First day cover for the U.S.S. MUGFORD

first day cover

PHILATELY
USA, MA, Boston; USA, OH, Mansfield
1937-12-17
paper
overall: 3-5/8 x 6-1/2 in.

First day cover for the U.S.S. MUGFORD (DD-389, built 1936), destroyer; front of envelope has cachet in brown ink featuring silhouette of the U.S.S. MUGFORD underway with clouds and seagulls, printed on left "SHAKEDOWN/ CRUISE/ USS MUGFORD/ Destroyer No. 389/ F. HORTON SPONSOR"; two stamps on right, top stamp features portraits of Stephen Decatur and Thomas MacDonough with a square-rigged vessel, possibly the U.S.S. SARATOGA between them, printed on stamp "UNITED STATES POSTAGE/ DECATUR/ MACDONOUGH/ UNITED STATES SARATOGA/ 2 TWO CENTS 2", stamp on bottom stamp features portraits of John Paul Jones on left and John Barry on right with three square-rigged vessel in the middle, printed on stamp "UNITED STATES POSTAGE/ JONES/ BARRY/ BON HOMME RICHARD LEXINGTON/ 1 ONE CENT 1"; stamps postmarked "U.S.S./ DEC/ 17/ 1937/ A.M./ MUGFORD." and "NAVY YARD/ BOSTONMASS"; postmark on back "FREDERICK/ U.S./ C.S./ #1280/ HORTON" and "P.O. Box 390/ Port Chester, N. Y."; address handwritten on front "Bob Meeker/ 56 Elmwood Dr./ Mansfield,/ Ohio/ U.S.A." The U.S.S. MUGFORD downed three enemy planes with anti-aircraft fire during the attack on Pearl Harbor (see correspondence file).

2007.25.23