"First Flight Regular Mail" pouch

October 6, 1953

This pouch, signed by Chicago Postmaster Carl Schroeder, was one of hundreds of mail pouches used on October 6, 1953, for an experimental service. Under Postmaster General Arthur E. Summerfield, the Post Office Department began transporting first-class letters by air. This specially-marked mail pouch has the words “First Flight / Regular Mail / Oct. 6 – 1953” stenciled on one side. In addition to Schroeder’s signature, markings on the bag note that this is the “original pouch carried by PMG Arthur E. Summerfield” and that the pouch traveled from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, Illinois. A second signature on the bag belongs to E. P. Freeman, the assistant director of the Department’s Bureau of Transportation. The pouch was transported by air from Washington, D.C., to New York City, and finally Chicago, Illinois.