A Journey of Ingenuity

by Paul M. Zatulove

If this exhibit had a sire by Rail Waghorn's Express from and dam, it would most Mechanical ingenuity, India to England and likely be Dr. Zaven M. 1800's style, is eviden- return, examples of Seron's book “From the ced by Coolgardie Cycle entrepreneurial ingenui- Winged Heels of Express covers of ty. A former British offi- Mercury" and Dr. Robert Western Australia of cer stationed in India set LeBow's collection enti- which sixteen are recor- up a mail service like a tled “5000 Years of ded, Victor Bicycle twel- military operation and Postal History”. This is ve day American ran it so efficiently the a Special Study about Railway Union strike British Postal Service the ingenuity, energy, mail, an Orient Express paid him to carry their and determination of rail from Turkey to mail. The German people to communicate Europe stamped with Seepost connected the by written word while the earliest known far flung Pacific empire improving the timeli- German forerunner, and at the turn of the 20th ness, distance and relia- finally US Railway Post century. A cover from bility of mail. Ordinary Office mail delivered on Deutsch Neu Guinea citizens risked their the last leg of the jour- was sent on a ship that lives. They traveled by ney by Wells Fargo sunk, the mail retrieved, dangerous contraptions. while the final tracks sent on to Germany, They exposed themsel- were being laid to Los only to be assessed ves to plague, perils of Angeles. Postage Due because war, and the forces of the forerunner stamps nature on land, sea, and Mail by Boat on cover had during the in the air. Ingenious Delivery over water cover's odyssey. methods of mail delivery begins with Canoe were the result. The ori- Brigade mail from Special Delivery ginal premise was to Norway House, British “Special” delivery refers create an exhibit that Canada. The pioneer in this exhibit to very would interest all those arch resource with com- some did. Man's first world scene with the steamship S.S. Robert unusual methods of supportive souls in plete indexed issues of wrestling with written "invention" of the gover- Fulton sped the delivery mail delivery. A Chinese attendance at a philate- major philatelic society communication was nment sponsored pre- of mail in 1820. Use of document to an Amoy lic exhibition who publications, many of what to write on. paid adhesive by Sir the Great Lakes, rivers, Naval patrol, a cover accompany the dealers, which are noted at the Rowland Hill. coastal waterways, and from a Japanese war- exhibitors, judges, and bottom of the exhibit The Origin the oceans extended the ship of WW I operating collectors. But as the pages. Every dealer with Early materials consist Moving the Mail distance and speed a mail route during its pages took shape and whom I spoke tried to of a four thousand year A Penny Black cover has where land was an battle patrol, and a philatelists offered sug- contribute an unusual old Sumerian clay mes- a delivery date on impediment. German example of sub- gestions, the challenge method of mail delivery. senger tablet ca. 2032 Christmas day, 1840. The Danube Steamship marine mail are shown. of material and organi- Auctions around the BCE, a papyrus docu- Another example is the Company, Prince's The precursor to fax was zation rose to formida- world were scanned for ment ca. 780 AD, and a only recorded letter ori- Letter Dispatch, less House's printing tele- ble heights. These are affordable acquisitions. Venetian parchment let- ginating in Russia stam- than ten covers known, graph. It claimed to be the criteria, self impo- The most interesting ter sent to a merchant in ped with a Penny Black and Lady McLeod prompt, accurate, and sed, which govern the part of putting the exhi- Alexandria, Egypt dated as it entered the British covers, Britain's first reliable. Tonga Island philatelic story. bit together is the open 1419, one of the ear- . Delivery over stamps in the colonies group's Tin Can Mail Mail delivery from every ended nature of the liest pieces of mail from land begins with a and the first stamp was put in watertight continent and subconti- material. If a viewer can Europe to Africa. The "shirt" letter carried over depicting a ship, were biscuit tins and carried nent is in the exhibit. finish the exhibit and development of postal the Himalayas by Royal all private carriers inward and outward by Mail over land is appro- know an item that markings tackled the foot runner. This is follo- exploiting the efficiency swimmers and outrigger ximately 30%, on water should be included, problem of timeliness wed by mule mail bet- of convenient, fast deli- canoes. The inward mail 30%, and in the air then the exhibit is a suc- and reliability. Covers ween the oceans, ex very of mail. shown is from Argentina 40%. Each item had to cess because it has pro- from the 15th to the Grunin, Sudanese camel Transatlantic mail beca- to the Tin Can Canoe pass a test of philatelic voked thought about 18th century show the mail with inverted over- me a business of its Mailman. importance. The time . However, it is ingenuity of a develo- print, horse cart by one own. Ships were used In Vienna, one of several span of the exhibit was also the most frustrating ping postal service. of the two recorded for mail exclusively, as cities that used pneu- extended again and part of the challenge These items are corre- examples of Australian evidenced by the cover matic tubes for across again. Gathering this because I know it will spondence carried by local carrier McCulloch carried on the S.S. town delivery, the postal material took many never be complete! Milanese Tasso couriers, & Co, and a series of Africa, Cunard Line's authorities guaranteed years and multiple ave- Organization was diffi- Venetian courier service, Wells Fargo Virginia City last wooden paddle delivery within ninety nues. The Postal History cult because all material and royal messengers. Pony Express covers, wheeler. minutes. Another unu- Foundation in Tucson, did not lend itself chro- The official postage including one of two The exhibit continues sual special delivery AZ, was a major rese- nologically. However, stamp comes on the known imprint covers. with two covers of