~ 1or - ~ ...... 4 - tll umber 7 ·i April 1-958 ~- 'THE AMERICAN AIR MAIL SOCIETY ~~IBPOST A Non-Profit Corporation i j Incorporated 1944 , , ~~;l"OllBNAL
Organized 1923 Under the Laws , 1 of Ohio 'I :1 Official Publlcation of the PRESIDENT AMERICAN AIR MAIL SOCIETY John J. Smith Ferndale & Emerson Sts. Philadelphia 11, Pa. Volume 29 No. 7 Issue No. 336 SECRETARY-TREASURER Ruth T. Smith CONTENTS for April, 1958 Ferndale & Emerson Sts. Philadelphia 11, Pa. Articles SALES MANAGER Convention at Philadelphia ...... 193 Herman Kleinert 213 Virginia Ave. Special Royal Imperforate Printings Fullerton, Pa. of Egypt 194 VICE-PRESIDENTS Pioneer#! - Ship to Shore - 1910 198 Bernard Davis New Zealand Pigeon Post 204 .Joseph L. Eisendrath, Jr. Florence L. Kleinert More About Professor Rowe 210 Robert W. Murch United Nations Emergency Forces Mail 218 EDITOR - Other Publications Balloon Post of Siege of Paris ..... 201 L. B. Gatchell R "f{Ular Features ATTORNEY George D. Kingdom Official Section 203 DIRECTOR OF Airs of the Month 207 FOREIGN RELATIONS Notes on Canadian Air Mails 212 Dr. Max Kronstein Tips by .Julius ...... 214 AUCTION MANAGER Samuel S. Goldsticker, Jr. Aero Postal Stationery News ..... 216 Flights of Pioneer Aviators 1908-14 .... 222 DIRECTORS Alton J. Blank EDITOR Samuel S. Goldsticker, Jr. Louise S. Hoffman Joseph L. Eisendrath, Jr. Ernest A. Kehr 350 No. Deere Park Drive, Highland Park, ill Dr. Southgate Leigh ASSISTANT EDITORS Lester S. Manning Robert W. Murch Dr. Tomas Terry Ernest A. Kehr L. B. Gatchell Earl S. Wellman BUSINESS MANAGER Grace P. Conrath ADVANCE BUJ,I,.ETIN/!'lERYICE 1133 Kerry Lane, Erie, Pa. Herbert Brandner DEPARTMENT AND ASSOCIATE EDITORS 4038 Forest Ave. R. Lee Black, Alton J. Blank, Florence L. Klein Brookfield, Ill. ert, Dr. Max Kronstein, Thomas J. O'Sullivan, Richard L. Singley, William R. Ware, Sol Whit l\IEMBERSHIP DUES man, Julius \Yeiss, James Wotherspoon, John Watson, William '.r. Wynn, Frank Blumenthal $4.00 PER YEAR Samuel S. Goldsticker, Jr., J. S. Langabeer, Dues include subscription to N. Pelletier. THE AIRPOST JOURNAL. Ap ohcants must furnish two ref Pubiished monthly at Albion, Erie Co., Pa.,U.S.A erences, philatelic preferred. At li:ntered as second-class matter at the Post Office least one must reside in Appli at Albion, Pa., February 10, 1932, under cant's home town. Applicants the Act of March 3, 1879. under 21 years must be guar The AIRPOST JOURNAL is not conducted for ;mteed by Parent or Guardian. profit. The Editor, Business Manager, and all Membership may be terminated others serve without compensation. Receipts by the Society in accordance from advertising, subscriptions and contribu with its By-Laws. tions are applied to the betterment of the magazine and the promotion of aero-philately Correspondence concerning ad vertising, subscriptions, back The Editor ;md .. Officers 1.:of,·The .:Ameri~an Air numbers and bound volumes, Mail,. societY.' a,ssumc . no responsibility ·for the address changes and other mat accurac~· of statements made by contributors ters and all remittances should Eve~·, effort is marle to insure correctness of be sent to the Business Mana all articles. i;:er All general editorial copy Subscription Rates: $4.00 per year, 35c per copy. and communications should be Advertisin.!!' Rate Card available from sent to the Editor. Business Manager PAGE 224 THE AIRPOST JOURNAL On dune 27th It's Philadelphia For Our Convention
President John J. Smith announces that the Executive Board of the American Air Mail Society has selected Philadelphia, Pa. for its 1958 and thirty-fifth annual convention. The dates of this annual con clave are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 27th, 28th and 29th, and headquarters will he Philadelphia's newest hotel, the Sheraton.
Coincident with the convention announcement, is the proclamation by President Smith that the Society will sponsor and stage an inter national Airpost Exhibition at the National Museum in Philadelphia. All airpost ~tamp and cover collectors are invited to participate in this competitive exhibition, whether or not they belong to the society. L. B. Gatchell ha~ been appointed chairman of the Board of Judges, and the prospectus containing rules and regulations together with an entry blank for the many classifications is available upon request from Geo. D. Kingdom, P. 0. Box 37, Conneaut, Ohio. The tentative program includes a luncheon and social get-together on Friday, a business session and banquet on Saturday, and an interesting excursion on Sunday. The detailed program wil1 he contained in the May issue of The Airpost Journal. Samuel S. Goldsticker, Jr., the Auction Manager, is providing a hundred lot donation auction as part of the Friday evening program. Mr. Kingdom ha!! been appointed General Convention-E:xlhibition Chairman, and all members and other airpost collectors are invited to write him if interested in further details about this aerophilatelic convention and exhibition. Plan To Attend!
