Puerto Rico's First Elected Governor - Scott 983
A San Juan first-day cover for the 3-cent Puerto Rico Gubernatorial Election stamp (Scott 983), issued April 27, 1949. Congress authorized Puerto Ricans to elect their governor in 1947; Luis Muñoz Marín won the 1948 election and was inaugurated January 2, 1949. C. R. Chickering designed the stamp from an Irene Delano sketch of a rural Puerto Rican holding a cogwheel and ballot box. Harry Ioor's green cachet depicts Muñoz Marín and prints 1494–1949 as a 455-year span, but 1494 is not a reliable historical starting date: Columbus reached Puerto Rico in 1493 and the first Spanish settlement was founded in 1508.
- Cachet
- Harry Ioor
- Format
- Other
Stamps
Tags
Dates & Locations
The green two-color cachet by Harry Ioor features an ornate vertical banner design with the years '1494' and '1949' flanking the top, commemorating the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Muñoz Marín, inaugurated January 2, 1949. The artwork includes an illustration of a crowd scene at the bottom, likely depicting the inauguration ceremony. The 3-cent green U.S. postage stamp depicts a man holding a ballot box with the text 'First Gubernatorial Election in Puerto Rico' and 'Inauguration Jan. 2, 1949.' The machine cancel reads 'San Juan, P.R., Apr 27, 9 AM, 1949' with 'First Day of Issue' slogan, and the cover is pencil-addressed to Pehtree Stamp Shop, 224 Pehtree Arcade.
This First Day Cover features a green and white cachet with a vertical banner design, commemorating the 455th anniversary of Puerto Rico's establishment (1494-1949) and the inauguration of Luis Muñoz Marín as its first elected governor. The cachet depicts a crowd scene at the inauguration, with Muñoz Marín seated and holding a document. The 3-cent green stamp (Scott 983) shows a ballot box with a portrait of Muñoz Marín and the text 'First Gubernatorial Election in Puerto Rico, Inauguration Jan. 2, 1949.' The postmark is a circular machine cancellation from San Juan, Puerto Rico, dated April 27, 1949. The cover is addressed in pencil to 'Pehtree Stamp Shop' in Atlanta, Georgia.
(The automatic summaries sometimes misidentify the postmark as part of the cachet artwork.)