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Smithsonian sunburst Smithsonian National Postal Museum
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  • Post route map of Maryland, Delaware, and D.C.
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Post route map of Maryland, Delaware, and D.C.

Object Details

Description
This post road map of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia shows the postal routes designated for those areas as well as part of New Jersey. The map was published by the Post Office Department in July 1917. The month of July marked the beginning of the Department's new fiscal year and was also the month that new postal route maps were released.
Although not designed for airmail service, this map was used in that way. Early airmail pilots had few instruments, and most relied on markers on the ground for navigating. This map shows the folds that a pilot made in the map so that he could attach it to his leg and easily check it while sitting in the cockpit. The pilot navigated by comparing the map attached to his leg with the landscape and markers (such as railroad tracks) on the ground.
The map was approved for this use by Capt. Benjamin B. Lipsner, who assisted with the organization and operation of the first airmail flights in 1918. Lipsner marked his approval on the map with the date May 11, 1918, four days prior to the first airmail flights.
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
July 1917
Object number
1982.0157.811
Type
Archival Material
Medium
paper; ink
Dimensions
Height x Width: 35 1/2 × 51 in. (90.17 × 129.54 cm)
Place
United States of America
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
Topic
The Gilded Age (1877-1920)
Benjamin B. Lipsner Airmail Collection
Postal Administration
Record ID
npm_1982.0157.811
Usage
Not determined
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm862f51a0f-ada4-4d54-82d3-e5588cd70652

Related Object Groups

  • Explore America: Maryland
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TEMPORARILY CLOSED
Open every day (except December 25)
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Admission is always free!

2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

street map of Postal museum

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