APRIL, 1958 PAGE 193 The Special Royal Imperf orate ~rintings Of Egypt By George L. Lee
In February, 1954 in the Kouiblbeth • .printed ·by the Survey Department of ~al.ace, Cairo, Cyril Harmer, as auc- Egypt through Scott C5'0, !has also tioneer for the Republic of Egyipt, been found to exist specially printed sold Lot #38·0, from "the very valu- one sheet only Imperforate. able postage stamp colledicms of For the record, in April 1926, the Egy.pt and the rest of the world,'' to printing of Egyptian stamps, former an .American dealer. According to ly done abroad, was turned over to the catalogue, this lot •Consi·sted of Survey Department _ a .government one only Imperiforate Sheet of 5'0, agency in Cairo. ·Fuad, then king of printed on 1lhi0k paper, and over- Egypt, was a serious, careful and ·ar .printed ".cancelled" on fback "control dent philatelist. He was putting to A2/9" (50). This lot w.as bid in for gether a fine collection, pul'chasing HO pounds Egyptian, or a little over throughaut the w orld, with expert $4.00 per stamp. professional assistance. Wii!h the start Now it may 'be .of interest to note of the printing iby his Survey De that in a -Decemlber 1957 auction, Syl- partment, he ordered one oil!ly com vester Colby, sald for an American plete Imperforate Sheet :printed from dealer, Lot #209, mint, Air-.Poste each plate, to lbe sent to him for the 1'929, 27:M orange brown Imperforate Royal Collection. These sheets were (with ''cancelled on the 1ba-0k") very printed on thkk, unguarumed, uin1wat fine, (Sanabria 2A, $15'0.00 (.Photo) er.marked paper, on the !back of Est. . $100.iOO !Price realized for the one whi:ch was diagonally printed "Oa.n stamp was $95.00. celled" in English, and on the last The a!bove routine sale 'by Harmer few issued, "Cancelled" in Aralbic. in Cairo was i!he .first event to puib- These special printin~s included one licly disclose the existence of these sheet only of each air post stam.p Special Royal Imperforate Printings. printed by the Survey Department The amazing thing to the writer is during the reign of King Fuad. 1J1ot only that this Special Imper.for After his death, the Survey De .ate ·sheet of 50 of the #2 Airmail partment continued to supply the Stamps of Egypt could be unknown Palace Collection with these special from 19-2·6 to 1954, !but more amaz stamps during the rei:gn of Killlg ing is that every other airmail stamp Far-Ouk aind with the same profess-
PAGE 194 APRIL, 195.S PAGE 195 Tonal curators. design can •be seen as it appears :from These airmail stamps are the ear the initiail impression in the finest liest impressions made from the orig possible mint condition. Secondly, inal finished plates, and only one the •current color or shade of the is such sheet was printed from each sued stamp can lbe determined as it plate. As a consequence, each pos •went through each successive print ition or each control lblocik is UN ing. In other words, they make won IQUE. AH LEgyptian air1rnail stamps derful reference material of the first were printed in sheets of 50 only; printing of each of the original !fin this means that of 14 stamps, namely ished plates. Sanaibria # 2lA, and Sanaibria # l '7 A majority, 1but not iby any means through # ·29 inclusive, only one sheet all of these stamps, has been cata of 50 stamps was printed. logued in the Zeheri 19'56 catalog. We Where reprintings were made on have supplied a icomplete Ust to the some of the stamps, there could be 1Egyptian Philatelic Society which two or more sheets, dependmg upon they are running in L'ORIENT PHI'L the number of times the stamp was A'DELIQUE and which they will no reprinted but again, each control doubt use to 1bring the next Zeheri block or ,position lblock is unique, Catalogue uip-to~date. as there wa•s only one sheet of any A majority of the a inn.ail stamps one printing. This means that of the has been .catalogued 1by Sanalbria Air 43 air post stamps, printed 50 stamps 'Mail Cafailo.gue. We have ibeenadvised. to the sheet,_ only ·510 or p0ssihly up that they will lbrinJg the next Sana to 45'0 of any one stamp could exist. bria Catalogue up-to-date. The estimated total stamps of the Special Issue is 5,950. This shouil.d be A list of the Special Royal Imper Of great interest to collectors !Who fora te Printing Stamps, together with picked up a few of these stamps to Zeheri, Sanabria, Scott, and Mirrlrus ibrighten up their collections iat a few numbers !follows. Any reader who dollars eaich. can add any further data or make Now, most important, and aside any corrections will certainly be do from their .great scar.city, these Spe ing a real service, not 0nly to collec cial Royal Imperforate Printings of tors, who specialize and collect these the airmail staimps are valuable, first, varieties, 'but also to the Egyptian as showing the earliest state of the !Philatelic Society, :and the many col plate. The actual condition of the lectors of ·Egyptiian stamps.
PAGE 196 THE AIRPOST JOURNAL Zeheri Stamps No. of. No. of Sanabria Scott Minkus Aerienne per sheet sheets stamps No. No. No. No. 2Al c 2 17·8 2 50 1 50 24A2 C5 2•58 5 50 8 400 24B2 c 6 25i9 6 50 2 100 34A2 c 7 200 7 50 2 WO 24C2 CB 261 8 50 5 250 8 var. C9 262 9 50 2 10{) 24D2 ClO 2163 10 50 7 350 IO var. Cll 264 11 50 3 150 11 var. C12 265 12 50 2 100 24E2 Cl3 266 13 510 4 200 24F2 C14 267 14 50 3 150 24G2 Cl5 268 15 50 6 300 24H2 C15 268 15 50 var. var. var. 2412 Cl6 269 16 50 9 45() 24 J2 C17 270 17 50 6 300 17 var. Cl8 271 18 5{) 1 50 1:8 var. Cl9 272 19 50 1 50 19 var. C20 273 20 50 1 50 20 var. C21 274 21 50 1 50 21 var. C22 275 22 50 1 50 22 var. C23 276 23 50 1 5·0 23 var. C24 277 24 50 1 50 24K2 C25 27i8 25 50 1 50 25 3 172 279 26 50 1 50 26 3 173 280 27 50 1 50 27 4 281 28 50 1 50 28 4 ~~ 282 29 50 1 50 29 5 176 283 30 50 1 50 34£2 C30 363 31 50 •5 25'0 34C2 C35 3164 32 50 3 150 34D2 C36 365 33 w 4 200 34•E2 C36 365 33 50 var. var. var. 34F2 C37 3'66 34 50 2 100 47A6 C39 406 36 50 3 150 47B6 C40 407 37 •50 2 100 47C6 C41 4-08 38 50 3 150 47D6 C42 409 39 50 3 150 47E6 C43 410 40 50 2 100 47F6 C44 411 41 50 3 150 47G6 C45 412 42 •50 3 150 47H6 C46 41'3 43 5'0 3 150 47 I6 C47 414 44 50 3 1•50 47 J6 C48 415 45 50 2 100 47K6 C49 416 46 50 2 100 47L6 C50 417 47 50 3 150 43 119 5950 Total stamps sheets
APRIL, 1958 PAGE 197 Pioneer J -Ship To Shore -1910
By Thomas J, O'Sullivan
