AAIIRRPPOOSSTT JJOOUURRNNAALL

The Official Publication of the American Air Mail Society

June 2012 Volume 83, No.6 Whole No. 984

June’s featured article — Pan Am Notes Page 225 Zeppelins & Aerophilately Ask for our Free Price List of Worldwide Flight covers and stamps. The following is a small sampling – full list on Website!

United States Item #4875: 1912 (July 22) Pioneer Flight card. Photo pc of aviator Paul Peck, Official Mail Carrier. Flown on a Columbia biplane from Coney Island, Ohio, to California, Ohio, during Queen City Aviation Meet. Minor crease in pc, as is usual. AAMC 41a ...... $600.00 Item #3009: 1930 (August 20) Airmail crash cover sent from Fort Worth, Texas. Crashed near Baker, Oregon on August 22. C11 on air - mail cover, Pacific Coast Air Derby blue cachet and handwritten note about crash by Postmaster W.R. Cox. Only second handwritten nota - tion recorded! ...... $200.00 Belgium Item #3017: 1936 (August 28) Balloon post from Gordon Bennett Bal - loon Race, launched from Warsaw winning balloon Belgica , addressed to pilot De Muyter. Russian receiving cancel...... $100.00 France Item #4936: 1928 (August 23) Ile de France cover with C4 addressed to French Consulate in Paris, properly backstamped. C4 centered slightly to the right. Lightly folded down center, otherwise in pristine condition! Maury catalogue value €13,000 = $17,000 ...... $8,500.00 Germany Item #4977: 1930 (May 18) South America flight cover sent Friedrichshafen-Rio de Janeiro with 4M zeppelin, C39. Sent to Buenos Aires, Argentina. S.57 ...... $200.00 Switzerland Item #4963: 1932 (November 14) Do-X oversize cover with C13-14. Printed cover with photo of Do-X. First Swiss postal service of the first flying ship of the world, Zurich-Altenrhein. Neat, minor horizontal crease through center. SLK SF 32.13. 250 sfr = stamps...... $125.00 Turkey Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc. PO Box 3077T, Middletown NY 10940 Email: [email protected] — http://www.hgitner.com

JUNE 2012 PAGE 221 In This Issue of the Airpost Journal President’s — ARTICLES — Jim Graue Message More on Trans-Atlantic Airmail History 1937-1940: Part 3 ...... 233 Ralph Valles The dust is settling. The flurry of activity and action at the begin - A Moment in Time and an Incredible Find ...... 244 ning of the year brought numerous changes, some long overdue and eas - Harlan Radford Jr. ily foreseeable; others unexpected but made to improve quality and ser - Perusing the Web ...... 248 vices and control costs. There is more yet to be done, but at a more mea - William Kriebel sured pace. We have been very pleased with the many complimentary mes - sages from members who approve of the direction we have taken, and —NEWS & FEATURES — especially those who have expressed special appreciation for the quality News of the Shows ...... 256 and timeliness of the Airpost Journal under the very capable editorship Obituaries ...... 258 of Vickie Canfield Peters. Oped: Exhibiting ‘Out of the Box’ ...... 254 Question Central ...... 250 * * * AAMS Literature Inventory Reduction — COLUMNS — For decades our publications sales manager, Greg Schmidt, has Airmail Elsewhere in Print ...... 252 stored our publications and managed sales to members, dealers and Book Review: The Dutch Airmail Catalogue ...... 241 other customers world-wide. Greg provides quality service, timely and Letters to the Editor ...... :...... 224 fast. He does an excellent job. President’s Message ...... 223 Over the years, our inventory of books, monographs and jour - nals has grown to the point where it now occupies 275 square feet of — DEPARTMENTS – warehouse space. A review of our publications sales records over the last Classified Ads ...... 264 several years clearly shows that we will never sell our inventory of sever - Membership Report ...... 263 al publications still in stock, so it is time to reduce our inventory to more realistic levels. This action will have multiple benefits: a more manage - able inventory requiring substantially less storage space (cost) and a more meaningful and realistic publications book value in our financial Editor and Advertising report. Vickie Canfield Peters 11911 E Connor Road Valleyford WA 99036 vcanfi[email protected] How do we go about reducing our publications inventory? We Staff Writers Columnists have established new, realistic inventory levels for all our publications. Joe Kirker Alan Warren: Airmail Elsewhere in Print We now will begin the process of reducing the inventories to those lev - Bob Wilcsek Bob Wilcsek: Zeppelin Letters els. The first step is to offer all surplus inventory to our AAMS members Copyright 2012, The American Air Mail Society . The Airpost Journal (ISSN 0739-0939) is pub - at greatly reduced inventory-reduction prices. On Page 264 you will find lished monthly by the American Air Mail Society, Box 110, Mineola, NY 11501. Periodical a full page ad for our surplus publications. This would be your opportu - postage paid at Spokane WA 99201 and additional post offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to American Air Mail Society, P.O. Box 5367, Virginia Beach VA 23471-0367. Subscription Rate nity to fill out your aerophilatelic library with AAMS publications you $28 per year; $3 per copy. may be missing or to pick up a few to use as gifts, or to contribute to Opinions expressed in features and columns in this publication are solely those of the authors and your local library or stamp club. do not necessarily represent those of the society. * * *

PAGE 222 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 223 Aerophilately 2014 Prospects for an all-airmail exhibition, akin to the highly success - ful Aerophilately 2007, appear very favorable, probably for the fall of 2014. We will pursue this with diligence and expect to have a final deci - PAN AM sion from the APS board in August. This show would have “National Exhibition” status with the APS, with the grand award winner going to the World Series of Philately NOTES in August 2015. We may also seek FIP recognition, as international par - Bob Wilcsek ticipation will be strongly encouraged.

A column focusing on mail carried by Pan American Airways is hardly new. This type of feature has appeared in a variety of American Letters to publications in one form or another for decades. The most immediate past precursor was a column named “PAA Notes,” written and edited by the Editor my good friend George Sioras in the now discontinued Jack Knight Air Log. Other similar writings, also by George, appeared in the “MAPS Bul - letin” (Bulletin of the Metropolitan Air Post Society of New York), where the format was a more free flowing and interactive exchange. The MAPS Article Brings Back Memories Bulletin is still available as an online publication, now edited by Chester I was particularly interested in part 2 of Alistair Watt’s “End of A. Browning with Ernest Wheeler as MAPS president. For more informa - the Great Horseshoe Route” article in the May APJ . On Page 207, he tion on this society (APS Affiliate No. AF0192) and its publication, please writes, “ . . . the flying boat Corinna made the final shuttle flight to Singa - see the website: www.mapsnewyork.org pore . . .” Other members who have provided inspiration over the years My father, Sir Dudley Stamp, CBE, flew home to Southampton, are Bill Turner, Bob Spooner and George Hester (all now deceased), and UK, from Alexandria, Egypt, at Easter in 1939. It was his “first flight” John Johnson, Jr. who is still an active fountain of Pan Am information, and a great adventure for him. I vividly remember him telling me the as is George Sioras. It is a humbling task to continue writing a regular saga when I was age 8. Ah, memories! column on the services of Pan American Airways. Bryan Dudley Stamp As noted above, it has a formidable legacy and is simply an enormous topic. Even one column a month, which is unlikely, could not begin to scratch the surface of such a deep history, from the initial A Nice Welcome Caribbean services to Hawaiian and trans-Pacific services, to PANA - I recently received a really nice AAMS welcome package that GRA, the trans-Atlantic and wartime services and Pan Am’s role in the told me a lot about the society and airmail collecting. American Air Transport Command (ATC) during WWII; not to mention Today, I received the three volume, Sixth Edition, AAMC cata - the services of subsidiaries like Compañía Mexicana de Aviación and logs. Wow! What nice, informative books! I look forward to spending China National Aviation Corporation, Pan American Airways Africa hours (more likely days and weeks) educating myself to the multitude of (PAAA), etc. The history of this one carrier is colossal. I only hope I can forms of past airmail communication. Congratulations to the AAMS for a do it some form of justice. My first Pan Am Notes column begins on the superb job! next page. I hope you enjoy it. John Ranelletti

