National Postal Museum
USS Nautilus pictorial cachet handstamp
August 3, 1958
On August 3, 1958, crew members Frank Holland and John Krawczyk commemorated the first trip by a submarine under the North Pole with this specially-crafted handstamp. Krawczyk created this special cachet in two parts so no one could guess the ship’s still-secret mission. The other handstamp that makes-up this cachet, object number 0.221563.3, illustrates the Arctic ice shelf. When the two stamps are overlaid, as in the cover, object number 0.221563.6, the whale is planting the flag at the North Pole.
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