In 1910 the aeroplane rwas still a • have a 10% incline .wifu the outer nerw toy. But its manuf,acturers and end approximately 6'0 feet above the its pilots even ,1Jhen realized it had water. The ship would be '.headed into great potentialities. They exp.eri the wind .for the take off. On iNov mented rwith it in all sorts of ways to ember 4, President Taft canceHed the see how Jiigh it rwould fly, '.horw fast, Navy Department order detaching how far, ,what it would carry, and the torpedo boats to patrnl 11\lfoCurdy's what tricks it would do. One of the course 1because he thought it would things that fascinated them was the be inconsistent with previous refus possibility of flights from and to a als to permit such use of naval ves ship at sea. sels. The p1ane had already b€en The first to make a real attempt at transported to the pier from J3elmont this .was Glenn Curtiss, together with Park and the lumber was on hand to the Hamburg - American Line, a construct the launching device. Mc steamship company operating be curdy. at this time iwas at No:r.foLk, Virginia, giving exhibition ,flights at tween New Yovk and Gerrrnany, and The World, a Nerw Yo.1.'k newspaper. the Jamestown ·Exhibition Grounds. The steamship line was in .the process This day - Friday - rain prevented of building the 900 foot Europa, to his flights, as well as an air meet at be the lar.gest sMp in the world, and Baltimore. In New York it was rain fuought it could incorporate in this ing and the winds were high from the new ship ifeatures to permit ,the use northwest. The tents at the Garden of aeroplanes 'to expedite the delivery City field tWere wrecked. \Because of of mail, small articles, and valuable the constant wind. and rain, and rwith papers at each end of the trans the prdbability of more heavy weath atlantic voyage. er to follow, it was announced that McCurdy's flight, rwas postponed to It ,was first proposed to use the November 24, wh~ he .would attempt steamer Kaiseren Augusta Victoria to fly the same distant from the to see how the scheme wou1d PAGE 2-00 'I1HE AIRPOST JOURNAL Balloon Post Of The Siege Of Paris 18?0-~ l by LOUIS A. CHAINTRIER Transla:ted by DR. EVERETTE. THOMPSON and GEORGE W. ANGERS CHAPTER XWII COLONEL CHARRIS (This balloon was given this name • rwithout the sHghtest incident which to recall the memory of a condemned makes it worthy of 'being noted in a soldier of December 2, 1852.) special manner. Jean Baptiste Charras (son of 'Bar- From the .time of departure the on Joseph Ciharras), officer and poli- aeronaut knew how to attain the alti tician, was iborn at Phals'lx>urg in tude necessary to render the fusil- 1810. He ,fougiht :at the Barricades in lades haNUless. At 3000 meters 1'830 and was elected representative (9840 ft.) he found a steady air cur from Puy de Dome in 1'848. On De- rent that took him rfreely to the east; cember 2, 1'8·52 he rwas put in prison, at 4:20 p.m., he concluded that the driven out of the country to Brussels, distance covered rwas sufficient. stripped of his ar.my rank as Colonel, Thereupon Gilles 'began to prepare and died in ~xile in Basle in 1865. his descent, searching for a favorable The Nineteenth postal 'ball()()n was spot, slightly wooded and far from an chartered by the Administration of important town, S-O that he might Posts .and contained 2-045 cuJbic met- avoid trouble from an enemy force. ers. It was piloted lby Ferdinand The landing was perfectly execut Gilles, called ,the !Merchant, a me- ed in ,a field 1-00 meters from the low chanic who later became a profes- section of a small .place called Mont sional aeronaut. He departed alone. igny •Le Roi, 22 kilometers (aibout He wais to have had as companion l31h miles) northeast of iLangres, Charles De Calonne, ibut that person Dept. Haute-Mame, and 200 kilo was unalble to leave !because of the meters (155 miles) lby bird fligJht from very exacting formalities required lby Paris. It was exactly 4:3-0 p.m. The the Government which was not satis- duration of the flight had 'been 4lh factorily met. ("Le Gaulois" journal hours and the average speed 55 km .. of October 30, 1870). (34 113 miles) per hour. The postal consignment comprised Aided lby the in:halbitants of Mont- (1) EigJht sacks of dispatches weighing 1gny le Roi Gilles iwas alble to deflate a total of 460 kilograms (1012 lbs.). his balloon, pack it into the !basket 'r.his represents ,the heaviest consign- with the dispatches, and have it ment of private correspondence car- transported to the Langres railiway ried 'by a pos,tal iballoon during the station, in spite of the presence in siege of Paris. (2) A basket contain- that city of detachments of the Land ing 6 pigeons, 2 belonging to !Mr. wehr (Gel'man Militia). Prosper Derouard and 4 to Mr. Van We learned from a witness, !Mr. Roosebecke. (3) Five packages (albout Seurot, that the people of 'Montigny 5000 .copies) of the official Journal as le Roi gathered in a crowd around the ballast. The departure took plaice 'balloon without any fear, !because of from the Nor.th Station Octaber 29, the presence of Savoy Volunteers. (It 1870 at exactly noon in a lively west was not until November 1'2, 1870, that wind. J the Prussians made their first ap- The aerial VOY'age was effected pearance in iMontigny.) Passing iby APRIL, 1958 PAGE 201 Chaumont in 'Bassigny on October 30, auts th.ad already preceded him. The Gilles delivered the dispatc;hes into prefects had ibeen instruded oo give the hands of Postmaster Durand. him aid and assistance during the Gilles arrived in Tours on November trip. In the course of the journey a 1st wihere he placed himself at the prefect had received the following disposai of Mr. Steenackers, director dispatch: general of the Posts. Before closing "Aeronaut Gilles arrives with Col the story of thiJS balloon one must onel Charras." The prefect presents point out that its name g,ave rise to himself on the arrival of the train, some confusion originating in the tel finds ilVIr. Gilles and says to him: egram issued lby the Prefect of Haute "You are alone, Monsieur? Wlhere is Marne in these words: Co1onel Oharras?" "I.t is in the iba,g "Ohaumont Octaber 30, 9:30 a.m. - gage car", ansrwers Mr. Gilles. "Why Prefect of Haute Marne to the "In don't you !have him get off?" "I can terior Department", Gilles, captain of not, !Monsieur, it weighs 400 kilo the !balloon and Colonel Charles w!ho grams! !" This was the balloon that left Paris at noon have just arrived 'brought the heaviest weight of dis at 6 o'clock at Charmont. Good nerws patches, from Paris. Gilles leaves tomorrow morning for Tours carrying dis patches to the Government." HENRY FARMAN'S 50TH 'Ilhi:s was reported by the news paper "Le Francais", printed at Tours ANNIVERSARY FLIGHT in the following manner in its issue Readers of Jimmie Wotherspoon's for Octolber 31, 1870 - series on "Flights of the Pioneer Av "A new 'balloon, more fortunate iators, 1'908-1914" may think that all than ,that of the 25th, has just landed those listed there are long dead and in the environs of Chaumont. Like .gone. 