Total Solar Eclipse Ivy Cottage Cynwyd PA Provenance
OVERVIEW
Offered is a 1932 United States postal history cover mailed from Philadelphia Pennsylvania to Towson Maryland.
This piece includes its complete original multi page handwritten correspondence on printed stationery from Ivy Cottage Cynwyd PA.
This intact historical correspondence is tied directly to the 1932 Total Solar Eclipse, combining postal history, scientific exchange, and Philadelphia Main Line cultural provenance into a single premier artifact.
STAMP DETAILS
The cover is franked with a 1932 United States Scott 720 regular issue stamp paying the standard 3 cent first class letter rate.
This issue is positively identified as Stanley Gibbons 896 and MICHEL 328.
The stamp features a deep violet color palette depicting the George Washington Stuart portrait.
The stamp was produced via rotary press printing on unwatermarked wove paper with an 11 by 10.5 perforation gauge.
As a postally used example on cover, no original gum remains.
POSTAL MARKINGS
The cover features a clear Philadelphia PA circular date stamp reading OCT 14 1932 with an 11 30 AM time slug.
Securely tying the stamp is a machine slogan cancel advertising:
REGISTER OR INSURE VALUABLE MAIL
The reverse of the cover retains traces of original red wax seals, a scarce survival feature indicating secured personal handling by the sender using their custom stationery.
JOURNEY
This first class letter was dispatched from Philadelphia Pennsylvania on October 14 1932, and routed through the United States postal system to its final destination in Towson Maryland.
ADDRESS AND CONTEXT
The cover is hand addressed in cursive ink to Mr Walter Baird at W Chesapeake Avenue in Towson Maryland.
The enclosed multi page letter explicitly references the receipt of an eclipse picture, placing the correspondence directly within the aftermath of the widely documented Total Solar Eclipse of August 31 1932.
The printed letterhead identifies Ivy Cottage in Cynwyd along Philadelphia's Main Line, a historically significant intellectual region.
The letter's internal references to a newly completed studio, literature by Hendrik Willem van Loon and Lion Feuchtwanger, and the Philadelphia Orchestra align flawlessly with a culturally engaged household.
WHY IT MATTERS
The primary sales trigger is the remarkable preservation of a complete original letter referencing a specific 1932 solar eclipse photograph sent to a scientifically engaged recipient.
The profound Philadelphia Main Line artistic provenance, the cultural context of the correspondence, and the intact documentation create a true crossover artifact.
It holds immense premium appeal for advanced collectors of astronomy ephemera, intellectual correspondence, and United States postal history.
ITEM SPECIFICS
Year of Issue: 1932
Country: United States
Scott Number: 720
Stanley Gibbons Number: 896
MICHEL Number: 328
Denomination: 3c
Color: Deep Violet
Perforation: 11 x 10.5
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Paper Type: Wove
Type: Postal History Cover With Contents
Topic: 1932 Solar Eclipse Astronomy
Theme: Intellectual Correspondence
Era: Pre WWII (1930s)
Postmark City: Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Features: Original Letter Intact Personal Wax Seals
SKU: US-1932-ECLIPSE-IVY-COTTAGE-LETTER
CONDITION
This original cover and its enclosed letter are in very good vintage condition.
The envelope shows normal postal handling wear consistent with transit, including expected age cracking to the personal wax seals on the reverse.
The stamp is heavily canceled as mailed but remains secure.
The multi page handwritten letter is fully intact, clean, and entirely legible with no structural tears or heavy foxing.
It remains a structurally sound and highly displayable piece.