National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974 Search this
Extent:
0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1927-1957
bulk 1928-1931
Summary:
This collection consists of first day air mail covers collected by pilot and philatelic enthusiast Basil Lee Rowe, predominantly during his career as an airline pilot for Pan American Airways (PAA) in the Caribbean area in the period 1927-1931. Collection includes covers carried by Charles A. Lindbergh in his Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" during his tour of the Caribbean in February 1928, and covers autographed by many of the early airline pilots who carried them, including Cy Caldwell, Edwin Musik, Caspar D. Swinson, Charles R. Parmelee, and Rowe himself.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of first day air mail covers collected by Basil Rowe, predominantly during his career as a pilot in the Caribbean area. Most of the air mail was carried by West Indian Aerial Express (WIAE) or Pan American Airways (PAA) between Florida and islands in the Caribbean or Caribbean ports in Central and South America. Some of the first day covers are autographed by the pilots of the flights (including Cy Caldwell, Edwin Musik, Caspar D. Swinson, Charles R. Parmelee, and Rowe himself) or other noted aviators such as Dean C. Smith, or public officials such as Theodore Roosevelt III, then Governor of Puerto Rico. One group of covers were carried by Charles A. Lindbergh in the Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" during his tour of the Caribbean in February 1928. Following the covers is an annotated price list; note that not all items listed are part of this collection. Also included at the end of the collection are PAA forms used by two non-PAA pilots for flights inbound to Miami, Florida, from Havana, Cuba, in July 1931: James Goodwin Hall in his Lockheed Altair "The Crusader" (r/n NR-15W), and Frank M. Hawks in his Travel Air Mystery Ship "Texaco 13" (r/n NR-1313).
Arrangement:
Air mail covers are arranged in chronological order; documents appear following the covers at the end of the collection.
Biographical / Historical:
Basil Lee Rowe (1896-1973) enjoyed a long and successful career in aviation, initially as a military exhibition pilot, barnstormer, air racer, charter operator, flight instructor, aircraft salesman, and rumrunner, before moving to the West Indies to start an airline, the short-lived West Indian Aerial Express, bought out by Pan American Airways in 1928. Rowe became a pioneering senior pilot for Pan Am, flying with them for 28 years before his retirement in 1956.
Related Materials:
See related collection Basil Lee Rowe Collection, NASM.XXXX.0019.
Provenance:
Basil Lee Rowe via Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences, Gift, 1965, NASM.XXXX.0487
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
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.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
On December 1, 1928, Pan American Airways inaugurated service on US contract air mail route (C.A.M.) 25 between Miami (via Jacksonville), Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Pan American Airways, who had been awarded the contract for U.S. foreign air mail route (F.A.M.) 6 between Miami, Florida (USA), Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Puerto Rico (USA) inaugurated service on January 9, 1929. Covers in this group are either signed by PAA pilot Basil Rowe, or addressed to Rowe.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
First air mail flight from Managua (Nicaragua) to Miami, Florida (USA), part of U.S. foreign air mail route (F.A.M.) 5, on May 15, 1929; signed by PAA pilot C. D. [Caspar Dorman] Swinson, and addressed to Rowe.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
On October 19, 1927, the first Pan American Airways flight from Key West, Florida (USA) to Havana (Cuba) was made in the Fairchild FC-2W "La Nina" chartered from West Indian Aerial Express; cover has been signed by WIAE pilot Cy Caldwell.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Signed by PAA pilot Basil L. Rowe flying Pan American Airways (PAA) Sikorsky S-38B (r/n NC304N).
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0487, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