'Tain't necessarily so. its predecessor it carried a Colonel in chal'ge of dispatches for the Govern On page 156 of the February H>58 ment. The "Colonel" then and the issue we are told of the famous flight aeronaut, for that is its name, left 'by Henry Farman on January 13, immediately for Tours and tomorrow 1908 in a Voison biplane in a one km. we shall doubtless have our impa circular course -to win a 510,000 franc tiently awaited letters. In ·the mean prize. Mr. Farman, now 84 years old, time rwe know lby a ibrief telegram ·was present last January 13.th at a frO!In the two travelers that the news special ceremony commemorating from Faris up to the 2'9th is excel this record flight fifty years previous lent." ly. The large gathering took place at The aibove statements were copied Issy-les-IMoulineux, now the heliport from ,the principal nerwspapers of the of Paris and close to the Seine and province. the Eiffel Tower. While a replica of The events of the war caused fear the Farman ''Chicken Coop" was on of the investment of the city of Lyon. hand, it did not fly. iHorwever, Far Gilles was sent along with Eugene man did fly the 1 km course again, Farcot (pfilot of the Louis Blanc> and this time in a helicopter, the same Iglesia (pilot of ,the Garibaldi) to or "Alouette" pictured on the new 1,- ,ganize the aeronautic post there. 0(}0 franc airmail stamp of France. Steenackers in his .private account re Photos of the WOO flight appeared ports this amusing anecdote: "In De on special cards witlh a special pink cember, 187·0, fearing the investment vignette, a cachet by the mayor of of the city of ·Lyon, I sent Mr. Gilles Isgy, and also a postal commemora and the "Colonel Charms," that had tive pictoriai cachet showing the or !brought him lfrom Baris, into that iginal plane. city, where two professional aeron- - Harry A. Gordon. PAGE 202 THE Am.POST JOURNAL OFFICIAL SECTION AMERICAN AIR MAIL SOCIETY MONTHLY REPORT . From the Secretary Ruth T. Smith, Ferndale & Emerson, Philadelphia 11. Pa. April l, 1958 NEW MEMBERS 4462 Evans, Kathryn P., (Miss), Box 271, Port Washington, L. I., N. Y. 4463 Waltuck, Edmund, 938 Jackson St., Easton, Pa. 4464 Olsen, Charles 0., 2832 Waterbury Ave., New York 61, N. Y. J:4465 Stevenson, Terry (Mr.), 507 Bell Ave., Altoona, Pa. 4466 Baeuerle, R. T., 2603 Liberty Pkwy., Dundalk 22, Md. 4467 Folsom, Esther D., (Mrs.), 67 Hilton Ave., Garden City, N. Y. 4468 Houston, Fred, 1025 Paloma Rd., Box ll45, Monterey, Calif. 4469 Peterson, Helen C., (Mrs.), P. 0. Box 92b. Schenectady, N. Y. 4470 Dlouhy, Frank J., 65 Revere Ave., Union, N. J. 4471 Johnson, Wilber C., 91 Hickory Grove Dr., Larchmont, N Y. 4472 Goshow, William H., 523 Walnut Lane, Philadelphia 28, Pa. 4473 Blomqvist, Ivan (Dr.), Beckomberga Hospital, Bromma, Sweden NEW APPLICATl_ONS de Echevarria, Damian, Monte 293. Wilde F.C.N.G. Roca Pciz., de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Age: .36 Merchant Marine Officer By Ruth T. Smith Klein, Jack, 1632 Park Ave., New York 29, N. Y. Age: 37. Owner Food Market. . AM AS EL By Ruth T. Smith Schaeffer, Anthony G., 302 S. 78th St., Milwaukee 14, Wisc. Age: 41. Time study. AU FF CAM FAM cc OF z ·ID x By Julius Weiss Raes, Walter, 1218 North St., Daytona Beach, Fla. Age: 33. EL FF OF Z PIX X By M. J". J. Kapstein Densberger, Frank C., 1402 North L St., Lake Worth, Fla. Age: 73. Retired. . AU UC FF Z ID APS By Ruth T. Smith Macklin, James K., 3501 Horton Rd., Newtown Square, Pa. Age: 30. Sales Manager. . By Ruth T. Smith Weinstein, J. M., P. 0. Box 419, Pretoria, South Africa. Age: 30. Salesman. APS X By Ruth T. Smith Castle, Hans H., 34-27 Crescent St., Astoria 6, L. I., N. Y. Age: 53. Salesman. AM AUX By Ruth T. Smith Earl, Winifred (Miss), 2 Crandall St, Binghamton, NY. Age: 60. Teacher. · AM AU U20 UC FF RP CF lD By Ruth T. Smith Kiracofe, Elma A., (Mrs.), 1310 S. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach, Calif. Age: LegaL Widow. AM UC EL CAM FAM RP CF lD By Ruth T. Smith Hauck, Edward J., 2115 NE Dekum St., Portland, Oregon. Age: Legal. Retired - U.S. P. 0. By Ruth T. Smith Conter, Charles, R. R. No. 1, Peosta, ·Iowa. Age: 37. Farmer. By Julius Weiss Hale, Rudy M., 601 Comstock Ave., Syracuse 10, N. Y. Age: 57. Stamp Dealer. AM AU SC U20 UC RP Z PIX X By Grace Conrath von Adelson, Walther, Magnolienpark 18, IX, Basel, Switzerland. Age 61. Journalist. By J". J. Smith NEW ADDRESSES Fatout, Oscar H., 4000 E. 5th St., Long Beach 14, Calif. Meissen, James L., 232 Utah St. NE, Albuquerque, N. M. Haring, Robert E., Box 344, Wilmington, No. Carolina Jarnick, Jerome, 3706A West Orchard, Milwaukee 15, Wisc. White, F. D., 10340 S. E. Harrison St., Portland 16, Oregon Crockett, David C., 2111 Stratford Dr., Westbury, L. I., N. Y: Robbins, Kenneth C., 18 Edinburg Dr., N. Charleston, S. C. Chamberlain, Herbert S., 1554 East West Highway, Silver Spring, Md. Am:IL, 1958 PAGE 003 THE NEW ZEALAND PIGEON POST By H. YORK In 1897, a unique service rwas in- • bout the same value as the first issue. aiugurated between New Zealand and The second stamp had ibeen in use the Great Barrier Islands. It was a but a few weeks when the 'New Zea private ente11prise, ibut sanctioned by land Postal authorities made object ihe Postal Department of New Zea- ion to the words "Special Post" rwhic!h land. appeared just below the center of the The Great .Barrier Is1ands lie 85 stamp. Accordingly, in il.VIay all re mhles of Auckland, New Zealand, and maining supplies rwere overiprinted as the 1Postal facilities availalble at "Pigeongram" directly over these that time were haphazard and un words. The actual numlber thus o~r certain, a company was formed to printed was 960, but specimens are transmit mail iby pigeons, from the rarely found and they are valued mainland to the Island. No flights at $35. unused, and possibly do111ble were attempted in the other direction. that used. The service proved to ibe sufficiently In August the new overprint was successful to justify the issuance of a incorporated in a new stamp of the special stamp, with a face value of same design, of .which 12,000 copies 1 shilling, whkh appeared in Nov were ·printed. This was exactly like ember, 1'1398. 'DWo printings were the •previous one eX!cept that the in made of this stamp, the first on thick scription "Pigeongram" was substi paper in sheets of 4 stamps, the sec tuted in the original plate for the ond on slightly thinner paper, in she objectiona\ble "Pigeon Post", and ithe ets of 18, A total of 1'800 stamps com stamp was printed in iblue-green on prised the two printings, of which a yellow-brown paper, instead of the number 300 were used on pigeon- blue paper formerly used. grams. All the stamps mentioned rwere is From the albove figures it may lbe sued by the "Original Great Barrier surmised readily that genuine used Pigeongram Servke", but in 1S99 a copies are more dirfficult to find than rival company under the name of unused copies of these stamps Un "The Great Barrier Pigeongram Ag used, the stamp is quoted at $7. but ency" entered the field. in used condition is rworth consider After carrying messages for some ably more. Very few are known on months, they also printed their own the original letter or pigeongram. stamps. At first only one message· The paper used for the pigeon let was carried by a pigeon, and the ters was an extremely fragile paper, charge was 2 shillings per letter. in fad so delicate .that unless great ,but it was soon found poss~ble to care was used in wrtiing upon it, the give 4 messages to each pigeon, and point of the pen or '-p.