Jon Charles Acker Collection of Commemorative Event Covers and First Day of Issue Stamped Envelopes, MSS.4093

Abstract: U.S.S. Tuscaloosa commemorative covers, including "First Day in Commission" and "Shakedown Cruise" covers, several miscellaneous first day of issue stamped envelopes and other commemorative covers postmarked from the U.S.S. Tuscaloosa, and ten first day of issue stamps, most of which relate to the State of Alabama in some wayScope and Content Note: The collection contains thirty-six U.S.S. Tuscaloosa commemorative covers, including "First Day in Commission" covers (Aug. 17, 1934) and commemorative "Shakedown Cruise" covers, posted from Barbados, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Brazil, in October and November, 1934. There are also several miscellaneous first day of issue stamped envelopes and other commemorative covers postmarked from the U.S.S. Tuscaloosa and ten first day of issue stamps not related to the U.S.S. Tuscaloosa (1968-1987), most of which relate to the State of Alabama in some way. There are approximately twenty-five miscellaneous stamped envelopes not postmarked from the Tuscaloosa and several postcards of the Tuscaloosa including one black and white postcard of the Tuscaloosa passing under the Golden Gate Bridge. There is also a partial envelope with two British stamps.Biographical/Historical Note: An event cover is a type of envelope that is usually decorated with a specific event design and stamped and cancelled with a special event cancel. The design is usually on the left hand side of the envelope and it explains what is being commemorated. The stamp usually coordinates with the celebration, as do the cancellations. First day of issue envelope or cover is a postage stamp on a post card or stamped envelope cancelled on the first day the stamp is authorized for postal use.Stamp collecting hobbyists call envelopes "covers" because letters were originally wrapped in a blank piece of paper - or "cover.