This 1971 First Day Cover features the 9¢ U.S. Air Mail stamp issued to honor the Wright Brothers, postmarked on the first day of issue at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on May 15, 1971. The Art Craft cachet depicts the 1903 Wright Flyer in flight above the dunes, with portraits of Wilbur and Orville Wright and text noting their historic achievement.
The stamp commemorates the Wright Brothers’ first successful powered airplane flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, an event that launched the age of aviation and transformed transportation, warfare, and global connectivity in the twentieth century.
A notable detail is the dual-stamp franking: the 9¢ Air Mail issue is paired with a 1¢ Thomas Jefferson stamp to meet the prevailing first-class rate, a common practice on early 1970s FDCs. The cachet’s “Series of 1971” inscription ties it to the U.S. Postal Service’s ongoing airmail commemorative program.
This well-preserved Art Craft cachet makes an attractive addition for collectors of aviation topicals, Wright Brothers memorabilia, or classic U.S. airmail postal history.