~ncil was very the rates were .therefore reduced to likely to tear it to pieces. A special 6 pence for messages carried from form of cancellation ·was used on all the mainland to the Island. Later of the mail carried, which may ibe the service was extended to include found in violet, !blue, or !black, in return flights from the Island, for two lines or circular in form. which a charge of 1 shilling was Apparently .the first stamp was not made. entirely satisfactory, for in January The stamp issued by the second a second stamp appeared, which was company were triangular in fomi, similiar in its central design, lbut !had following the suggesHon made 1by the a very ornate 1border. The second Postal authorities, who felt that a stamp was a greenish iblue in color, triangular stamp would be readily printed in sheets of 24, and has a- distinguished 1from the official Gov- P AGE 204 THE AIRPOST JOURNAL The Original Great Barrier, Marotiri Copper Syndicate and Port Charles Pigeongram Service Agencies at Great Barrier: Whang.aipara, IMr A. S. Howe Port Fitzroy, Mr. P. Warren Okupiu, IMr. C. Werner Marotiri, tM APRI1L, 1958 1PAGE 205 ·-competition, seems to ibe good evi right; an attractive flown cover made dence that this ;postal system, at $13<00. least, managed .to pay its own way An "Alcock- Described and Illustrated through courtesy• of Nicolas Sanabria Co., Inc. 521 Fifth Avenue. New York 17, N. Y. AUSTRALIA PANAMA Quantas' first round the world 6c .green Herrera commemorative flight was celebrated by attractive of 1=954 has been surcharged "5ic 1956 two shilling value. (No. 2'6) 5:c" in red. 6No. 21'9). One sheet was CHILE found with surcharge inverted. APRIL, 19'58 PAGE 2i0'7 Get Your Philatelic Needs From Long MAYBE YOU DO! WE HAVE THE CATALOGUES YOU NEED! Maybe you do have to be a sleuth to dis In addition to a fine line of stamps, seals and cover that Long offers stamps for collec tors. After seeing ads offering Christmas covers, we do carry the major philatelic lines of Seals, Covers, Auctions, Albums and just albums, catalogs, philatelic books and supplies. about anything and everything, it may oc Included, of course, are the 1958 SCOTT CAT cur to you that you seldom see any of our ads mention ST.6'MPS! ALOGUES which are needed by all collectors. Actually, we do deal in stamps . . . we We can supply them: handle them by the millions, really! We sell hundreds of thousands of them at auc Vol. l - Lists US, BC, CA & SA Stamps $5.00 tion every year ... we send out countless Vol. II - Lists the Balance of the world $6.00 approval selections, designed for the par Combined - The above 2 vol. in ONE $10.00 ticular customer ... and we sell from our various price lists. U.S.S. - The Specialized U.S. Catalog $4.00 IF YOU COLLECT STAMPS: We also handle a complete Scott line of albums and sup Let me hear from you if you collect stamps!· Ask for a selection of the kind you wish, on approval. Besides send plements; we furnish all of these items ($2.00 or more post ing stamps ... we send covers .. seals ... a'tl kinds of phila free anywhere in U.S.A.) at publisher's prices. telic sidelines and novelties .. to collectors all over the globe. Your needs in other lines ( Minkus, White Ace, Beardcraft, Your A.A.M.S. number is your reference. Let me know how Wingra 1, Elbe, Etc.) are also stocked by "The Department I may serve you. At present our ONLY Price Lists which include stamps are Store of Philately" in Harrisburg. Write today and tell us The 41st edition COLLECTOR'S HANDBOOK (Which lists how we may help YOU. mostly USA stamps) and a SPECIAL PACKET PRICE LIST. Either or both may be yours for the asking! Your Complete Satisfaction Always Assured When you Deal with Long! Life Member: 1111 2 MA\RK.E'lr S1ro' AAMS APS ELMER Ro LO~G IHA\RRISllllURG, IP A\o SPA PAGE 208 THE AIBPOST jQtJR:NAL APRIL, 1958 PAGE 209 More About Professor Rowe And Other Things By Erik Hildes-Heim This writer has always preached • a transcontinental air service lby that aimnail collectors can derive in means of the Lowe '"Planet Airship". creased pleasure from their material It was a ·continuation of his plan to by learning as muC'h ·albout the events cross the Atlantic ocean in a huge and people associated with it as ip'OS balloon may years previously. There slble. Catalogues are one excellent is an excellent 1bilbliography compiled source for suClh information; contem 'by Lilbrary of Congress a,nd publish porary ibooks lby, and !biographies aib ed by the Sherman F•aivchild Bulbli out, the active participants are an cation Fund of the Institute of Tlhe other field apt to yield interesting Aeronautical Sciences !Which is rec data. Hence the building :up of my ommended. The title is "Aeronautic reference library was !begun at an Americana", and it comprises all early date. As it 'became increasing books and pamphlets on aeronautics ly di:ffiicult to add to my specialty, which appeared in his hemisphere pioneers - foremost where foreign before 1900. In it, item No. 36 reads: precursors are concerned - my col "The air-shtp City of New York; a lecting activities have, rather natur full deS'cription of the air-ship and ally, extended to other !branches of the appavatus to 'be employed in the Aeronautica. aerial voyage to Europe; with a !his "Who was Professor Lowe?" asked torical sketch of the ar.t of balloon an article in the January, 195,3 issue ing, and the aeronaut's address to the of APJ and went on to furnish some public. New York, Baker & Godwin, of the answer. Readers were referred printers, 1859. 24 p. illus. 'Address to "Official Records of the War of to the pulbUc' iby T. S. C. Lowe". the Relbellion of the Union and Con Copies are listed as !being availaible federate Armies" .for more informa at Library of Congress and in !(;he tion on hi:s activities during the Civil li'braries of Harvard College and In W'ar. I !have on my shelves and can stitute of the Aeronautical Sciences. recommend: F. Stansbury Haydon - I am not optimistic enough to ihope Aeronautics in the Union and Con one day to ow.a all the 133 titles - federate Armies. It is a scholarly though ·perhaps I may get a major treatment of the !balloon activities of ity of those printed in the United that period; unfortunately, only vol States in that .period. Long ag-0 I took ume I has appeared so far. (1Editor's a special fancy to this particular note: 'The sulbsequent parts of this Lowe pamphlet and strangely project were long since albandoned.) enough, the day that I received my A "Prospectus" and a !booklet en APJ 'With the iLowe story, the mail titled "'Dhe Latest Development in also ibrought ·a New York ibook deal Aerial Navigation", along with a brief er's catalogue listing this Lowe piece, biography aibout Professor Lowe, offered as "intriguing :adventure at so have long been among my cherished much per page". possessions. This l:atter was com The next day I was to see ([V[acy's piled by his son and presented to me in New York aibout an airmail item with a piece of the Confederate bal for the store's celebl'ation of its hun loon made :flrom si1k dresses donat dredth ·anniversary; so I lost no time ed to the cause iby southern fa.dies. in