Exceptional pairing of unsigned items flown on Howard Hughes's triumphant 1938 around-the-world flight: a superb large 12 x 8 silk flag for the 1939 New York World's Fair carried on the historic flight; and a scarce flown commemorative airmail postal cover, 9.5 x 4, addressed in type, "Howard Hughes Goodwill Flight, To Whom It May Concern, Airdrome, Novo Sibirsk, U.S.S.R.," and postmarked at New York on their take-off date of July 10, 1938. The flag and cover are handsomely mounted, matted, and framed with a plaque to an overall size of 19 x 24. In overall fine condition.
In 1938, Hughes set a new around-the-world record of 3 days, 19 hours, and 8 minutes. With co-pilot Harry Connor, radio operator Dick Stoddart, flight engineer Edward Lund, and navigator Tommy Thurlow, Hughes took off on July 10th from an airfield on Long Island, New York, in a specially designed Lockheed 14N ‘Super Electra’ aircraft with a range of nearly 5,000 miles. Hughes wanted the flight to be a triumph of American aviation technology, illustrating that safe, long-distance air travel was possible. The flight was sponsored by the upcoming New York World's Fair, for which Hughes served as an aeronautical advisor, and the aircraft itself was named 'New York World's Fair 1939.' The covers and flags were the only non-essential items carried on the flight, and are seldom offered together. A remarkable display of material carried on Hughes's important flight.