PAGE 224 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 225 The Route is in the Rate A Remarkable Correspondence About 18 years ago I prepared a consolidation of pre-World War II Australian airmail rates to numerous popular destinations, including the UK, US, Canada, Asia and Europe. The common research resources available were/are faulty and conflicting and the variety of routes to the same destination requiring different rates were puzzling to me. As some - one with a burgeoning interest in overseas Australian airmail rates at the time, I decided to share my findings by putting them into the Airpost Journal. Thus far, these articles have withstood the test of time well, as no one has told me of errors or necessary corrections. At the end of the article I suggested that “. . . the FAM 14 route via Hong Kong starting in June 1940 is certainly the most exotic of all ser - vices to any destination, but especially to the UK.” Both two-ocean and Figure 2 - 6s/5d. cover posted November 20, 1940 from Ger - aldton, Western Australia to Sussex. Censor tape applied in Perth, with same Hong Kong handstamp as cover in Figure 1. Endorsement on tape “Ans Jan 9 1941.” No backstamps. By air all the way, a clas - sic two-ocean cover through Hong Kong to the UK. No backstamps. Endorsed “China-United States.” 50 days to answer.

one-ocean routes went through Hong Kong prior to the inauguration of FAM 19 service to Auckland, New Zealand. I had not seen any covers that used this route to the UK, although I managed to find numerous examples of this service to the United States. I even asked my good friend, Duncan Crewe (the esteemed Hong Kong authority), if he had any such covers or had even seen any. He said he had none, but had seen “several” offered at a recent auction. We then lamented that we missed such an opportunity, albeit in hindsight, as it was not at all clear at the time just how rare those routes and rates are to find on cover. I have been looking for examples of this material to no avail now for more than Figure 1 - One-ocean 4s/7d. cover posted from Tardun, West Australia to Sussex, July 10, 1940 through Hong Kong. Five-dot cen - 18 years. sor tape applied in Perth and violet rectangular “Passed by Censor 3” The recent Cavendish Auction from September 2011 (#742) had handstamp was applied in Hong Kong. “Aust-Hong-Kong-Canada” just such items from the collection of Ian Warn and I am now convinced endorsement is in error, but ubiquitous to much two-ocean mail from that these are one in the same items that Duncan described back in 1994. Australia in 1940. Clearly a postal bulletin of some sort is the source of this error. The mail went from Perth to Hong Kong to San Francis - Perhaps even more surprising, they are mostly from the same correspon - co then to New York by air, then surface across the Atlantic to Eng - dence. One of my pet peeves are dealers and auction houses that break land. No markings of any sort on reverse. This is the only one-ocean up correspondences and sell the items as single lots. Now I have some 4s/7d. cover the author has seen in 18 years. Note “Rec 13 Aug” understanding if it is a large, long correspondence with many duplicates, under censor tape, indicating 44 days in transit. but any correspondence with less than a score of items exhibiting

PAGE 226 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 227 unusual routes or rates absolutely should be held together by dealers and collectors alike. Since they were offered by Cavendish in different lots of multi - ple covers each, I did not request images prior to bidding. Consequently, I did not know they were from the same correspondence until I received them. Only then did I also realize that I had other members of the same correspondence already in my collection, but at a different rate from those received from Cavendish. So, to some extent I partially reassem - bled the correspondence. Of course I have no idea how much “else” is out there, but I now have enough to make the point with this article. For collectors of commercial wartime airmail covers, the most significant development was the closing of the trans-Mediterranean air route in June 1940. This terminated through air service from the UK and Europe to Asia, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. While BOAC was the primary carrier of intercontinental airmail from Europe to Asia and beyond at the time, the original route required a key trans-Mediter - Figure 4 - 5s/10d. two-ocean cover from Geraldton, Western Australia through Auckland to Sussex, UK, January 16, 1941. From ranean crossing to/from Cairo, a route to Asia which avoided long, open the same correspondence as the covers shown in Figures 1-3, but ocean segments or crossings. uses a third route at a third rate. Endorsement on reverse, When service between Europe and Cairo became impossible, “Answered March 25, 1941.” District seven, seven-dot censor tape BOAC shifted the connection from Cairo to Durban, South Africa, with applied in Darwin (scarce). Endorsement, “Via Australia-New surface transport between Durban and the UK. This was not the quickest Zealand-United Kingdom.” 68 days to answer. Compare to “answer time” of 6s/5d. cover in Figure 2 (50 days). Assuming answer time is or surest way to transport airmail between Asia and the UK. The 8,000- equally timely, it seems the extra fee for the 6s/5d. rate was justi - fied (saving about two weeks). The reason why is that Figure 3 cover connected to FAM 14 weekly service from Hong Kong and this cover connected to fortnightly service from Auckland.

mile sea link was subject to both U-Boat interference and time limitations of a long sea voyage for what was supposed to be mail carried by air. An alternative to this route was quickly established using the ocean-crossing capabilities of Pan American Airways in the summer of 1940. This long air route flew across two oceans and one continent. The Atlantic was flown between New York and Lisbon (FAM 18) and the Pacific from San Francisco to Hong Kong (FAM 14). Trans-continental air service was provided by domestic American air carriers connecting with the Pan American routes at the gateway cities. Newcomers to this topic should note that Pan Am was not allowed to carry passengers or cargo between US cities (see cabotage). Figure 3 - Another 6s/5d. cover from the same correspon - dence posted Geraldton, December 6, 1940 through Hong Kong to In July 1940 a new service to Auckland was inaugurated from the UK. No backstamps or receiving endorsements. Pencil endorse - the west coast of the United States, designated FAM 19. Service between ment “Aust-Hong Kong- USA-UK.” the South Pacific and the UK could now also use the combination of

PAGE 228 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 229 FAM 19 and FAM 18 air services, avoiding the long connection to Hong options. I learned this from Duncan Crewe upon realizing that Hong Kong and FAM 14 from Australia. Kong often had different simultaneous rates to the same destination. This all served to fulfill Australian needs nicely, but did so in a This raised the question: why would anyone use the more expensive stepwise manner. For Australian mail patrons, it involved a somewhat choice? Duncan explained that higher rates typically had advantageous confusing mix of routes and rates that overlapped in time. On June 20, features involved. Consider for a moment that airmail is a higher rate to 1940, the route to the UK via Hong Kong was initiated at a rate of 4s 7p any destination over that of surface mail. Factors such as the frequency for each ½ oz. for air to the U.S. and surface to the UK (one-ocean mail, of the service desired or a type of aircraft that could fly the route faster see Figure 1). If air transport was desired all the way, a rate of 6s 5p was (e.g., KLM DC-2 @$1.60 vs. Air Orient Fokker FVII 3mb @ $1.35 from required (see Figures 2 and 3) . However, on July 20, 1940, a competing Hong Kong to UK) would cost more. service was offered: Pan Am’s FAM 19 service connecting at Auckland In this case, Pan Am used Boeing Clippers on all routes, but fre - instead of Hong Kong. The two-ocean rate was 5s 10p (see Figure 4), and quency of service answers the question. Thus, it is possible to find exam - the one-ocean rate for this service was 3s 11p per ½ oz. (see Figure 5). ples of the service through Hong Kong up to December 1941. That’s the The obvious question is: why would the 6s/5d. route/rate theory. The fact is, wartime 6s/5d. covers to the UK from Australia are through Hong Kong be used after July 20, 1940 when you could use the key items for any collection of Australian overseas airmail rates and are 5s/10d. route and rate from Auckland? very difficult to find. The answer is simple: the FAM 19 service was fortnightly while FAM 14 was flown weekly. It is important to realize that new services Pan Am Rate Table for Australia to UK, Pre-World War II did not necessarily replace existing ones. Frequently they simply added (Per ½ oz.) Through Hong Kong One-ocean = 4/7 Two-ocean = 6/5 Through Auckland One-ocean = 3/11 Two-ocean = 5/10