calling at the ibookdealer's where The .first two items mentioned are I inspected and acquired this old from a later period when the veteran Lowe ·pamphlet. "Wiho can produce aerona:ut iwas still trying to promote a cover carried on one of his ibal- PA:GE 210 THIE AIRPOST JOURNAL * FOR Air Post New Issues loons?" the AIPJ st ory ended. I know SANABRIA of none, !but have lived long enough not to 1be surprised irf one should show up. Of Course. Aeronautical medals are another collecting activity. It may come as a (PAMPHLET ON REQUEST) surprise to others, as it did to me, that they can intermingle with our Want Lists, also airmail hooby. Previously, in :the October, 19·57 Journal, .J have told and naturally the story of lb.ow I stumbled onto Sweden's fir~t airmail rwhile pursu ing the various ramifications of SANABRIA'S Sweden's first airpost. I knew the pilot personally and learned more de itails a1bout this historical event from AIR POST CATALOG him. He showed me the silver medal illustrated here .which had ibeen pre sented to 1him on that occasion. He * had .passed a!Way 1before the last time I visited iDenmark and on that occa sion I !bought his medal which i:s of special ainmail significance to me. You Can't Collect Air Stamps Another medal strikes home closer and should lbe of interest to C.A:M. collectors. The catalogltle duly re without Sanabria cords that the inauguration fligihts between Chicago and iDallas took place on !May 12, 19216, with St. Jo seph as an intermediate stop. This event was of swfrficient historical im portance to the local Chamlber of Commer·ce to have an aluminum Nicolas Sanabria Uo. medal struck to commemorate the date and event on one side and de picting it.he mail ibip.lane of the per lnu. iod on the other side. This memento A. Medawar, Pres. was freely distdbuted at the air field, yet it is doubtful rwhether many 521 FIFTH A VENUE specimen.ts have survived to this date. NEW YORK 17, N. Y. Does any reader know of other simi lar airmail medals? AJPRIL, 195·8 PAGE 211 NOTES ON CANADIAN AIR MAILS LONDON TO LONDON FLIGHT. By Narcisse Pelletier The stamp as illustrated was issued• lots Tully and Metcalf as official mail in August, 1927. 10-1 copies are carriers for the Canadi•an Govern known to have ·been printed in green ment. A mailbag with 97 letters was and yellow on white perforated wove to •be carried. paper by Lawson and Jones Ltd. These .had ibeen approved by the Post No expense had been spared in pre Office Department. Only four of the paring a suita1ble aivfield close to the stamps are known to exist. city. On August 28th, the evening pri or to the take-off, many people ihad gathered to see this monoplane. Early the .following morning the ·two .brave airmen successfully beciame airborne for what •Was intended to be a direct flight to London, 'England. Some hours later a dense fog in the vidn ity of Kingston forced them to re turn. The original flight plans were On July 19th 1927 front page head then modified and a more prudent lines in a Toronto newspaper stated decision was made to leave from Har that Charles Burns, president of Car bour Grace, New.foundliand. ling's Breweries •was offering a $25,- The second attempt was made on 000 prize to the first Canadian or Septem1ber 1st. This time ·they were (Br~tish pilot to fly 1from London, On forced down by fog in a field at tario to London, England. The origin Washburn, six miles from Caribou, ator of this idea was Arthur Carty, a Maine. Five days later they manag reporter on the "London Enterpr ise", ed to complete the flig·ht to Har.bour now called "The London Free Press". Grace. On September 7th, at 7:·25 a. m. eastern standard time, confident Two pilots were chosen from thirty that the last leg of this epic fli.ght applicant·s. These ·were Captain Ter w ould soon ·be completed, the flyer~ rence Bernard Tully and his friend, with a plane that rated a maximum Lieutenant James Vic.tor M etcalf. speed of 131 miles an hour, were last They were products of war flying, seen heading across the Atlantic at lboth having arrived in France with Cape St. Frances, 30 miles away. The the R.A.F. during the war. pilots and plane were never seen As these men had no suitable air again. craft, the company purchased a Stin The technical director of the ill son Detroiter monoplane. On August fated " Sir Jahn Carling Flight" told 12th .this aircraft .was "christened" reporters that the tragedy was not tihe "Sir John Carling" .by 11-year th.rough engine trou1ble 1but possi!bly old Leonard Carling, ·son of Colonel due to fog enveloping the plane, Innes Carling, and great grandson of causing the pilots to lose their !bear the distinguished parliamentarian ings. An accident could also have re whose memory was honored by the sulted from the insistence of the fly naming of this green and gold mono ers that 1 O·O .gallons of gasoline ibe plane. The christening consisted o-f carried in corked five-gallon cans releasing a num'ber of pigeons from a piled behind the pilot's seat. A sud ·cage covered iby a Union Jaclc Fol den drop of the .plane could have dis lowing this, Mayor 'Moore of London lodged one or more of the cans, 'Performed the act of swearing in pi- throwing them tfovward on the fliers PAGE 212 THE AIRPOST JOURNAL and into the path of the .flames from messages and newspapers en route to ·the roaring motors in the nose of the any ships or towns over which he plane. This plane carried a ru'blber passed. Unfortunately, the flig1ht raft with a small radio having a ra never took place, but Lowe, with J. dius of fifty miles and emergency ra H. Steiner, later became one of Lin tions for fifteen days. 'Bhis w•as the coln's Civil war aeronauts. only radio in the aircra:ft and could "May 25, 1866, saw the trial trip not be used until the raft was launch of Solomon Andrews' airship, tihe ed. AERON, at New York, when leaflets A lone cover with a genuine &light •captained "From the Car of Andrews' stamp and proper London, Ontario, Flying Ship" were dropped during markings was seen at the Fipex the ascent. Since no prior announce stamp show in the Spring of 19516. ments had !been made, only a few The owner told us that he !believes people •saw the start. This is the that it had ibeen taken out of the mail reason why most reports begin with lbag when the aircraft returned from the ship in the air, and do not men its first attempt. This person, fear tion the leaflets. Had they been ing that this illegal action could !have dropped over the city during the repercussions, kept it out of sight for flight, there is no douibt that current several years. It was later found in reports would have been more com a collection and 1bought iby the pres plete. ent owner. "In America, in 11898, a certain H. Lloyds of London honored a ver L. Williams used to drop advertise lbal agreement and paid $10,000 to ments aJbout his own aeronautical. each of the 'o/indows, even though the work, and to advertise ;business firms, ·premium had never •been paid. The from his hot-air balloon." Company sponsoring