:J/ie - October; 1953 • AIRPOST 25th JOURNAL 0 · ~< --- ::~; ~- : ; ' ' -2; - . &;j:; m!:__ I Hi ¥ mp~ ·--- · ·~- i?;.. ; i 2 . =--::-- -_;u:;;;; . ; _. f!!'.f e CANADA'S NEWLY DESIGNED A'EROOBAMME . OFFICIAL MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE VoJ. XXV N~I c DEPENDABLE I COMPLETE ~¢ NEW ISSUE SERVICE ~= ~ FREE ~'J~ DESCRIPTIVE FOLDER - ~ ~ 1953 ,.,.~ ~ ~ '~ INCLUDING SUPPLEMENT !~ TO MAY. 1953 ~ ~ ..~, $4.75 ~:... _,~ I • ~~~ ~~~ ~ NICOLAS SANABRIA CO., INC. ~ A. MEDA WAR, President ~ · 521 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK 17. -N. Y • .- B'ritis:ti::il./Air'1 StamJ~!i. '···-': by R. E. R. .DAL WICK CONCLUDING INSTALLMENT• • 1933, Nov. 2. Hull - Grimsby will be· found on back cover) Book of A special label was provided for mail 51-", flown between the above two points by A set of five colour trials are known, East Yorkshire Motor Services, Ltd. printed on glossy white paper in the The label, measuring about 47 x following colours: brown, green, violet, 65rnm, was printed in bright metallic dark red & blue ( adopted). These trials blue on a silver background. The main are imperforate and do not bear any feature of the wording was, reading up­ serial numbers. wards in center "Hull-Grimsby (Para­ When the requisite number of stamps gon Square) (Old Market Place)". had been printed to fulfill the order the There was only one mail carrying plate was defaced. flight on this thrice daily Air Ferry. 1934. "The Island Air Express" 1934, Feb. 3. Portsmouth - Ryde, I. o. w. The Partsmouth, Southsea & Isle of Special stamp printed in sheets of four Wight Aviation Ltd. in anticipation of and bound into booklets of five sheets expanding internal air services, ordered ( 20 stamps) were used for this service. another air stamp from Messrs Charpen­ Numbered. consecuitvely in red, in the tier. A design showing a biplane over reverse way as with the G. W. R. ad­ the Needles and lighthouse, with appro­ hesive. It was printed in blue by the priate wording, had been agreed upon, Naval & Military printers, Messrs Char­ and was accordingly produced in minia­ pentier, Ltd., to the order of The Ports­ ture margined sheets of twenty in book­ mouth Southsea & Isle of Wight Avia­ let form. The blue stamps in a booklet tion, Lt. The design portrayed Ports­ denoted London to Isle of Wight service mouth Guildhall with monoplane to and the black were for the reverse direc­ right and appropriate wording above. tion. There were two printings; in the first the top, bottom and right-hand outside The Company explained their position margins were imperforate (numbered 1 in a letter to the writer: "As you are to 4,000) while in the second printing aware, we originally issued a vignette, all margins were perforated ( numbered one showing the Portsmouth Guildhall, from 4,001). which was intended for our Air Ferry The front cover of the booklet bore Service from Ryde tp Portsmouth, and the following wording in black "Travel to Bournemouth & Shoreham. Except by Isle of Wight Air Ferry between for a few experimental flights, these Portsmouth-Ryde-Shanklin (Service - were all disposed of to collectors and Everv half-hour from 9 a. m. till Sun­ dealers, and the blocks destroyed. When set, Easter-30th September). Also be­ it was announced that the Posamaster­ tween The I. o. W. & Shoreham for General intended to open the inland air Brighton & Worthing (Service thrice services, we fully expected to be includ­ daily, Easter-30th September) And ed in the first flights, especially in view Save Time Many reduced Fares & of onr regnlar passenger services, and Cheap Tickets (Additional Information (Continued on next page) OFFICIAL .PUBLICATION. OF THE THE AIRPOST JOURNAL AMERICAN AIR MAIL SOCIETY Entered aa serand-class matter, February 10, 1932. at the post office at Albion, Pa. under the Act of March 3, 1879. Published monthly. OCTOBER. 1953 - VOL. XXV, NO. I - ISSUE NO. 282 - 25c PER COPY THE AIRPOST .JOURNAL BRITISH AIR STAMPS - based on the previous stamp but in this (Continued from· precedin' page) case the format was a large upright ob­ long. The stamps were printed in sheets • of 6 ( 3x2) with a bi-coloured cross in also to the fact that Portsmouth Airport the center of each vertical margin. possesses the finest landing ground in Sheets are rare. Europe. We were of opinion that air._ The labels were on sale at II- each mail would have been carried from and use was ·optional London to the Isle of Wight, and as the proof sketch was already in existence, 1937, November. Aberdeen - Shetlands and we expected to be allowed to make A special label was issued by Aber­ a charge, we decided to proceed with lieen Airways Ltd. It was a large up­ the printing of these, so that we might right oblong with biplane above the be ready at short notice. We were sur­ wording "Aberdeen Airways Lt. Aber­ prised when the Postmaster-General an­ deen Thurso Orkneys Shetlands Aber­ nounced that contracts would be given deen Airpost Dyce 32". The label was to a few places to run at ordinary post­ printed in green, yellow and mauve and age rates, and we were not included." was imperforate. This explains the issue of these "stamps". 