References 1. Wilcsek, Robert: “California Clipper Covers,” Airpost Journal, May 1994. 2. Wilcsek, Robert: “Pre-War Australian Airmail Rates to the UK, USA & Canada and Censorship Markings,” Airpost Journal , November 1994. 3. Wilcsek, Robert: “Pre-War Australian Rates Supplement,” Air - post Journal , September 1995. Acknowledgement Special thanks to Duncan Crewe for help both past and present in preparing this article.

Figure 5 - One-ocean 3s/11d. California Clipper cover posted February 19, 1941 from Sydney to the UK. No markings on reverse. YOU are the American Air Mail Society’s Not part of the “Murphy” correspondence above, but this example completes the set of two-ocean and one-ocean rates through Hong Kong and Auckland. Note “California Clipper” handstamp, which was most important asset. applied in Sydney and “via Canada” endorsement (error, as explained in caption for Figure 1). Take an active role in the AAMS.

PAGE 230 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 231 More on Trans-Atlantic Airmail History 1937 – 1940: Part 3

Ralph Valles

Since the appearance of my reports on the New York Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia Metropolitan Airport and associated history in Parts 1 and 2 in the Airpost Journal (May and June 2011), I have since found that a Part 3 was needed. As with most things, more of the history evolved as more pertinent information and covers were found.

Hamilton (Bermuda) – Baltimore First Flight by Imperial Airways On November 16, 1937, Baltimore, Maryland replaced Port Washington, New York for the winter as the U.S. terminal of FAM 17 (Hamilton, Bermuda – New York). Both Pan American Airways and Imperial Airways began passenger service from Baltimore on November 17. Imperial Airways, the official Royal Mail carrier for Bermuda, inaugurated one-way mail service from Hamilton to Baltimore on November 19, 1937. Little notice of the inaugural mail service by Imperi - al was given, but an alert dealer prepared 100 covers, had them canceled by the Baltimore post office on November 16 and then handed back. The

Inauguration of official airmail service from Hamilton, Bermu - da to Baltimore, Maryland, by Imperial Airways, November 19, 1937.

PAGE 232 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 233 covers were then hand-carried (unofficially) to Hamilton, Bermuda via BA was going to fly beyond the European continent to Africa and South Pan American's first passenger flight from Baltimore. Mail was not America. allowed to be sent from the U.S. because the contract was not yet award - ed (that occurred March 16, 1938). At Hamilton, postage was affixed to the 100 covers and they were turned over to the post office. The Hamilton post office canceled the covers on November 18, 1937 and dispatched them to Baltimore via Imperial Airways' first passenger and “official” mail flight to the new U.S. terminal on November 19, 1937. These 100 inaugural flight covers have the same status, in my opinion, as the June 16, 1937 covers from Hamilton to New York, listed in the American Air Mail Catalogue, Sixth Edition, Volume Three as number F17-1, and as such should be listed as F17-2 Hamilton – Baltimore, November 19, 1937. On April 6, 1938, at the end of the winter season, the U.S. FAM 17 terminal was returned to Port Washington, New York .

First flight cover flown by Swissair from Locarno, Switzerland to Barcelona, Spain, on April 1, 1940. Iberia Airlines to Lisbon to con - nect with Pan American Airways’ trans-Atlantic service to New York.

British Airways Survey Flight No. 4 from London to Lisbon, October 30, 1938.