the fl~ght also Mr. O'Sullivan's list, although paid the $25,000. From this, a trust dealing with ;pioneers of ainnail bal fund of over $40,000 for the iwidows looning and advertising, would not ibe and children was set up. complete for the U.S.A. without iadd ing the A- BECHUANALAND • stamp has a map of the Federation A new aerogramme with an impres and is printed in orange and pu11ple. sed stamp bearing a reproduction of The printed instructions are in blue the current 6d. stamp in pu11ple has on the 25c sheet, and purple on the been ordered at the Crown A!gents in 3·0c. Both forms are iblue on white London. unwatermarked paper. The three CHINA lines of instructions on the reverse A new $5.00 National China aero measure 86 mm. gramme was issued on January 15th. MAURITIUS The stamp designed 1by Chen Lien We have received from a collector hui pictures ·a transport plane flying friend in Nairobi, Kenya Colony, a over Taipei. The form is printed in New Mauritius sheet, with the cur red and blue on blue paper by litho rent Queen ·Elizabeth stamp as on ·graphy at the Chinese State Printing 2 LS. The difference lies in the print Workis. The ,printing consisted of ing of the tablets at the upper left. 400,000 sheets. ''BY AIR MAIL/PAR AViION" is in ECUADOR two lines, each on a sepal'ate tablet !Mentioned and illustrated in the spaced between. The words "Air Let January column was the ·OOc denomi ter and Aerogramme" are printed nation of a set of three aerogrammes. below without tablets and also in 2 The other values are 1.4-0 Sucre & lines. 3.00 'Sucres. The stamps on all three MEXICO sheets are printed in blue on 'blue We have examined a 2 LS sheet watermarked paper by Harrison and that has on the reverse View 1, Sons, of London. All three stamps showing the Geneml Post Office of depict monuments of Ecuador. !Mexico City. This sheet has been GHANA listed with views # 2, 3, & 4. in the The first air letter sheet of Marcil past. 6th, 1957 has been reprinted in Lon NETHERLANDS don by the Crawn Agents with not A new :Provisional sheet has been iceable differences. '1. The overprint reported of the same type as 3 LS: ing of Ghana Independence is a dark 30c denomination, (2•5c ;plus 5c) on er, more intense red. 2. The flaps are the 8 LS .green sheet of 1956. This now ·gummed. 3. The form itself is sheet will 'be 1given a full description watermarked Imperial Air !Mail with later on. Castle and the letter K. Sincere thanks to the Directorate MALA YA FEDERATION General of Posts, Taipe, Fonmosa, On December 2nd, two very color General Post Office, Aocra, Ghana, ful sheets of 25c and 30c denomina and Messrs Guthrie, Lava, & Singley. tions were issued. The 25c stamp is At this time we would like to printed in red and dal'k blue showing mention our sincere appreciation to a tin dredge at the left and the Flag co-editor and fellow member Julius of the !Malaya Federation. The 30c Weiss of Cleveland, Ohio, who has PAGE 216 THE AIRPOST JOURNAL been doing so much to iboost the col National Airport Dedication lecting of Aerogrammes and Air Let ter Sheets, in many of his columns Society Changes Naime in various .philatelic .publications. Thanks, Julius, - yes, thanks a mil In a survey of the memlbers of the "National Airport Dedication Soci lion for a job well done. ety" it was noted that most of the members collected at least three dif Farley Gives Airmail Covers ferent types of covers. Since there are not enough collec To Smithsonian tors to join the "N.A.D.S.'', the mem James A. Farley, Postmaster Gen bers voted to change the name to eral of the United States from 1933 "Universal Philatelic Cover Society", to 1940, ha!> presented to the Smith and to include all types of covers. sonian Institution additiona•l items John E. Slavin, Lowell, Mass., was !fvom his personal pihilatelic collec elected President; Kenneth Tall tion, according to Dr. Remington madge, Swartz Creek, !Michigan, Kellogg, director of the Smithsonian's Vice-President, and Daniel Arm U. S. National Museum in whose of strong, 876 Honeysuckle rway, Louis ficial custody is placed the National ville 13, Ky., Secretary-Treasurer. Postage Stamp Collection. The society offers a monthly news Included in ll\/Ir. Farley's latest gift letter, which includes a listing of are President Franklin D. Roosevelt's coming cover events, postal notifica signed sketch of the 6-cent airmail tion service, non-profit cover service stamp of 1>933, as well as an extraor and a monthly special. Dues are one dinary collection of approximately dollar a year. !New members receive 7;50-0 airmail covers, addressed by' free covers and back: issues of the postmasters throughout the Um..ted news letters. If interested, contact States to Mr. Farley during Airmail Mr. Armstrong. Weck, iMay J:5-21, 193•8. The rest of iMr. Farley's philatelic material, including other Roosevelt About That sketches and the autographed ''orig Newfoundland Cover inal" Farley sheets, remains 'With the Smithsonian Institution on loan. The Editor, !Much of this material is on display The Air.post Journal, in the frames of the National PostagE Dear Sir: Stamp Collection in the Smithson February 6, 1958 ian's Arts and Industries Building. With reference to the article in your January issue, on page 118, ·~Notes on a Newfoundland Air !Mail BOOK REVIEW - Envel-Ope", and the cover illustrated, the diamond shaped mark certainly Stamps of the United States indicates that this was counted, but (Continued from Page 215) it is not correct to assume th·at M was fur the :pUTpose of limiting 1fhe mail The earlier regular and commem for the plane trip. This mark is ap orative issues of plate iblocks includ plied peri()dically at some of the ing used pfate blocks of 4 show si APRIL, 1958 PAGE 219 words "Air Letter" also appear on Before the cancelling machine was the form. On the baick of the form purchased, ru:}jber hand stamps only the following text appears: '"Message were used. These continued to be must appear on inner side only. No used in 1both Naples and Cairo; and .tape or sticker may ·be attacihed. If since the transfer of the Base Post anything is enclosed, this letter will Office, are now used in \Beirut. In be sent by ordinary mail." The air Egy;pt, the hand stamp is used for letter form was first used on 27 De correspondence which cannot pass cember 1956. The scale of issue is through the machine, or if the can five free forms to each man every celling machine breaks down. week. In a .Press Release of 12 December The cancellation operation for 1956, the United Nations Department UlNEF mail is carried on by ;the Can of Public Information announced adian contingent stationed in Rafah. that the first UN'EF mail bearing a They are using a Model HD 2 hand United Nations cancellation stamp operated cancelling machine purch had left the Base Post Office, Capo iased from the International Postal dichino Airfield, Naples, for Norway. Suipply Company~ Brooklyn, N. Y. This first UNEF mail consisted of 415 This machine was used initially on letters and