This 1969 Alabama Statehood 6¢ First Day Cover features an Art Craft cachet and was postmarked in Huntsville, Alabama on August 2, 1969. The stamp depicts the yellow-shafted flicker, Alabama's state bird, perched on a branch of the camellia, the state flower, marking the 150th anniversary of Alabama's admission to the Union.
Alabama entered the Union as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819. The sesquicentennial stamp and cachet honor this milestone with imagery of the State Capitol in Montgomery and a portrait of William Bibb, the state's first governor, reflecting the era's growing interest in state heritage commemoratives.
A notable detail is the Art Craft cachet's dual imagery combining the neoclassical capitol building with Bibb's profile and camellias, a design choice that ties the stamp's floral motif directly to the cachet artwork. The cover is addressed to Mr. Leonard G. Feinen in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, a Bergen County borough with deep roots in early suburban postal history.
A clean, well-centered example with a clear Huntsville postmark, this FDC makes an excellent addition for collectors of statehood issues, Art Craft cachets, or topical bird-and-flower stamps.