London – Lisbon Survey Flights by British Airways in 1938 In October 1938, British Airways made four survey flights from London to Lisbon, Portugal as a preliminary to projected service to West Africa, South America and the U.S. via connecting flights with Pan American Airways. Using a Lockheed Model 14 Electra, two of the flights were non-stop, one via Seville, Spain, and one via Bordeaux, First experimental BOAC flight from London to Lisbon on April France. As it turned out, the Lisbon service never began because Spain 8, 1940. refused to allow British Airways to make a refueling stop, necessary if PAGE 234 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 235 BOAC London – Lisbon Experimental Flights in April 1940 In April 1940, BOAC conducted a series of three experimental flights from London to Lisbon in preparation for its twice-weekly service connecting with Pan American’s trans-Atlantic service to the U.S. on June 4, 1940. British aerophilatelic dealer Francis J. Field prepared covers that were carried on these three flights. The first experimental flight was April 8, 1940. Field’s cover was posted April 6, 1940 at 4: 30 p.m. at Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham. It has a British censor's tape, wrapped around the left of the cover from front to back, reading OPENED BY / CENSOR / 3180. On the front of the cover are two directives: a rubber stamp Heston – Lisbon – 8 April 1940; and a DeHavilland DH-91 typewritten By First Experimental / Flight to Lisbon (below the blue "BY AIR MAIL" label and partially covered by the censor’s tape). From Birm - the BOAC experimental flights of April 1940. ingham the covers were transported to London. The DeHavilland DH-91 Albatross, a four-engined aircraft, was On the day of the first flight, the London post office sent the Lis - made of wood. This gave the DeHavilland Company the know-how and bon mail to Heston Airport where it was placed aboard one of BOAC's experience needed for the design and production of the famous Mosqui - aircraft, a DeHavilland DH-91 Albatross acquired from Imperial Airways to, a fast twin-engine World War II bomber. The Albatross could carry 22 after its merger with British Airways to form BOAC on April 1, 1940. passengers plus a crew of four. It was powered by four inverted DeHav - There were two other aircraft that could have participated in illand Gipsy V-12 piston engines. It held a number of speed records and BOAC's experimental flights in April 1940: the Lockheed Model 14 Super flew the London – Paris route in just over an hour. Electra and the Armstrong Whitworth A.W.27 Ensign. Only seven DH-91s were built due to the war. Oddly enough, its Aircraft Cruise Max Range, Capacity, weakness was the fact that it was made of wood, giving it a shorter life- Speed Speed miles pounds span than an all-metal airplane. However, wood was a good material for DeHavilland war planes such as the Mosquito because it was light, strong and signifi - DH-91 Albatross 210 225 1,040 29,500 cantly less detectable by enemy radar. Lockheed 1 4 BOAC's DH-91 left Heston Airport early in the morning of April 8 on its trip to Lisbon. A stop was made at Bordeaux, France as a part of Super Electra 225 247 2,125 17,500 the experimental flight because the range of the DH-91 was only 1,040 Armstrong miles, short of the range needed to make a non-stop 1,150 mile flight Whitworth from London to Lisbon. It was anticipated that a full complement of pas - AW 27 Ensign 170 205 860 49,000 sengers, baggage, mail and fuel would further reduce the range. Weather was also a consideration. When regular service began on June 4, 1940, The Super Electra was fast and had the range to make the 1,150- Bordeaux was kept as a refueling stop on the London – Lisbon route. mile, non-stop flight to Lisbon, but it lacked the carrying capacity of the BOAC's DeHavilland arrived in Lisbon the same day it left Lon - Albatross which also had respectable speed. The Ensign had the most don, as indicated by the circular receiving backstamp, seen on the back carrying capacity but was underpowered, slow and short-range, too low of the cover: LISBOA PORTUGAL / 8.4.40.21H / 3a Seccao. to make the London – Lisbon flight, fully loaded, on one refueling stop. The second experimental flight made by BOAC to Lisbon was on Decisively, it also had a history of unreliability and breakdowns due to April 15, 1940. Field’s cover was posted on April 13, 1940 at Sutton Cold - engine problems. The DH-91 Albatross was the aircraft of choice for the field. The 15-pence (1Sh 3d) postage is the correct trans-Atlantic airmail London – Lisbon air service in June 1940, and it was the aircraft used for PAGE 236 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 237 Second experimental BOAC flight from London to Lisbon on Third experimental BOAC flight from London to Lisbon on April April 15, 1940, then to New York by Pan American Airways. 19 and 20, 1940, then to New York by Pan American Airways. rate from England to the United States. A three-line direction was given: the way for the establishment of regular air service from England to Lis - By 2nd. Experimental / Flight to Lisbon and / P.A.A. to New York. (An bon that contributed to the development of trans-Atlantic air service. interesting enclosure was found in the cover: Francis J. Field business Acknowledgement invoice number 40596, dated April 12, 1940, for “Cover by British Experi - I would like to thank Don Lussky for loaning his three BOAC mental Flight to Lisbon for connection with P.A.A. transatlantic ser - covers flown on the London – Lisbon experimental flights in April 1940. vice.”) The Philadelphia arrival postmark is April 29, 1940, 14 days after leaving London, the average transit time to the U.S. from Lisbon. Chronology There are no details about the second flight other than it went (To be integrated with the chronology in the June, 2011 Airpost Journal , from London to Lisbon. But, it should be assumed that these experimen - pages 246 to 253) tal flights were made to test the reliability of the aircraft’s engines and systems needed for regularly scheduled long-range flights and to survey 1938 the fastest and safest route of travel, especially in a time of war. October British Airways conducted four survey flights as a pre- The third BOAC experimental flight to Lisbon is estimated to liminary to projected services to West Africa, South have occurred April 19 or April 20, 1940. Field’s third flight cover, like America, and the U. S. via connecting flights with Pan his first and second flight covers, was posted at Sutton Coldfield, but the American Airways. postmark is not clearly readable: Apr (?), 1940-4:30 PM. The backstamp is November Imperial Airways took first delivery of the new DeHavil- PHILA. PA. - May 3 -1PM- 1940 - N. Phila, Sta. If the total transit time for land DH-91 Albatross G-AFDI Forbisher, a four- this cover was the same as it was for the second experimental London – engined, 22-passenger monoplane. Lisbon flight, the dispatch date would be April 19. However, because of the variables (Pan American flight schedule, weather conditions across 1939 the Atlantic and connections from LaGuardia Airport to Philadelphia) December 21 Italian airline LATI (Linee Aeree Transcontinentali Ital- the dispatch date is uncertain. iane) inaugurates trans-Atlantic service from Rome to These three BOAC London – Lisbon experimental flights paved Rio de Janiero via Marseilles, Seville, Villa Cisneros (Rio PAGE 238 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 239 de Oro, on the west coast of Africa); Sal Island (Cape Verde Islands); Natal and Recife, Brazil. Book Review by Ken Sanford The Dutch Air Mail Catalogue , 2012 Edition. Published by De Vliegende 1940 Hollander, 2012. 687 pages, soft cover. Available for €25.00 plus postage April 8-15-19 BOAC conducted three experimental flights from Lon- - European countries €9.50 and to all other countries €16.50, Stichting don to Lisbon preparatory to regular service on June 4, Tentoonstelling, De Vliegende Hollander, Dintel 22, NL 2991 RC Baren - 1940. drecht, Netherlands, e-mail: [email protected] October 22 Bermuda restored as a stop on the FAM-18 route, New Payment to: IBAN: INGB0000146366 York to Lisbon. A resolution to the censorship problem BIC: INGBNL2A at Bermuda was reached by British and American This is the latest edition of this catalogue, the last being pub - authorities. lished in 2005. The catalogue is in the Dutch language. All illustrations are in color and the contents have been enlarged, Bibliography with the following chapters: American Air Mail Catalogue, Fifth Edition, Volume Four , page 1597. 1. Precursors of the airmail period ranging from the first flight with American Air Mail Society. powered aircraft in 1909 until 1920, when the first airmail was transport - American Air Mail Catalogue, Sixth Edition, Volume Three pages ed by aircraft to and from the Netherlands. 181-184. American Air Mail Society. 2. The chapter of the ‘Dag van de Aerofilatelie’ (Day of Aerophilately) R. E. G. Davies: A History of the World’s Airlines, pages 95, 110, has a new section with precursors. Before the first day in 1962, the Soci - 111, 179, 222, 223, 226, 231, 235, Plates 27c, Plate 27d, 235. Oxford Univer - eties De Vliegende Hollander and the BZPC organized events and exhi - sity Press (reprinted 1983). bitions. On those occasions, souvenir cards and/or covers were issued Valles, Ralph: “The Opening of New York's Marine Air Termi - and these items are listed in this section. nal, March 31, 1940 (and Associated History)” Airpost Journal, May 3. The chapter with crash and interrupted mail has been deleted; the 2011, pages 186-196. American Air Mail Society. listings have been incorporated into the normal chronological listings. Valles, Ralph: “First Transatlantic Flight From LaGuardia's 4. Completely new are chapters focus on balloon mail, with precur - Marine Air Terminal, Chicago, Ill. to Jerusalem, Palestine, March 31, sorss, and rocket mail. Balloon mail consists mainly of private and semi- 1940” Airpost Journal , June 2011, pages 230-254. American Air Mail private items prepared by the balloon commanders or by the committees Society. of a balloon festival or special flight. Official balloon mail received an Letters to the Editor, Airpost Journal , July 2011, page 270. Amer - official cancellation by a postal service and/or was announced by a ican Air Mail Society. postal service. There are approximately 100 listings of rocket mail events www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled-(DeHavilland/DeHavilland- and launches in the Netherlands, nearly all of which were private. DH-91/1929449/L/& . . . A short vocabulary has been added, together with the spelling of www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_de_havilland_alba - names of destinations (which happen to change over the years). tross.html The major change in this edition of the catalogue is the number - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Albatross ing system. In principle, the main numbers are unchanged. However, www.aviastar.org/air/england/arm_ensign.php additional entries receive a number in the margin, together with the date www.aviastar.org/air/usa/loc_superelectra.php of the flight or event and the flight data in bold characters. www.kg6gb.org/1940.htm In the new edition, there are hundreds of cover value changes (mostly increases since the 2005 edition). The catalogue is an essential reference for Dutch airmail.

