Historic 1982 Alan Alda Hand-Signed The Barrymores First Day Cover
This museum-grade, officially issued United States Postal Service First Day Cover—dated June 8, 1982—stands as an exceptional artifact of theater history, postal americana, and classic television biography. Personally hand-signed on the envelope face by brilliant actor, writer, and director Alan Alda, this historic philatelic collectible serves as a beautiful bridge between early twentieth-century stage drama and modern broadcasting heritage.
Released precisely during the final production season of his era-defining run as Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972–1983), this item represents a premier acquisition asset for advanced autograph archives and screen memorabilia collections worldwide.
Philatelic Covenants & Production Specifications
The collectible envelope captures an intricate matrix of pre-printed artwork, vintage postal markers, and historical metadata:
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The Barrymores Commemorative Stamp: The upper-right corner features an attached, official 20-cent United States postage stamp from the Performing Arts USA series, beautifully depicting the painted profiles of the legendary American theatrical dynasty siblings: Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore.
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Official First Day of Issue Postmark: Authenticated by the United States Postal Service with a crisp, circular date stamp and cancellation bars applied on the exact day of release: NEW YORK, NY 10001 — JUN 8, 1982, underscored by the machine-printed text bar: “FIRST DAY OF ISSUE.”
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Artmaster Theatrical Illustration Cachet: The left third features a highly detailed, engraved historical collage illustration by the renowned design firm Artmaster. Titled “THE BARRYMORES — Performing Arts Series,” the artwork portrays the siblings in three of their most famous roles: Ethel in The Kingdom of God (1928), Lionel in Treasure Island (1934), and John in Svengali (1931).
Autograph Pedigree & Archival Condition
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Pristine Alda Signature: Positioned flawlessly across the lower-right quadrant, beneath the official postal cancellation marks, the television legend hand-penned an exhibition-quality cursive signature: "Alan Alda". Written in striking blue ink, the script captures his classic signature style with magnificent line consistency.
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Preservation Status: Dating back over four decades, the original envelope stock remains in magnificent, pristine archival condition. The paper face exhibits sharp corners, clean edges, and completely uniform ink saturation, entirely free of surface creases, bleeding, or modern notation blemishes.
Safely housed inside clear, archival-grade protective display sleeves to guarantee permanent preservation, this certified historical archive represents the absolute zenith of premium entertainment philatelic collecting.