pertaining to fast, faster, city by hot air balloon, thers. In September of and fastest was Previous page, top: ca. Swedish/Finnish feather Ballon Monté, are all that year was 2032 BC Sumerian clay mail. On the exterior of exhibited. It was a hot flown from Garden City, tablet the envelope were one, air balloon that gave NY, USA. Both items are two, or three feathers, birth to the first stamp displayed followed by a Previous page, center: depending on how created for airmail in U.S. airmail cover of ca. 780 AD Papyrus Document in old Arabic. much the sender was 1877. The Buffalo 1918, the Curtiss willing to pay for celeri- Balloon became the Jenny, a cover of many Left: Great Barrier Island model for a private issue firsts. ty. All are present. Pigeon Mail. Obstacles of weather fivecent airmail stamp The development of air- are confronted in the prior to the plane. At the mail and the airplane Below: Waghorn's Express delivery of mail. Buffalo, NY and Erie after WW I can be grea- cover from India to County Historical Socie- tly credited to Colombia, England. Adventures ty the exhibitor found a South America. On the Postmarks from rarely photo of the inaugural ground, its mountain Center below: Buffalo Balloon Die Proof. seen latitudes written by lift off of the Buffalo capital was months polar expedition explo- Balloon over Buffalo away from the seacoast, rers exemplify the cou- harbor. The balloon was an uphill route that was rage, curiosity, and forti- so named because the an arduous trek along a tude of men and their citizens of Buffalo con- river filled with rapids. dogsleds. The content of tributed $1500 toward By air it was a matter of Jeaffreson, Shackleton, its construction. The hours. The exhibit con- Scott, and Amundsen photo verifies the simila- tains a 1919 cover of correspondence, i.e. rity of the balloon and the first flight. A com- "eating the ponies" to the stamp. One of two plete set of twenty stay alive, “enduring known proofs is shown. Curtiss Jenny labels constant gale force In 1898-99 sixty miles with slogans promoting winds”, adds human off the coast of New flight, nine designs of interest to this philatelic Zealand the first regular which were overprinted adventure. It truly airmail service began. and used as temporary emphasizes the risk that The Great Barrier Island stamps for the first was taken while still Pigeon Mail Agency and mails. Next, ocean pursuing communica- its competitor the liners were equipped tion with the outside Service delivered mail with airplane catapults world creating covers between Auckland and to speed delivery of mail sought by collectors. the island for ten years. by one day. Overprinted Obstacles of war, bloc- Both the Agency and stamped covers from kade and siege, are exa- the Service printed the first westward cata- mined. A unique and stamps. One of three pult launch in 1928 important letter written known flimsies, the from the ile de France in 1806 was put in a name given the delicate are displayed. The diri- bottle and tossed into message paper sheet, of gible displaced catapult the Atlantic Ocean. It the first Service issue is mail until its demise helped precipitate the exhibited. There are with the 1937 crash of War of 1812 between flimsies of the Service the Hindenburg. the United States and second and third issues Recovered mail from the England because it was with content that ratifies crash is displayed. a documented account the necessity for the experi- by an American citizen pigeon mail to connect ments from Europe and of how he was impres- the island inhabitants North America follow. sed into the British Navy with the outside world. The last two pages are from an American mer- Both Agency issues reserved for the grand chant ship. A U.S. Civil appear on flimsies. The finale of ingenuity in War letter carried by first available covers achievements of mail blockade runner shows from Government spon- delivery, stamped mail This collection will the ingenuity of a sored airmail are from to and from the Soviet Southern officer expor- the 1911 flight that space station, MIR. be offered by ting cotton. It is ironic took place February 18 This is the epitome of that the letter breaks the at the Allahabad, India the lengths to which we blockade, transfers to a U.P. Exhibition only strive to deliver mail Harmers of London British ship that first eight years after the faster, farther and with stops in a Northern port flight by the Wright bro- reliability. in the autumn 2008 and then continues to England where the letter is delivered. The siege of Paris, capi- Collezionare Storia Postale è come viaggiare nel tempo e nello spazio. tal of the 19th century, L’articolo di Paul M. Zatulove è tratto dalla presentazione della sua collezio- occurred for four ne, dal titolo “Un viaggio dell’ingegnosità” che copre un arco temporale di months in 1870-71 and 4000 anni. Dalle origini della scrittura ai primi corrieri, l’autore racconta la spawned ingenious storia delle comunicazioni e dei documenti postali dai Sumeri alle pergame- methods of mail delivery. ne e quindi alla posta viaggiata con tutti i mezzi possibili di trasporto: con gli sherpa dell’Himalaya, con il Pony Express, con le biciclette, i treni e le navi Mail by Air a vapore, le canoe, la posta pneumatica, i palloni, i primi voli con aerei, la A piece of microfilm posta trasportata da un servizio di piccioni e quella viaggiata per sottomari- containing hundreds of no. Nella collezione, che sarà offerta dalla Harmers di Londra, non manca la letters flown by pigeon posta militare e i documenti storici della Guerra Civile Americana e mail into the city, a zinc dell’Assedio di Parigi del 1870. È anche presente una sezione dedicata alla capsule, “Boule de posta catapultata o recuperata da incidenti di volo (Hindenburgh). L’ultima Moulin”, filled with 400 parte della collezione riguarda la posta tra la terra e la stazione spaziale MIR, letters and floated into l’ultima frontiera della distanza raggiunta dalle comunicazioni postali. the city at the bottom of Il catalogo dell’asta si può richiedere a: the Seine River, and let- Harmers, N. 11, 111 Power Road, Chiswick, London W4 5PY ters carried out of the Tel: 020 8747 6100 - e-mail: [email protected]