This 1969 First Day Cover features a block of four 6¢ W.C. Handy commemorative stamps, postmarked in Memphis, Tennessee on May 17, 1969—the official first day of issue.
W.C. Handy, widely known as the “Father of the Blues,” was a pioneering African American composer and bandleader whose work in the early 20th century helped bring blues music from the Mississippi Delta into mainstream American culture. His compositions such as “St. Louis Blues” and “Memphis Blues” remain foundational to jazz, blues, and popular music.
The cover displays the stamps in a striking block-of-four format with the bold “FIRST DAY OF ISSUE” hand-cancel tying the block to the Memphis postmark, emphasizing its direct connection to Handy’s adopted hometown.
The typed address label shows recipient Donald Skelton of Everett, Washington—an address that places this cover in the Pacific Northwest collector community of the late 1960s.
A clean, well-centered example ideal for topical collectors of music, African American heritage, or classic U.S. commemoratives.
