This Art Craft cachet First Day Cover features the 1976 Commercial Aviation 13¢ stamp issued to mark the 50th anniversary of scheduled commercial air service in the United States. The cover is postmarked Chicago, Illinois on the official first day of issue, March 19, 1976.
Commercial aviation began in 1926 with the awarding of the first U.S. Post Office airmail contracts, transforming air travel from experimental flights into reliable passenger and mail service. The stamp and cachet artwork celebrate this milestone with depictions of early airmail aircraft and pilots, including Fred Kelly, one of the pioneering airmail aviators.
The striking black-and-white cachet illustrates a dramatic hand-off of mail sacks between ground crew and a cockpit pilot, alongside a Ford Trimotor-style airliner, highlighting the rapid evolution of aircraft design between 1926 and 1976.
A fine addition for collectors of U.S. airmail, aviation topicals, or Art Craft cachets, this cover remains in excellent condition with a crisp Chicago postmark and vibrant stamp.
