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 Summary

Pan American Airways (Pan Am) inaugurated transatlantic air mail service under scheduled contract (Foreign Air Mail FAM 18) in 1939. This collection consists of a letter from Kathryn Schieferecke to her two children, Laurence and Bernadine, sent through the New York postmaster. Mrs. Schieferecke arranged for the letter to be flown on the first transatlantic airmail flight operated by Pan American Airways (Pan Am).

 Biographical / Historical

Pan American Airways (Pan Am) inaugurated transatlantic air mail service under scheduled contract (Foreign Air Mail FAM 18) in 1939. The first flight was made on May 20, 1939 by the Boeing Model 314 Yankee Clipper (NC18603) from New York to Marseilles, France. The pilot was Arthur Earl Laporte. Kathryn Schieferecke was the postmaster for Lenora, Kansas. In May 1939, Schieferecke was hospitalized and her two children were temporarily in an orphanage in Abilene, Kansas.

 Identifier

NASM.2015.0021

Creator

Schieferecke, Kathryn

Date

1939

Provenance

Patrick Wilder, Gift, 2015, NASM.2015.0021

Extent

0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a letter from Kathryn Schieferecke to her two children, Laurence and Bernadine, sent through the New York postmaster. Mrs. Schieferecke arranged for the letter to be flown on the first transatlantic airmail flight operated by Pan American Airways (Pan Am). In the letter, dated May 4, 1939, Mrs. Schieferecke encourages the children to keep the letter because it might be valuable someday. The envelope has been stamped on its left side of the front with a blue cachet showing a Boeing Model 314 Clipper in flight over the Statue of Liberty and the words, "United States of America, Trans-Atlantic Air Mail Service, First Flight FAM 18." There is a New York postmark on the front, and a Marseilles postmark on the back flap.

Arrangement note

Collection is in original order.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

Pan American Airways (Pan Am) (USA) Foreign Air Mail (FAM 18) First Transatlantic Scheduled Airmail Flight Flown Letter, Accession NASM.2015.0021, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Air mail service

Aeronautics, Commercial -- Freight

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Philately