ArtCraft "First Day Cover" (i.e., designed envelope with a stamp affixed and cancelled on the day the stamp was issued) from the "Contributors to the Cause "series issued for the United States Bicentennial. Contains illustration after John Trumbull’s historical painting based on his eyewitness account of the Battle of Bunker Hill while serving as a commissioned officer during the American Revolution. Depicts American Major General Joseph Warren’s death proceeding the Americans’ retreat from the hill and includes the figure of Salem Poor, who has also been identified as another Black soldier, Peter Salem, in the context of the painting., Title from item., Date supplied from content., Logo of printer printed in lower left corner: Text "ArtCraft" set on a paint palette with brushes inserted through the hole for the artist's thumb., Image caption: Salem Poor received commendation for his heroics during the Battle of Bunker Hill., Contains ink-stamp postmark: Cambridge, MA. Mar 25 1975 02139 and cancelled "First Day of Issue" color-printed U.S. 10-cent stamp "Contributors to the Cause. Salem Poor. Gallant Soldier" depicting a half-length portrait of Poor with a rifles in hand. Poor was an enslaved African-American man who purchased his freedom in 1769 and became a soldier in 1775., Contains printed address., The Washington Press ArtCraft brand was introduced in 1939 for the printing of First Day Covers. The firm stopped producing ArtCraft First Day Covers in 2016., Gift of George R. Allen, 2022.
Date
[1975]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ephemera - envelopes - Poor [P.2022.42.3]
