. It was postmarked BUFFALO, N.Y., JAN 27, 8:30 PM, 1930, and addressed to Frank Herget, General Delivery, St. Petersburg, Fla. The back tells the rest of the story: the cover reached St. Petersburg\'s post office on January 30, 1930, sat unclaimed at the general delivery window, and was struck a second time on February 14, 1930, a two-and-a-half week hold that triggered a boxed purple \"UNCLAIMED\" handstamp on the front and a pencil strike-through of the address. That combination, an inaugural night-flight cachet cover that also carries genuine dead-mail processing markings, gives collectors two angles in one envelope: contract air mail route history and general delivery undelivered-mail postal history. Every effort is made toward fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you\'re unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I\'ll make it right. Orders placed before Noon CDT ship same day with tracking. All shipments receive rigid, professional packaging, sealed and protected in acid free sleeves. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONFine to very fine for a 1930 commercial air mail cover. The purple cachet box, route map illustration, and BUFFALO JAN 27 1930 postmark are all strong and fully legible, with the 5-cent air mail indicia clean and intact. The typed teal address block is crossed through in period pencil, and the purple \"UNCLAIMED\" handstamp sits clearly above it. On the reverse, the January 30, 1930 St. Petersburg arrival strike is a lighter impression typical of period rubber datestamps, while the February 14, 1930 St. Petersburg backstamp is dark and fully readable; a small pencil notation in the lower corner is period collector or dealer shorthand. There is a gentle mailing fold consistent with 1930s handling, no tears, no stains, and the flap is sound and fully intact. Corners are sharp and square.