PAGE 240 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 241 Watch for Outstanding Airmail Including Colombia and Mexico in Our Fall Sale

PAGE 242 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 243 was often strong rivalry among balloon pilots for the honor to represent their national flags or their countries. A Moment in Time and an The acclaimed 1930 balloon race event that is the subject of this article came under the sponsorship of National Air Races of Cleveland. It Incredible Find was actually sanctioned by the National Aeronautic Association and con - Harlan Radford ducted under the rules and regulations of Federation Aeronautique Internationale. Have you ever wanted to travel back in time in order to witness The qualifying entrants for the 1930 race were three United States a certain moment or event or meet someone you admire? I know I surely entries, notably the Goodyear VIII of Akron, Ohio, the City of Detroit and have! the Chamber of Commerce’s City of Cleveland ; the Belgica from Belgium; With that in mind, I want to transport the reader back to Mon - Pierre Fishbach from France ; and the German entrant, the Barmen . These day, September 1, 1930. The place is the Municipal Air Field at Cleve - American and foreign balloonists had spent months preparing and train - land, Ohio. Now imagine a crowd of an estimated 200,000 cheering spec - ing for this one race. Such aerial competition sparked and captured the tators gathered for an important event! imagination, the attention and the interest of the media and many people The occasion is the 19th Gordon Bennett Balloon Race and Aerial around the world. Carnival with six manned balloons competing in the prestigious interna - On August 29, just two days before the actual balloon race, thou - tional air race. The unique link that we time-travelers have is through the sands of spectators lined the downtown streets of Cleveland to watch the hobby known as aerophilately. On this occasion, it has been determined famous pilots as they were escorted down Euclid Avenue by colorful that authenticated and documented airmail covers were actually carried marching units and bands. That evening, a week of pageantry and enter - on board each of the six participating balloons. tainment climaxed with a public dinner in honor of the visiting airmen. But first, here’s some background information. Historically, one The balloonists taking part in the race and the names of their balloons as of the early periods of popularity enjoyed by the sport of free-ballooning well as their starting order was determined by a drawing held at that was between 1920 and 1939. Each country was limited to three entries dinner. The balloon contest was scheduled for the next day, August 30, per race. Races were generally preceded by elimination heats and there and marked the start of the two-day aeronautical carnival. Rain and low-hanging clouds marred the opening and many of the events of the air carnival including the balloon race were summarily postponed until the following day, September 1. September 1 brought improved weather conditions and the vari - ous events, including the balloon race, went on as planned. The work of filling the big gas bags took the better part of the afternoon. The previ - ously mentioned group of balloons reassembled and at 5:02 p.m. ascend - ed, one by one. Each carried airmail stamped and addressed souvenir envelopes that had received special cachets and imprints noting or com - memorating this special occasion. In many cases, such prepared covers were even signed by the pilots and/or their aides. These covers were transported on their respective journeys and then eventually off-loaded and postmarked at the post office nearest each of the actual landing sites. The black-and-white photograph dra - The balloons, lined up and ready for launch. matically captures the six contestants and an additional United Van Ser - vice balloon (a pilot balloon launched aloft to indicate wind conditions to PAGE 244 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 245 the six contesting pilots) inflated immediately prior to lift-off. Each bal - of ascent which the various balloons began their race. Additionally, the loon was walked by a ground crew to a place just in front of the center of numbers inscribed by most of the signers denote the sequence or the the grandstands and a combined orchestra and band played the national order in which the balloons were to be launched. Number one, for exam - anthem of each crew. Finally the restraining ropes were cast off and the ple, would launch first, number two would be second, and so on. In balloons soared into the air. order to assist the reader in identifying each signature, the author has For the record, it should be noted that the winner of this compe - taken the liberty herein to provide the complete name of each person in tition was the U.S. balloon, the Goodyear VIII . Piloted by Ward T. Van the order of their appearance on this envelope: Arthur G. Schlosser (co- Orman and his aide Alan McCracken, the Akron-based entry traveled pilot of U.S. entry City of Detroit ); Edward J. Hill (pilot of City of Detroit ); Jean Herbe (co-pilot of French entry Pierre Fishbach ); Albert Boitard (pilot of Pierre Fishbach ); Carl Gotze (co-pilot German entry Barmen ); Dr. Hugo Kaulen (pilot of Barmen ); Roland J. Blair (pilot U.S. entry City of Cleveland ; F. A. Trotter (co-pilot City of Cleveland ); Ward T. Van Orman (pilot of U.S. entry Goodyear VIII ); Alan L. McCracken (co-pilot Goodyear VIII ) and Ernest Demuyter (pilot, Belgium entry Belgica ). The signature that does not appear on this cover is that of Belgica co-pilot Leon Coeckelbergh . The significance of the American success in September of 1930, some 82 years ago, actually gave the United States its fifth consecutive victory in the Bennett race, and its second leg on the third Bennett Cup. There are some who say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Hopefully we have shown how the substance of this narrative account and accompanying illustrations support the theme that the Gordon Ben - nett Balloon Race of 1930 was indeed a remarkable and important Although not flown, this cover bears the signatures of 11 of the 12 crew members. moment in time connected by an amazing and incredible philatelic find!

550 miles, spent 27 hours, 56 minutes aloft and landed at Canton Junc - tion, near Boston, Massachusetts. The second through sixth place finish - Introduce a friend ers were the Belgica (435 miles), the Barmen (425 miles), the City of Detroit (400 miles), the City of Cleveland (350 miles) and the Pierre Fishbach (160 miles) in that order. to the wonderful world of The real purpose of this brief article is to present a most unique philatelic find. The cover shown was not even flown on any of the bal - Aerophilately . . . loons but does contain the signatures of 11 of the 12 balloon race pilots and their assistants. give a membership to the Postmarked with a September 1, 1930 cancel at Cleveland’s Air Mail Field, this distinctive cover was placed in the mail-stream for deliv - ery to a very lucky Detroit, Michigan, recipient, perhaps the sender him - American Air Mail Society! self! The reverse side of this cover reveals the official event cachet imprinted in the customary green ink used only on September 1. The signatures on this cover basically appear in the actual order PAGE 246 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 247 Perusing the Web William Kriebel

In a March 2011 auction, an American Bank Note Company vignette was offered (Figure 1). It was described as: “Bank of Communications, 1941 Issue, Proof Vignette. China, 1941, Proof vignette used on 25 Yuan, P-160, 1941 issue, Zeppelin with power gen - erator, train and steamship. Proof printed on India paper titled “Power Transformation . . .” It was Figure 1 estimated at $300-600. It did not sell. I am well aware that the ABNCo reused many of their vignettes for different purposes. What surprised me was whether or not China was aware that the Zeppelin-era ended four years earlier! Another ABNCo vignette (Figure 2) was offered on eBay. It was listed as printed “About 1990 from printing plates that were engraved in the 1800s to early 1900s.” As it turned out, it was printed in 1959, as one of many vignettes bound in T he Story of the American Bank Note Company, by William H. Griffiths, and it and several others (also offered) were cut from a copy of that book! Finally, I got a notice from Amazon.com about a new book. I was amazed at the cover photograph (Figure 3). Here was an in-flight picture

Figure 3

of the Dornier DO-X! This gigantic experimental seaplane left Germany (Lake Constance) on November 5, 1930 headed for Brazil. It faced many mechanical problems. Seven months later, June 5, 1931, it reached Fer - nando de Noronha, and then Natal, the next day! On June 17, it left for Rio de Janeiro, making several stops along the way, picking up some passengers, mail and fuel (its engines con - sumed 450 gallons per hour!). On August 6,1931, it headed for New York and three weeks later docked at Glenn Curtiss Airport; it never flew again. I don’t have any idea (other than what appears to be German authors) how or why this picture was chosen (spectacular?). I am almost tempted to buy the book Figure 2 to find out!

