1939 FAM 18 First Flight Cover Pan Am Yankee Clipper Transatlantic Airmail C24 For Sale

1939 FAM 18 First Flight Cover
Pan Am Yankee Clipper Transatlantic Airmail C24
First Scheduled U.S.-Europe Airmail — Marseille Backstamp, Berlin AddressDESCRIPTIONThis is a first flight cover carried on FAM 18, the Pan American Airways route that opened scheduled airmail service between the United States and Europe on May 20, 1939. The Boeing 314 Yankee Clipper left Port Washington, New York that day under Captain Arthur E. LaPorte, bound for Marseille by way of Horta in the Azores and Lisbon. The departure fell on the twelfth anniversary of Lindbergh\'s solo flight to Paris, and the Clipper passed over the New York World\'s Fair on its way out. The mail load was made up largely of first flight covers from collectors, and this is one of them.The cover is franked with a single 30c Trans-Atlantic airmail stamp, Scott C24, the denomination issued on May 16, 1939 to pay the half ounce rate to Europe on this new service. It is tied by a New York, N.Y. circular datestamp of May 20, 1939, 9 AM, with wavy line killer bars. The front carries the blue FAM 18 cachet showing an airliner over the Statue of Liberty and the words First Flight, Trans-Atlantic Air Mail Service, along with a typed route notation reading New York to Horta. The red, white and blue printed Via Air Mail and Par Avion envelope is typed to Mr. Heinrich Gerdessen, Berlin-Friedenau, Ceciliengarten 40, Germany. That address sits in the Ceciliengarten housing estate, a 1920s garden city development near Friedenau that is now a protected heritage site in Berlin.The reverse carries a Marseille circular backstamp (Bouches-du-Rhône) dated the 22nd, which shows the cover completed the Atlantic crossing and arrived in France, along with the typed initials W.J.C. on the flap. The aircraft itself has a place in aviation history. The Yankee Clipper, NC18603, was christened by Eleanor Roosevelt in March 1939, and it was lost in a landing accident on the Tagus River at Lisbon in February 1943. A period cover addressed to Germany just months before the outbreak of war in Europe adds a further postal history angle. Images were scanned at 600dpi.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.CONDITIONSound, complete envelope with the flap intact and no tears or splits. The front shows scattered light foxing and a few small brown spots, including a brown stain along the left edge and toning that passes through the lower portion of the cachet. The perforated edges of the stamp show light toning, and the stamp itself is fully intact and clearly cancelled. The cachet, New York datestamp and typed address are all clear and legible. The top edge is slightly uneven where the envelope was opened. On the reverse, the flap is reinforced with an old strip of paper tape, and the adhesive has left brown staining on the flap and on the lower corners of the envelope. The Marseille backstamp is strong and readable. Please review all photos closely, as they are the best representation of actual condition.