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- U.S. Mail Airplane, circa 1925 - Regular air mail service in the United States started in 1918. Initial air mail stamps cost 24 cents -- eight times more than ground service. But those fees helped subsidize the development of America's airways. After operating air mail flights itself for eight years, the U.S. Post Office Department contracted with commercial air carriers in 1926.
- circa 1925
- Collections - Artifact
U.S. Mail Airplane, circa 1925
Regular air mail service in the United States started in 1918. Initial air mail stamps cost 24 cents -- eight times more than ground service. But those fees helped subsidize the development of America's airways. After operating air mail flights itself for eight years, the U.S. Post Office Department contracted with commercial air carriers in 1926.
- Three-Wheeled U.S. Mail Car Sketches, 1959 - Syd Mead combined his interests in automobiles and science fiction into an influential career in industrial design. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in 1959 and spent 20 months in Ford Motor Company's advanced studio. He later designed the company's pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Mead's futuristic work appeared in films like <em>Blade Runner</em>.
- 1959
- Collections - Artifact
Three-Wheeled U.S. Mail Car Sketches, 1959
Syd Mead combined his interests in automobiles and science fiction into an influential career in industrial design. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in 1959 and spent 20 months in Ford Motor Company's advanced studio. He later designed the company's pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Mead's futuristic work appeared in films like Blade Runner.
- U.S. Air Mail Pilot Charles Ames Delivering First Overnight Mail Service, 1925 - Federally subsidized air mail service encouraged commercial aviation. Pilots first navigated by visible landmarks, flying only in daylight. Lighted beacons, installed along flight paths, enabled night flights. It was dangerous work. Air mail pilot Charles Ames died when his plane crashed in central Pennsylvania, on the route from New York to Chicago, in 1925.
- July 02, 1925
- Collections - Artifact
U.S. Air Mail Pilot Charles Ames Delivering First Overnight Mail Service, 1925
Federally subsidized air mail service encouraged commercial aviation. Pilots first navigated by visible landmarks, flying only in daylight. Lighted beacons, installed along flight paths, enabled night flights. It was dangerous work. Air mail pilot Charles Ames died when his plane crashed in central Pennsylvania, on the route from New York to Chicago, in 1925.
- Charles Lindbergh Leaves Chicago with the U.S. Mail, February 21, 1928 - After barnstorming and piloting in the Army Reserve, Charles Lindbergh started flying mail between St. Louis and Chicago in 1925. The job provided sound experience flying in all conditions. Following his 1927 solo transatlantic flight, Lindbergh used his newfound fame to advance aviation however he could -- from organizing transcontinental airline service to making promotional air mail flights over his old route.
- February 21, 1928
- Collections - Artifact
Charles Lindbergh Leaves Chicago with the U.S. Mail, February 21, 1928
After barnstorming and piloting in the Army Reserve, Charles Lindbergh started flying mail between St. Louis and Chicago in 1925. The job provided sound experience flying in all conditions. Following his 1927 solo transatlantic flight, Lindbergh used his newfound fame to advance aviation however he could -- from organizing transcontinental airline service to making promotional air mail flights over his old route.
- U.S. Post Office Department "Omaha Aerial Mail" Hangar, circa 1925 - Regular air mail service in the United States started in 1918. Initial air mail stamps cost 24 cents -- eight times more than ground service. But those fees helped subsidize the development of America's airways. After operating air mail flights itself for eight years, the U.S. Post Office Department contracted with commercial air carriers in 1926.
- circa 1925
- Collections - Artifact
U.S. Post Office Department "Omaha Aerial Mail" Hangar, circa 1925
Regular air mail service in the United States started in 1918. Initial air mail stamps cost 24 cents -- eight times more than ground service. But those fees helped subsidize the development of America's airways. After operating air mail flights itself for eight years, the U.S. Post Office Department contracted with commercial air carriers in 1926.
- U.S. Marines Guard Air Mail Delivery, Los Angeles, California, 1926 - Regular air mail service in the United States started in 1918. Initial air mail stamps cost 24 cents -- eight times more than ground service. But those fees helped subsidize the development of America's airways. After operating air mail flights itself for eight years, the U.S. Post Office Department contracted with commercial air carriers in 1926.
- 1926
- Collections - Artifact
U.S. Marines Guard Air Mail Delivery, Los Angeles, California, 1926
Regular air mail service in the United States started in 1918. Initial air mail stamps cost 24 cents -- eight times more than ground service. But those fees helped subsidize the development of America's airways. After operating air mail flights itself for eight years, the U.S. Post Office Department contracted with commercial air carriers in 1926.
- Aerial View of U.S. Air Mail Plane above Fort Crook, Nebraska, circa 1923 - Regular air mail service in the United States started in 1918. Initial air mail stamps cost 24 cents -- eight times more than ground service. But those fees helped subsidize the development of America's airways. After operating air mail flights itself for eight years, the U.S. Post Office Department contracted with commercial air carriers in 1926.
- circa 1923
- Collections - Artifact
Aerial View of U.S. Air Mail Plane above Fort Crook, Nebraska, circa 1923
Regular air mail service in the United States started in 1918. Initial air mail stamps cost 24 cents -- eight times more than ground service. But those fees helped subsidize the development of America's airways. After operating air mail flights itself for eight years, the U.S. Post Office Department contracted with commercial air carriers in 1926.
- U.S. Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock Poses with Earle Ovington and the Bag Used to Carry the First U.S. Air Mail, September 1911 - When the Post Office Department sponsored the first official air mail flight on September 23, 1911, it wasn't much more than a publicity stunt. Pilot Earle Ovington carried a sack of mail from Garden City, New York, to nearby Mineola, where he dropped it into a field behind the local post office. Serious air mail operations started in 1918.
- September 23, 1911
- Collections - Artifact
U.S. Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock Poses with Earle Ovington and the Bag Used to Carry the First U.S. Air Mail, September 1911
When the Post Office Department sponsored the first official air mail flight on September 23, 1911, it wasn't much more than a publicity stunt. Pilot Earle Ovington carried a sack of mail from Garden City, New York, to nearby Mineola, where he dropped it into a field behind the local post office. Serious air mail operations started in 1918.
- Charles Lindbergh Flying U.S. Air Mail after His Transatlantic Flight, February 20, 1928 - After barnstorming and piloting in the Army Reserve, Charles Lindbergh started flying mail between St. Louis and Chicago in 1925. The job provided sound experience flying in all conditions. Following his 1927 solo transatlantic flight, Lindbergh used his newfound fame to advance aviation however he could -- from organizing transcontinental airline service to making promotional air mail flights over his old route.
- February 20, 1928
- Collections - Artifact
Charles Lindbergh Flying U.S. Air Mail after His Transatlantic Flight, February 20, 1928
After barnstorming and piloting in the Army Reserve, Charles Lindbergh started flying mail between St. Louis and Chicago in 1925. The job provided sound experience flying in all conditions. Following his 1927 solo transatlantic flight, Lindbergh used his newfound fame to advance aviation however he could -- from organizing transcontinental airline service to making promotional air mail flights over his old route.
- Souvenir U.S. Mail Pouch from John Brown's Farm, Lake Placid, N.Y., 1938-1948 -
- 1938-1948
- Collections - Artifact
Souvenir U.S. Mail Pouch from John Brown's Farm, Lake Placid, N.Y., 1938-1948