PAGE 248 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 249 September 1 Ancon, Canal Zone (two stamps) September 6 Guayaquil, Ecuador (postmark on reverse) Question September 26 Ecuador (postmark on reverse) September 28 American Consulate, Guayaquil, Ecuador (reverse) Central September 29 Ecuador (three stamps) October 2 Ecuador (three stamps) October 7 Lima, Peru (postmark on reverse) October 19 Cozo, Peru (postmark on reverse) La Varre Pan American Expedition 1936 October 21 La Paz, Bolivia (postmark on reverse) A few covers are distinctive in that they traveled extensively, October 22 American Consulate, La Paz, Bolivia (reverse) either in the company of their creator-carrier or in the mails along their October 23 Bolivia (three stamps, two uncanceled), registered creator’s journey. Here is one of the latter. No Date Chile (three stamps, no cancel, but one tied by a This item was forwarded to different locations in Central and Panama postmark) South America following the route of the La Varre Pan American Expe - November 11 Republic of Panama (ten stamps), registered dition from July 6 to November 16, 1936. The large envelope was first November 15 Barranquilla, Colombia (U.S. Postal Agency, posted in Mexico on July 6, 1936, embarking on a journey of multiple registered, on reverse) stops and re-mailings that finally ended with its delivery in New York November 16 New York (two registry postmarks on reverse) City more than four months later. The envelope bears a three-line instruction to POSTMASTER for July 6 Mexico (one stamp) its return if not deliverable. The address label was removed and a new July 8 Guatemala (airmail receiving postmark on reverse) one affixed for each re-mailing, thus preserving the integrity of the enve - July 31 Puerto San Jose, Guatemala (two stamps) lope. August 3 Guatemala (postmark on reverse) The last part of the journey, Panama to New York via Barran - August 19 Panama (postmark on reverse) quilla, Colombia, apparently ended with Pan American FAM 5 service from Barranquilla via Miami to New York. Now for the questions. • What was the La Varre Pan American Expedition? • What was its purpose? • Who sponsored it and why? • Was it successful? • Does the cover accurately reflect the travels of the expedition? • Did the cover travel by official airmail to all points? • Who were the air carriers? John Harper

We’re Waiting for A Response! The “Question Central” feature is intended to serve as a place to exchange information. If you know the answer, send it to the editor for publication in a future issue of the Airpost Journal .

PAGE 250 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 251 rections based on postal bulletins and leaflets he has found. Peter Jennings reviews some pioneer flights of Great Britain on their centenary in 2012 in the February Gibbons Stamp Monthly . He Airmail Elsewhere in Print begins with a postcard sent in May 1912 from Bath to Hendon aero - drome by Bentfield Charles Hucks. Next is the June flight from Bath to Alan Warren Falmouth by Henri Salmet. The third area is the circuit of Great Britain in July and August by Gustav Hamel, sponsored by the Daily Mail . Last is the Daily Mail water plane tour of the south coast in July and August. This is an occasional column bringing attention to articles about aerophi - Jennings illustrates the great rarity of the Daily Mail aerogram, one of five lately that appear in other journals. Copies of the complete articles can known. It was dropped by Henri Salmet to a friend over the pier at Clac - usually be obtained from the American Philatelic Research Library in ton-on-Sea. Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. John Hotchner presents a brief snapshot of Earle L. Ovington in the March issue of American Stamp Dealer & Collector . This follows on Writing in the December 20 issue of Canadian Stamp News , Ian the article about the aviation pioneer that Art Groten wrote last Septem - Robertson describes the first three airmail stamps issued by Canada. He ber in the same journal. Hotchner describes an effort in 1971 to have a discusses in some detail their design, production, and varieties. He stamp issued in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Ovington’s includes the two overprinted issues in his discussion as well. Scott Trepel first official airmail flight in 1911. However, despite support from several describes a one-frame exhibit of mail carried by the first flight of the aviation groups, the suggestion appears to have fallen on deaf ears. Jenny bearing the 24-cent carmine rose and blue stamp in the January- February Collectors Club Philatelist. All the mail shown is from north - American Air Mail Catalogue, Sixth Edition bound and southbound flights between New York, Philadelphia and Publications of the American Air Mail Society Washington on May 15, 16, and 17, 1918. The picture postcard gallery by John Fritz in the issue 2/2012 of Volume 1 Svensk Filatelistisk Tidskrift, published by the Swedish Philatelic Federa - U.S. Pioneer Flights (Pre-1918), U.S. Government Flights (1918-1924), U.S. Air Express, Interrupted Flights (Crash Covers), Airport Dedication tion, is devoted to views of several Zeppelins from the early 1900s, and Mexico First Flight Covers. including LZ 5, LZ 7, and LZ 10 among others. In the March-April Col - lectors Club Philatelist, Robert Johnson discusses airmail routes and Volume 2 rates from China to foreign destinations during the period 1939-1942. His FFUS (first flights of U.S. airlines since deregulation in 1978), Glider information is based on a study of pages from the collection of Ian Warn. Mail and First Jet Flights. 588 pages. Routes to the U.K. were via Hong Kong and Singapore, via Rangoon, via Volume 3 Rangoon and Karachi, via Hong Kong and Bangkok, all using the FAM (Foreign Air Mail Contract Routes), Canal Zone and Alaska Empire Route. Other destinations shown are Argentina, Southern Rhode - Flights. 486 pages. sia, Scotland and Canada. The Airmails of Canada and Newfoundland Gary Dickinson describes A. C. Roessler’s semi-official airmail Comprehensive catalog of Canada and Newfoundland covers of Canada in the first quarter 2012 issue of La Posta . He shows airmail stamps and flight covers. 552 pages. covers from 1926 to 1933 bearing adhesives by Patricia Airways and Hardbound Catalogues – Price $35.00 each, plus postage. Special Exploration, Western Canada Airways, Elliot-Fairchilds Air Service, Price to AAMS Members: $28.00 each, plus postage Canadian Airways Limited and Maritime & Newfoundland Airways. In Order from: Greg Schmidt, AAMS Publications Sales the same issue Bob Watson re-examines the literature on airmail rates Manager,1978 Fox Burrow Court, Neenah WI 54956 and routes from the United States to New Zealand and adds come cor - [email protected] PAGE 252 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 253 When uniform exhibit evaluation was created, great care was Exhibiting ‘Out of the Box’ given that the principles were broad and flexible rather than narrow and rigid. Artists (exhibitors) do not wish to, nor should they, be constrained Jim Graue or limited in the exercise of their freedom. The challenge to evaluate philatelic exhibits by fair, equitable There have always been exhibits that are creative in choice of and clearly understood principles and guidelines is ongoing. This is true subject, purpose, scope and development. When dealing with a diverse even in the face of the major efforts made in recent years to level the group of artists, that is to be expected. What must be avoided is any playing field and provide basic principles applicable to all exhibits. action by judges, either purposeful or inadvertent, to constrain the artist by curtailing the freedom allowed to him (or her). The fact is that not Uniform Philatelic Exhibit Evaluation every exhibit will fit into some preconceived (pre-defined) box. Treatment and Philatelic Importance 30% Recognition is given to the impossibility of providing a specially Treatment 20% designed and well-defined box for every exhibit that might appear. Philatelic Importance 10% Exhibits that are multidisciplinary, combining philatelic material from Philatelic and Related Knowledge, Personal Study and Research two or more divisions or sub-divisions, challenge both judges and 35% exhibitors. Questions have recently been raised about exhibits entered as Philatelic Knowledge 25% postal history, but that focus on the usages of specific stamp issues, a key Personal Study and Research 10% element of a traditional stamp exhibit, rather than rates, routes, means or Condition and Rarity 30% markings, the hallmarks of postal history. These exhibits have suffered at Condition 10% the hands of judges trying to fit them into a postal history box. Well, they Rarity 20% do not “fit” there, but that is no reason to downgrade them Presentation 5% The answer already lies within the APS Manual of Philatelic Judg - TOTAL = 100% ing as presently written: If [the judges] feel that the exhibit does not fit the class or division well, Various classes, divisions and sub-divisions were recognized it should be re-judged using the [Uniform Philatelic Exhibit Evaluation]UEEF and guidelines were prepared to provide added specific meaning and to evaluate how well the exhibit fulfills its declared intent and purpose. guidance to both exhibitors and judges. If those players are not singing More recently, discontent has surfaced in the arenas of both from the same page, the result is discord, to say the least. By and large, astrophilately and polar philately. Both are sub-divisions of the Postal all these efforts were quite successful. Division. Why? Quite simply because both focus on postmarks docu - All of that said, however, it is becoming increasingly apparent menting location and date, as these are event-driven subjects. The focus that not everyone is delighted. So, why? What is the problem? is on the event and the chosen documentation is mail or covers. Philatelic exhibiting is a art, not a science. The adopted princi - Some have suggested that perhaps astrophilately should be ples of exhibiting are intentionally broad so the artist (exhibitor) can moved from the Postal Division to the Illustrated Mail Division. That is a chose the subject, define the purpose and scope and even exercise cre - bit shocking since a great deal of the most important astro material is a ativity in execution. All this can easily be done while still adhering to the far cry from illustrated mail. Consider, for example, the German rocket basic principles that apply to all exhibits. The principles are not the prob - developments at Peenemunde during World War II, classically docu - lem. mented by mail (postal), and about as far from “illustrated” as one can For all this to work as intended, it is imperative that the freedom get. The idea suggests a remarkable lack of understanding of the basic of the exhibitor to declare his own game be preserved. This means that principles of astrophilately. we cannot view the exhibitor’s work as something that must “fit” into a Simply stated, we need not go there. The first requirement is an preconceived box. understanding of the principles of an event-driven subject. Once that is PAGE 254 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 255 in place, evaluate how well the exhibit fulfills its declared intent and pur - Bronze pose. Trying to solve a non-existent problem by changing its exhibit divi - Anthony Mancinone History of Flight from the Beginning to 1918 sion is, if anything, only going to make matters worse. PIPEX 2012 May 11-13 - Portland, Oregon News of the Shows Gold George Struble Swiss Airmail to 1939 APS Excellence 1900-1940 ARIPEX 2012 Vesma Grinfelds Airpost Issues of Lithuania: A Traditional Study February 24-26 - Mesa, Arizona Also: AAMS Award James W. Graue Germany 1934 Airmail Issue Gold David Bize 6 Cent U.S. Eagle Airmail Issue 1938 Vermeil Brian Callan Graf Zeppelin 127: The Postal Globetrotter Allen Klein USS Macon ZRS-5