postal cards from UNE:F 4 February 195'7. The maclline can soldiers in Egypt. cellation consists of a double circle The hand cancellation stamp is a to the left of the cancelling bars, con circle containing the United Nations taining. the time, day, month and emblem and the words "United Na year of cancellation. Above the :five tions Emergency Force". Some of wavy cancelling bars are the words the hand stamps have the month "United Nations Emergency Force"; first, others the day. The first day of and at the right of the cancelling bars issue was 10 December 1'9516, at which is the United Nations seal. time only mail destined for Norway All the military mail is cancelled received the cancellation, as Norway in Rafah. Prfor to the transfer of the was the first .country to grant United Base Post Office to Beirut, the mail Nations franking privileges for mail arrived in Naples, from where it iwas from the UNEF Force. shipped to the various countries par The contingents of Canada, Swed ticipating in the UNEF mail plan, or en and Yugoslavia have their own elsewhere. The only cancellation special ·cancellations, with first days performed in Naples was a hand can of issue respectively 1 December cellation for the mail of the UNEF 1956, 9 December 1956 and 15 No troops stationed in that city. vember 19'5·6. The ibalance of the con Italian postage stamps were also tingents, namely Brazil, Colombia, used at the Base Post Office in Na Denmark, Finland, India, Indonesia,. ples, for the mail of civilian UNEF an'.d Norway have no special cancel employees; for the military mail lation. which was destined for countries The Lebanese -postal authorities other than those participating in the agreed that, as of 30 January 1958, UNEF ·mail plan; or on occasions mail destined ,for the home countries when there was not a sufficient and ibearing national postage would quantity of mail to make up a bag. be aecepted from the Danish, Norwe- PAGE 220 THE AlRPOST JOURNAL gian and Swedish contingents. The United Nations Emergency Forces provides no philatelic service- NEW ISSUES to collectors or stamp dealers; nor OF can the UNEF air letter form be pur MINT AIRMAIL chased in either unused or used con STAMPS dition from the United Nations Em e11gency Force or from the UN Postal Administration. THE MOST ECONOMICAL The U\NEF air letter form is not, in METHOD OF COLLECTING unused condition, a .postal item, inas NEW ISSUES, INCLUDING much as it is unstamped paper; and RARE AND UNUSUAL it is not handled in any way by the ITEMS AT NEW ISSUE UN lP·osta1 Administration. The forms are purchased by either the Purch PRICES ase Division or Printing Division of the UN Secretariat, and are shipped without passing through the hands of the UN Postal Administration, to - Send For Descriptive Folder • UNEF. ABOUT OUR COVER F. W. KESSLER Over thirty years ago, our air mail 500 FIFTH A VENUE pilots were dressed as pictured. NEW YORK 36, N. Y. These photographs come from the National Geographic ma.gazine. That of the pilots was made by Nat. iL. Dewell and was captioned as follows: A Group of Famous Air Mail Pilots Dressed for Winter Flying AEROGRAMMES ·From left to right, Jack H. Knight, Clarence C. ·Lange, Lerand H. Garri son, and William C. Hopson; on the extreme right, Andrew N. Dunphy, Check List of All formerly Superintendent of the Cen tral Division, at Omaha. There are 745 employees in the Air (Mail Ser Air Letter Sheets vice, with an average salary of $1,- 764. There are 46 pilots, who receive Issued During 1957 a base pay ranging from $2,000 to $3,- 3-00, •and in addition, five, six, or sev en cents per mile flown, depending on the difficulty of the particular route. For night flying the mileage pay is doubled. The average earn a Free For Postage ~ ings for each pilot during the past fiscal year were $6, 760. ~~~~ The lower photograph was made iby the Post Office Department, and WALTER R. GUTHRIE shows the transferring of mail at Re SEA CLIFF NEW YORK no, Nevada, then a major airport on the transcontinental route. AIPRIL, 1958 PAGE.221 Flights of the Pioneer Aviators, 1908 - 1914 (Continued) by James Wolherspoon HAMEL, Gustav. English born. • fuel, continued across the Channel Aero Clulb of France Certificate No. and landed at Oantevbury. On April 358, February 3, 1911. R.Ae.C. 'cer 29, Hamel returned to Canterlbury tificate No. 64, February 14,. 1911 with Miss Davies and they took off Hamel, who learned to fly in France, again for France. Aided by a fol first appeared at Brooklands in Janu Iowing wind the Channel was crossed ary, ·l!Hl. In April he w:as flying ·a in 12 minutes 30 seconds and they HO'Ward Wright at Hendon. In Marcih landed at Hardelot, 42 minutes out he had won a prize for the fastest from Canteribury. On May 21 tihey time on a flight from !Hendon to flew back from Paris to Eastchureh Brooklands ·and return, flying in four staiges. On June 8, he enter it'hrough thick fog all the time in 58 ed the famous "Aerial Del'by" or minutes 38 seconds. On May 6, the ganized by the "Daily Mail" with a first handicap cross country race was trophy and prizes of ·2,50.0 .pounds. flQWn from Brooklands to Brighton 45,000 people paid admission to Hen for a prize of 400 pounds. Scratcih don to watch the &tart. The race de man was !Hamel, with a handicap of veloped into a three-cornered contest 13 minutes ... he won easily in 57 between Sopwith, Guillaux and Ha .minutes 10 seconds, and flew back mel. SoprWith was disqualified, Guil to Brooklands in 34 minutes. iBy June laux was forced to land one mile Hamel was the chief piloi for Bler short of the finish by running out of iots at Hendon. In the Round Brit petrol. Hamel, with [Miss Davies as ain Race Hamel was flying well, !but passenger, crossed the finish line six · on reaching Scotland his engine be minutes after Gaillaux w·as fol'ced gan to ·give him trouble, causing him down and was proclaimed the win to give up at Dumfries. Hamel also ner. He had flown a very good ra WE CAN BE OF SERVICE TO YOU ! ! Ifi.WIN HEIMAN For more thau a quarter of ..t Cc;:lury, COLLECTOitS, , . DEALERS, TRUST COMPANIES :1ml EXECUTORS OF c£STATES have cousnlted us regarding the conversion of Philateli<' Properties into cash. IF YOU WANT TO SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION we can offer early dates and attractive terms. Expert supervis ion of all material by an experienced Philatelic Auctioneer. Liberal advances pending sale. Comprehensive insurance ancl Holmes Electric Protection safeguards your property. while in our possession. Our Catalog distribution is world-wide. OUR PRIVATE SALES SERVICE ... successfuJly places Collections, Stocks and Rarities where this method is preferred. : IMMEDIATE CASH IS WAITING ... . for the outright purchase of suitable material regardless of amount. Our Advice, Backed by 30 Years Experience in the Stamp Trade, is at Ynur Disposal Information Cheerfully Given IR ~ 'IN HEl.ll ..4.N, Inc. Serving American Philately Since 1926 ::! \\' EST 46th STREET NEW YORK 36. Y Y. ROOM 708 TEL.: JU 2-2393