1951, .January 16. B. E• A. Both exist in imperforate condition and colour trials have been seen in The Airway Letter carried on the in­ brown, green, purple, violet ( 2 shades), ternal services of the British Isles oper­ sepia-black & black. All are imperforate ated by British Airways is the air equiw on surfaced paper. alent of the Railway Letter service which has been in use for many years. 1934, May 29. Inverness - Orkney Isles By this means, the sender of a letter A service was inaugurated by High­ has been able to hand a letter (already land Airways Ltd. on this date to oper­ stamped for inland postage) to a Rail­ ate daily. To commemorate the first way Company for conveyance by a nom­ flight the Company released - a special inated train, with instructions indicated souvenir vignette to be attached to let­ on the envelope that it is either to be ters, but usage was optional. called for by the addressee or to be The stamp was oblong and imperfor­ posted by the Railway staff immediately ate and depicted the route of the flight on arrival, the object being, of course, (map in pink & green) with red biplane to secure acceleration over the normal en route and inscriptions "First Air Mail post. Highland Airways Ltd. Inverness-Ork­ ney Isles at ordinary letter rate 29 May A similar facility by air was first of­ 1934." fered by B. E. A. at the same scale of The importance of this flight lay in rates as that used by the Railway Com­ the fact that it was the first regular of­ panies, on November 1, 1949, although ficial airmail at ordinary inland postage special arrangements for the air convey­ rate. Furthermore it saved over two ance of such letters had been in force days in time between the Orkneys and between Penzance and the Scilly Isles London. 1,500 copies of the stamp were and between Stornoway a"1d Glasgow printed and it cost 21 ~. for some time previously. The routes introduced in 1949. were those joining 1934, Dee. 1. Inverness - Wick - Kirkwall Manchester and Liverpool to the Isle of This was an innovation to the previous Man and Belfast. The facility was ex­ Highland Airways route with a halt at tended to the London-Belfast and Lon­ Wick for the dropping and collecting of don-Edinburgh-Glasgow routes on Feb­ mail. · · - ruary 1, 1950. Once again the operating Company As in the case of the Railway Letter, issued a· specfal adhesiv!) for .- the first AirWay Letters, already prepaid for in­ flight, _ It was a striking looking stamp land postage and not eceeding 1 lb. in in pink and blue . with black and red weight, were handed in to the Town wording. Terminal or airport of departure for de­ The wording and design were both spatch by speoiifed air service and on OCTOBER. 1953 5 arrival were, in accordance .with the in· The fiilal ·development was a further structions of the sender, either held to increase by the Railway and Air Com­ be called for by the adressee, or taken panies in the scale of fees which, in the into the Town Tenninal and posted im­ case of the Air Company, from May 7, mediately. 1951, was raised as follows: The Air fees for this service were: Not exceeding 2 oz. 7d Not exceeding 2 oz !ld. Not exceedln& 4 oz. 1/- Not exceeding 4 oz 9d. Not exceeding 1 lb l/6d. Not exceeding 1 lb ~d To save the expense of issuing new la­ Receipt of the air fee was normally bels, B. E. A. overprinted its stock of acknowledged by the air company by the existing labels, the 6d. and lld. values impression of the station rubber stamp having "Plus Id." and the l-4d. value and the amount of the air fee paid was having "Plus 2d." surcharged. Small written in, in manuscript. stocks held by B. E. A. in the London In line with the Railways, these fees offices were overprinted by hand with were raised on June 1, 1950, to: a rubber stamp, while the main stock Not. exceeding 2oz 6d. was overprinted in a more professional Not exceeding 4 oz lid. type. The small stocks held by other Not exceeding 1 lb 1-411. stations were altered by hand until the With the growth of the service it was new supplies came.