Single Frame Gold Silver Edwin J. Andrews Union Airways: Inauguration of the First Steve Davis 6¢ Transport Airmail Issue of 1941: Usages and Rates Commercial Airmail Service in South Africa Gregg A. Hopkins, Sr. Production of the U.S. Airmail Issue of 1928 – Single Frame Gold The Beacon Allen Klein Mail Flown on the USS Shenandoah

Philadelphia National Stamp Exhibition 2012 March 30 – April l - Oaks, Pennsylvania

Single Frame Vermeil Edwin J. Andrews Union Airways: Inauguration of the First Commercial Airmail Service in South Africa

The Plymouth Show 2012 April 28-29 - Plymouth, Michigan

Gold David Crotty PAA Crosses the Pacific 1935-1941 August E. Kalohn III A. C. Roessler 1923-1943: Twenty Years of Lighter- than-Air Airship Cachets and Labels Also: APS Excellence 1900-1940

PAGE 256 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 257 For the Washington 2006 World Philatelic Exhibition, Gerd decided to show the 1930 Graf Zeppelin Pan-America Flight and he asked Obituaries me to help him organize it. It was a privilege to see his great collection fulfill its promise as it provided everything needed for the development Frank H. Blumenthal scheme we adopted. This exhibit won Gerd an international gold medal. Aerophilatelist and Writers Hall of Fame member Frank Blu - He called it “our” medal, his way of thanking me for my assistance. But menthal died December 28, 2011 at age 98. With David Eyman he com - it was his material and his exhibit, and he was justifiably proud of his piled the Index to the Airpost Journal Vol. 1-50 (1982). He served as Airpost achievement. Journal editor from 1971 to 1989. Frank wrote the Foreign Air Mail The only part of the zeppelin area Gerd had nothing to show (FAM) Routes section of several editions of the American Air Mail Cata - was Hindenburg crash mail. The only piece he ever had, he said, turned logue and was former editor-in-chief of the catalog. out to be a forgery. He sold it and never sought a real one. A few years In 1975 the American Air Mail Society honored Frank with its ago, Gerd sold his entire zeppelin collection; it was auctioned by Hein - Walter J. Conrath Memorial Award for outstanding service to the soci - rich Köhler in Wiesbaden, Germany. ety. He was elected to the Aerophilatelic Hall of Fame in 1992, and was Memorial contributions may be made to the American Philatelic granted honorary life membership. In 1991 he was elected to Writers Society in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Unit #30 Hall of Fame. Gerd, my friend, we will miss you. Alan Warren Jim Graue

