This exceptional historical airmail cover is addressed directly to Donald E. McCown, one of the most important American archaeologists working in the Middle East during the early 20th century.

The typed address clearly reads:

Mc Cown, Takht i Jamshid, Post Shiraz

“Takht-i Jamshid” is the historical Pers name for Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire and one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.

Donald E. McCown (1910–1985) was a distinguished American archaeologist and Near Eastern scholar associated with the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Between the 1930s and 1950s, he participated in major excavations across the Middle East, including Pers, Mesopotamia, and later the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur.

Most importantly, in the early 1930s, McCown worked directly at Persepolis, alongside legendary archaeologists such as:

• Ernst Herzfeld

• Alexander Langsdorff

• Erich Schmidt

during the formative years of modern archaeological exploration at the site.

This cover is therefore not merely an old postal item.

It is a direct historical artifact connected to one of the pioneering archaeological expeditions at Persepolis itself.

Additional Notable Features

✔ Addressed directly to McCown at the excavation location

✔ Original 1935 postal usage

✔ Multiple authentic transit and postal cancellations

✔ Attractive Pers airmail stamps including aviation issue

✔ Historical route markings

✔ Strong connection to early archaeological field operations

Items directly addressed to named major archaeologists actively working at world-famous excavation sites are considerably scarcer and far more desirable than ordinary commercial covers.