Steinway Patriotic Cover 1943

This article features a Steinway patriotic cover from 1943 in my collection. Though this blog primarily discusses my collection of musical stamps, I also like to feature cover from my collection on occasion. For example, you can see an early American stampless cover, read about a Civil War adversity cover, or learn about one of my zeppelin covers. Of course, each of these covers features a topic related to music.

This is something else entirely and relates to both advertising covers and the philatelic history of World War II. The Steinway family and company has an interesting history during the War. First, all four sons of then president Theodor Steinway served in the military during the role. The factory itself, like most other domestic manufacturers, ceased production of non-military goods. They converted to making products for the war efforts. Meanwhile, the company also had a factory in Hamburg, Germany, that was confiscated by the Nazis and used for wartime production there. It was eventually bombed by the Allies.

This cover from 1943 and a note inside captures the energy and history of the Steinway family and company during the period. It specifically relates to Steinway’s contributions to the war efforts. An internal note reveals that the cover company president Theodore Steinway sent the note. He was towering figure in the music industry, a proud patriot, and a stamp collector. It makes sense that Steinway would have wanted to commemorate the companies contributions to the war effort philatelically.

The Cover

The cover is fascinating. Its main element is in the upper left corner where an image of a plane or glider is superimposed on top of a Steinway grand piano (seen from behind). Underneath, are the words “Wings for Victory.” There is one other place where this cachet (decorated envelope) appears, on this French language site about the history of Steinway.

The effect looks as if the plane is carrying the piano, or perhaps as if the glider is coming out of the piano. It is a visual representation of Steinway’s contributions to the war efforts. Specifically, Steinway made parts for the military’s glider program. According to this critical article about the effort, Steinway made wings and tail surfaces. You can read a far more detailed account of the program here on the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum website.

One confusing element to this cover is that in the lower right corner it says “First Day Cover” in a hand stamp. The cancellation is from New York on January 9, 1943 and ties a patriotic stamp that says “ARMY AND NAVY / FOR DEFENSE.” However, that stamp is from 1940. It seems as though the “First Day Cover” here is in reference to the cachet, not the more typical use for the issuance of the stamp. In fact, the cover says “Copyright 1942 by Theo. E. Steinway,” suggesting this really is all about the cachet / envelope. Many other companies would make special envelopes to advertise all kinds of things and even their patriotic contributions, but they wouldn’t necessarily call out the “First Day Cover” use. Yet, remember, Theodore Steinway was a philatelist!

The Note

Inside the cover is a note card from Theodore E. Steinway who was the president of the Steinway piano company at the time. He was the grandson of the company founder Henry E. Steinway and ran the company from 1927 until 1955. He wrote on the card “With Patriotic Greetings” and then signed it. The card bears the address of 109 west 57th street, the home of Steinway Hall. Finally, there are two hand stamps on the card. Below Steinway’s signature is the stamp for the date Jan 9 1943. Another stamp on the lower left corner once again says “FIRST DAY COVER.”

A Couple of Philatelists

Returning to the cover, you will notice that the address is to George Sloane on Nassau Street in New York City. Sloane was an important philatelic dealer in the City and it seems obvious that Steinway was sharing this piece with a good friend. Read about Sloane here.

Theodore Steinway was himself a noted philatelist. According to his wikipedia page, Steinway was a member of the Collectors Club of New York and was a founder and board member of the Philatelic Foundation. His collections included stamps from New South Wales, a specialization in stamps from Hamburg and the old German States, and stamps and covers that related to his piano business. In fact, the last collection makes him among the early “thematic” collectors. For his contributions to philately, he was given the first Liechtenstein medal in 1952 and his image appears on a 1972 Liechtenstein stamp.

These associations probably help to answer the unusual appearance of the stamp “First Day Cover” on both the note card and the cover. It must have been something of note between the two men to mark the envelope in this way, an unusual use of the term.

A Personal Story

Although I never met Theodore Steinway, I was honored to meet several times his son Henry Z. Steinway. My most memorable encounter was visiting him in his office in Steinway Hall, the office his father used and sent this cover from. On display in his office were many stamps and other pieces of postal history. This led to a discussion about his own collection of music-related postal material. Even though I am a lifelong stamp collector, at the time I did not have a specialization in music-themed material. In retrospect, I give Henry credit for inspiring me in my current collecting passion.

Finally, the Steinway firm also made special pianos for the war effort. These instruments were to bring entertainment and cheer to soldiers on the front lines around the world. You can read about that effort here. One of these instruments now lives at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California. Henry Steinway was a big supporter of this institution and left his own stamp collection to it for future study. Here is a video about the special “Victory Vertical” models made for the war effort.