This Art Craft First Day Cover features the 17¢ U.S. Air Mail stamp depicting the Statue of Liberty, postmarked Lakehurst, NJ on July 13, 1971. The striking black-and-white cachet honors polar explorer Richard E. Byrd and his historic aviation achievements.
Byrd’s 1926 and 1929 flights over the North and South Poles, his 1927 transatlantic crossing, and the 1926 U.S. Air Mail flight demonstrated the reliability of long-range aircraft and helped open the modern era of polar and transoceanic aviation.
The cachet illustrates the Fokker trimotor “Josephine Ford” used on the 1926 Byrd Arctic Expedition, with the plane’s name and expedition markings clearly visible—an appealing detail for aviation collectors.
The cover bears a typed address label for Arthur G. Sullivan of Bound Brook, New Jersey, a town located just a short distance from the Lakehurst Naval Air Station postmark site.
A well-preserved example of a 1971 aviation-themed FDC, ideal for topical collectors of polar exploration, airmail, or Art Craft cachets.
