Spanish-American War flag covers produced to inspire patriotism

U.S. Stamp Notes by John M. Hotchner

Having lived abroad for part of my childhood and admired the American flag, I have lived a line from the short story “The Fourth in Salvador” by O. Henry:

“You can’t appreciate home till you’ve left it, money till it’s spent, your wife till she’s joined a woman’s club, nor Old Glory till you see it hanging on a broomstick on the shanty of a [United States] consul in a foreign town.”

A shortened version of this quote can be found on the back of the 1992 Consular Service Bicentennial envelopes (Scott UO86-UO87) used by the United States Department of State to send issued passports to travelers. Figure 1 shows the front of the 75¢ envelope (UO87) and the O. Henry quote from the top flap on the back.

My love of the flag led me to collect Spanish-American War flag covers, such as those shown in Figures 2 and 3.

These illustrated envelopes were created by commercial interests to encourage patriotism ...

To continue reading about Spanish-American War flag covers, subscribe to Linn’s Stamp News.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our newsletter
    Like us on Facebook
    Follow us on Twitter