George Washington 250th Birthday — 1982 Masonic Memorial Station Cover
House of Farnam same-day cover for the 20-cent George Washington 250th-birthday stamp (Scott 1952), canceled February 22, 1982, at the George Washington Masonic Memorial Station in Alexandria, Virginia. The official first-day city was Mount Vernon. The cachet pairs a wreath-framed Washington profile and flags with the Memorial; the pictorial event cancel repeats the tower. Mark English created the stamp portrait, with Bradbury Thompson as art director.
- Cachet
- House of Farnam
- Format
- Other
Stamps
Tags
- 1732
- 1982
- 250th birthday
- american flag
- Architecture
- bicentennial era
- Bradbury Thompson
- Commemorative
- founding fathers
- George Washington Masonic Memorial Station
- GeorgeWashington
- HouseOfFarnamCachet
- Mark English
- Masonic
- masonic memorial
- medallion
- monument
- Patriotic
- PictorialCancel
- portrait
- SameDayCover
- Scott 1952
- Unaddressed
- UnofficialFirstDay
Dates & Locations
The cachet features a bronze medallion portrait of George Washington in profile, flanked by two crossed American flags in red, white, and blue, with 'George Washington' in blue script and '1732-1982 250th Anniversary' in red and blue text on the left side. The center of the envelope displays a detailed line-drawing illustration of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial tower in Alexandria, VA, with the text 'George Washington 250th Birthday 1732-1982' in bold print. The stamp is the USA 20c George Washington commemorative (Scott #1952), depicting Washington in profile against a dark background with an American flag motif. The pictorial cancel reads 'George Washington Masonic National Memorial / Alexandria / Feb 22 1982 / 22313 / Terminal Station' in a circular design.
This First Day Cover celebrates the 250th anniversary of George Washington's birth (1732-1982). The cachet features a bronze medallion portrait of Washington surrounded by a laurel wreath and crossed American flags, with a detailed illustration of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial tower in Alexandria, VA. The stamp depicts a sculpted bust of Washington with the dates '1732-1982' and is labeled 'George Washington'. The postmark is a pictorial cancellation with the text 'George Washington Masonic Alexandria, VA' and the date 'Feb 22, 1982', including a line drawing of the memorial tower. The cover is in excellent condition with clear and legible details.
(The automatic summaries sometimes misidentify the postmark as part of the cachet artwork.)