Alan Alda Hand-Signed 1982 "The Barrymores" First Day Cover — Academy Award Nominee & Six-Time Emmy Winner Television Legend Autograph Archive

This listing highlights an exceptional, museum-grade piece of theater history, postal americana, and Hollywood television genealogy: an original, official United States Postal Service First Day Cover issued on June 8, 1982. This historic limited-edition philatelic envelope is personally hand-signed by one of the most brilliant, celebrated actors, writers, and directors in American broadcasting history, Alan Alda.

Featuring a stunning combination of character illustrations, official postal cancellation cachets, and a pristine autograph, this envelope serves as a flawless centerpiece for world-class entertainment history museums, elite autograph archives, and advanced collectors of stage and screen memorabilia.

Key Archive Features & Photographic Context

• AUTHENTIC ALAN ALDA SPECIMEN AUTOGRAPH: Positioned beautifully across the lower-right quadrant of the envelope face, the piece features an absolute exhibition-quality cursive signature "Alan Alda" hand-penned by the television legend in striking blue ink. This bold signature represents a gold-standard specimen of his handwriting pedigree.

• THE HISTORIC "THE BARRYMORES" COMMEMORATIVE STAMP: The upper right corner features an attached, official 20-cent United States postage stamp from the celebrated Performing Arts USA series, titled The Barrymores. The stamp beautifully depicts the painted profiles of the legendary American theatrical dynasty siblings: Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore.

• OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTMARK: The envelope is officially authenticated by the United States Postal Service with a crisp, circular date stamp and cancellation bars applied on the exact day of release:

  • The Cancellation Office: NEW YORK, NY 10001

  • The Historic Date: JUN 8, 1982

  • The Official Designation: Features the machine-printed text bar reading FIRST DAY OF ISSUE.

• ARTMASTER THEATRICAL ILLUSTRATION CACHET: The left third of the envelope features a magnificent, highly detailed engraved historical collage illustration by the renowned design firm Artmaster, titled THE BARRYMORES — Performing Arts Series and underscored by a graceful cursive banner reading First Day of Issue. The artwork portrays the siblings in three of their most famous vintage stage and film roles, each meticulously hand-labeled:

  • Ethel Barrymore — THE KINGDOM OF GOD - 1928

  • Lionel Barrymore — TREASURE ISLAND - 1934

  • John Barrymore — SVENGALI - 1931

Collector's Archival Condition

Dating back over four decades, this premium philatelic envelope is in magnificent, museum-quality condition. The original envelope stock remains exceptionally clean, bright, and structurally flawless, showcasing sharp corners and clean edges.

Alan Alda's distinctive cursive signature is beautifully positioned on the face of the cover beneath the postmark, providing spectacular visual contrast for high-end gallery framing and exhibition. The blue ink retains its vivid saturation with absolutely no fading, bleeding, or smudging. This incredibly rare piece of show business lore comes safely protected within an archival-grade storage sleeve to ensure permanent preservation.

Disclaimer

Please be advised that the text fields, cancellation dates, stamp values, and structural descriptions provided map directly to the exact physical vintage 1982 First Day Cover envelope and verified ink handwriting preserved within these archive sheets. As an authentic biographical collection from an entertainment giant whose peerless career is anchored by 34 Emmy nominations, three DGA Awards, six Golden Globes, an Academy Award nomination (The Aviator), and permanent pop culture immortality for his era-defining role as Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972–1983), the precise character of the pen strokes, the properties of the vintage paper stock, and the alignment of the postal cancellation typography are entirely unique to this individual piece of entertainment history.

Own an Unrivaled Piece of Entertainment History Today!

While common modern reproduction prints, generic publicity photographs, or commercial trading cards can be found anywhere in the open marketplace, an original, hand-signed First Day Cover honoring the legends of the American theater from Alan Alda’s active career timeline represents the absolute zenith of premium entertainment heritage collecting. Serving as a beautiful bridge between the golden era of early twentieth-century drama represented by the Barrymores and Alda's own status as a cultural icon of modern American television, this piece offers an un-staged, official connection to a legendary icon's private creative footprint. Directly tracking to his individual identity alongside the Artmaster records and a flawlessly preserved ink signature profile, this certified archive is a premier crown-jewel centerpiece for any world-class collection of fine art artifacts, classic television history, or rare Americana manuscripts.