Gerhard S. Wolff The Airpost Journal publishes obituaries of prominent aerophilatelists. All obituaries are submitted and run at the discretion of the editor. Obituaries 1929 – 2012 are subject to editing for space and content. Gerhard S. Wolff passed away on April 23, 2012, at age 83. Gerd was born at Hanover, Germany in 1929 and immigrated to the United States in 1941. He and his wife, Diana, lived in Kensington, Airpost Journal Maryland. An accountant by trade, Gerd was an AAMS life member, a former AAMS secretary and was a director emeritus of NAPEX. Advertising Rates Gerd was very well known as a collector and exhibitor of zep - pelin mail. This is a collecting area that I shared with Gerd and we Size B&W Rate Color Rate Contract Rate* became good friends. We shared our passion for zeppelins with many Quarter Page $40 $55 Rate less 10% other AAMS members over the years, some of whom predeceased Gerd Half Page $65 $100 Rate less 10% (like Roy Dodd) and several who we continue to share with, like Cheryl Full Page $110 $160 Rate less 10% Ganz, Dickson Preston, Bob Horn and many others. Two-Page $220 $320 Rate less 10% Gerd was an avid exhibitor. He would usually exhibit different Page 1 $120 $170 Rate less 10% facets of zeppelin airmail at several shows each year. His collection was Inside Cover $120 $170 Rate less 10% huge and he could put exhibits together that focused on either a major Outside Cover $140 $190 Rate less 10% flight or a geographic area of origin, e.g., “Scandinavian Zeppelin Mail” or “Balkan Zeppelin Mail.” He really enjoyed exhibiting and had an *The 10% contract rate discount is allowed for advertisers who have immense amount of material from which to choose. His real challenge either already appeared in 12 consecutive issues of the Airpost Journal was exhibit “treatment,” the aspect of exhibiting that requires logical, or for those who contract for at least a year. progressive and meaningful development of the exhibit subject. PAGE 258 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 259 American American Air Mail Society Air Mail Society Membership and Subscriptions Annual membership dues for new members, which includes a subscrip - Dedicated to the research, study, documentation and tion to the Airpost Journal is $28 domestic, $33 Canada, $48 Mexico and preservation of aerophilately. $58 worldwide. All foreign dues include first-class airmail shipment. Organized in 1923, Incorporated in 1944 as a non-profit corporation of the state of Ohio Publication IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization APS affiliate #77 Monthly Official Publication: Airpost Journal PRESIDENT: Jim Graue, 11911 East Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036 Editor and Advertising: Vickie Canfield Peters, 11911 E. Connor Road, ([email protected]) Valleyford WA 99036 ([email protected]) VICE PRESIDENT: K. David Steidley, Ph.D., 11 Davey Dr., W. Orange Publications Committee NJ 07052 ([email protected] ) Chairman: Jim Graue, 11911 East Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036 SECRETARY: Dr. Robert Dille, 335 Merkle Drive, Norman OK 73069- ([email protected]) 6429 ([email protected]) Member Services TREASURER: Stephen Reinhard, P.O. Box 110, Mineola NY 11501 Auction Manager: Don Lussky, P.O. Box 1172, Westmont IL 60559 ([email protected]) Publications Sales Manager: Greg Schmidt, 1978 Fox Burrow Court, IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Mark Banchik, P.O. Box 2125, Great Neenah WI 54956 ([email protected]) Neck NY 11022 ([email protected]) Merchandise Sales Manager: J.L. Johnson, Jr., 248 Shore Ave., Eastern DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Point, Groton CT 06340 ([email protected]) Historian: Len Lukens. 2710 N.E. 131st St. Portland OR 97230 David Crotty Pat Walters ([email protected]) Jerry Kasper Kent Kobersteen Membership Secretary: Rudy Roy, P.O. Box 5367, Virginia Beach VA ADVISORY EXECUTIVE BOARD (Past Presidents): 23471-0367 ([email protected]) Webmaster: David Crotty ([email protected]) Cheryl Ganz Jonathan L. Johnson, Jr. Stephen Reinhard Convention Coordinator: Ken Sanford, 613 Championship Drive, Oxford A.D. Jones Kendall C. Sanford Allen Klein CT 06478-3128 ([email protected]) Derrick Pillage Greg Schmidt Mark Banchik Andrew McFarlane Slide Presentation GENERAL COUNSEL: A 40-minute slide presentation (80 slides), covering the history and scope of aerophilately is available with either taped or typewritten narra - Myron G. Hill, Jr., 3900 Calvert St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20007-1705 tion. Program is available free for postage and $10 deposit. To schedule, contact Roger O. Gilruth, 544 Hampton Ridge Dr., Akron OH 44313. Application for Membership ([email protected]) Applicant to provide two references, philatelic preferred. Applicants under the age of 18 must be guaranteed by parent or guardian. Advance Bulletin Service

PAGE 260 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 261 AAMS Publications Inventory Reduction Sale AAMS Membership Report June 1, 2012 through August 31, 2012 May 2012 Sale to AAMS Members at 40% of Retail Price Submitted by Membership Secretary Rudy Roy Title Retail Reduction New Applicants Price Price 12197 Boyarsky, Jeffrey M., Princeton Junction NJ. AM GF ASTRO TO Paris Balloon Posts 12.50* 5.00 RP Z HC CL EL PA AE. By: AAMS Website Newfoundland Airmails 18.00* 7.20 12198 Hancock, Vernon E., Middleton ID. AM JF NAW HC PA APS Pioneer Airplane Airmails 25.00* 10.00 FFUS. By: S. Reinhard Rocket Mail – Kronstein 20.00* 8.00 12199 Hoffmann, Thomas H., San Lorenz, CA. AM JF PA CC 1D Z Glider Mail 20.00* 8.00 HC PA BC FFUS. By: AAMS Website Airpost Journal Index (1990) 12.00* 4.80 12200 Mitchell, Mike S., Essexville MI. AM AU AS PA ASTRO NAW Aerial Mail Service 15.00 6.00 HC CL AE AL FFUS. By: AAMS Website Pioneer Hungarian Airmail 15.00 6.00 12201 Jenkins, Christopher P., Ponte Vedra Beach FL. AM AU TO RP Brazil Airmails 15.00 6.00 Z AL. By: AAMS Website Max 15.00 6.00

* Hardbound Deceased Authors can purchase at 20% of retail price 09959 Landry, Bruce E. 05177 Wolff, Gerhard S. Special Prices for Quantity Sale (LM551) 20% of retail price for 25-50 total, 15% for 50-99 total, 10% for 100+ Lapsed Airpost Journal 12159 Balkan Eric Years Regular Price Reduction Price Per Copy Per Copy — Summary — 2011 - 2012 3.00 2.00 Total Membership — April 1, 2012 ...... 1,030 2008 - 2010 2.50 1.50 New Members ...... + 3 2000 - 2007 2.00 1.00 Deceased ...... - 2 <2000 15+ 50¢ Lapsed ...... - 1 Total Membership — May 1, 2012 ...... 1,030 50% discount for total order of 50+ copies Jack Knight Air Log Address Changes Requested 50¢ each, 12 for $5.00 When relocating, please provide as much notice as 50% discount for total order of 50+ copies possible in order to keep your Airpost Journal All orders from the Publications Surplus must be made directly with coming in a timely manner. Send all address changes or Greg Schmidt, [email protected], who will quote the final price corrections to Membership secretary Rudy Roy, Box 5367, including packing and shipping costs. Virginia Beach VA 2347 or email [email protected]

PAGE 262 AIRPOST JOURNAL JUNE 2012 PAGE 263 AAMS EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT APJ ADS BUY — SELL — WANT LIST All members, including Life Mem - ad in this month’s Airpost Journal. bers, are entitled to two free 25-word “Wanted and Exchange” notices per WANTED and EXCHANGE year in the APJ Ads section of the Journal. Their use for commercial, WANTED: Roessler postal card for promotional or informational activi - Ruth Nichol’s attempted solo trans- ties is discouraged, and they may not Atlantic flight or clear print of both be used at all for any selling for cash sides with permission to use in an or mint postage or similar purposes. APJ article. Send email to Bob Dille, All notices must be sent directly to the [email protected] 7/12 advertising manager . * * * ZEPPELIN auction catalogues prior RATES to 1990 wanted. What can you offer? TWENTY CENTS PER WORD . Email [email protected] 7/12 Minimum $5 per insertion. Remit - * * * tance must accompany order and SEEKING Long Island, NY, aviation copy. The Airpost Journal, 11911 E. memorabilia, airmail covers, post - Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036. cards, books, photos, models, facto - Ads must be received by first of ries, equipment and autographs. month preceding publication date. Quote anything! Scans appreciated. Call Walt at 631-581-5760 or email FOR SALE [email protected] 7/12 YOU NEED? I can help. US pioneer, * * * crash, SH, TO, FAM, CAM, WANTED: Hadley Air Field,New NAMW, Jet, Deds. Canada 1926-42. Brunswick,N.J. Covers & cards, par - Zeppelin, glider, catapult, balloon, ticularly HPO Route #9E cancel. rocket. Nonflight - FDC, advertising, Collateral & Ephemera items.For polar, ships, WWI & II & Civil War, article-good clear copies welcomed. Wells Fargo, Christmas. Tell me Jim Walker 121 Wertsville Rd. Rin - your interests; I’ll get you my lists. goes,N.J. 08551-1108 Email; Thanks. Mike Rossman, PO Box [email protected] 7/12 189, Occidental, CA 95465-0189 or [email protected] 11/12 * * * WE’RE CLEANING out the ware - house! The AAMS is offering great deals on most of our publications in order to decrease inventory. See the

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