AIRPOST JOURNAL - American Air Mail Society 85-2014/May... · AIRPOST JOURNAL The Ofﬁcial ......

AIRPOSTAIRPOSTJOURNALJOURNAL

The Official Publication of theAmerican Air Mail Society

May 2014 Volume 85, No. 5 Whole No. 1007

May’s featured article —Fritz W. Hammer

Indefatigible Airline Pioneer, Part 182

MAY 2014 PAGE 177

Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc.PO Box 3077T, Middletown NY 10940

Email: [email protected] — http://www.hgitner.com

Zeppelins & AerophilatelyAsk for our Free Price List of Worldwide Flight covers and stamps.

The following is a small sampling – full list on Website!

United States1928 US C11 on airmail cover commemorating the 25th anniversary

of the first flight made by the Wright brothers. VF Signed by OrvilleWright. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$700.00

1934 (June 27) Trans Atlantic flight NY – Warsaw with mixed frank-ing of U.S. and Poland. Signed by amateur pilots, Ben and JoeAdamowiscz. Sold with magazine photo of plane. . . . . . . . . . . .$125.00Austria

1932 (June 22) Catapult cover Europa to New York sent by registeredmail to Costa Rica. Stamped "Received in ordinary mail N.Y.P.O. Var-ick S" Backstamped Berlin, New York and Costa Rica on reverse.K111AU cv $800.00 Hab. 89. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $750.00Colombia

1927 Colombia / Germany European-sized blue airmail cover withdual franking. Sent registered from Hamburg, Germany with 70pfmetered postage to Colombia. Two SCADTA stamps added, 20c and60c with machine overprint "A." The 20c has red "R" overprint addedas well. Stamps were canceled in transit and tied by "Servicio de trans-portes Aereos, Barranquilla, 28.11.192.7" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $400.00Ecuador

Set of three SCADTA postal stationary pieces; 10c postal card, 20cletter and 20c letter card VF, unissued, fresh and scarce! . . . . . $225.00Germany

1933 (August 25) Balloon postcard from Hamburg Air Show for Ger-man Airmail. 30pf red Balloon label. There is a small plate error on "D"in the red overprint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $900.00Liechtenstein

1934 (May 17) Catapult cover Bremen to New York. Addressed toSchenectady, NY. Small tear at bottom edge. K179LN cv $1000.

Our AAMS Annual Convention atPIPEX 2014

This is it . . . our annual convention! This year we are meeting inPortland, Oregon, in conjunction with PIPEX 2014.

First, let’s answer the question many have: What is PIPEX, any-way? It stands for Pacific International Philatelic Exhibition, which itreally is not any more, but it is apparently difficult to discard the name. Itarose in the 1930s as the annual meeting and stamp show of the PacificNorthwest Federation of Stamp Clubs. The Northwest Federation is com-prised of the stamp clubs in five states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho,Montana and Alaska) and four Canadian provinces (British Columbia,Alberta, Saskatchewan and Yukon), a huge geographical area, but muchof it sparsely populated. This annual event alternated between the Unit-ed States and Canada during 50-plus years of a very friendly relationshipthat enjoyed the benefits of an essentially open border.

For all intents and purposes, the “international” aspect waskilled by the Canadian imposition of a value-added-tax (VAT) thatcaused it to become quite difficult to cross into Canada with a philatelicdealer’s stock or even with an exhibit. Subsequent border tightening for“homeland security” and curtailment of illegal immigration were thefinal nails in the coffin. The Northwest Federation still exists, but more inname than substance. It has agreed to Portland as the PIPEX site for sev-eral years running. Prospects for a change in conditions that would makethe original scheme of alternating between the two countries viable againis . . . well, not good, probably somewhere between zero and none.

All that said, Portland has proven to a wonderful site! There is astrong local philatelic presence that unites well to host the show, fineMay weather, a very nice exhibition site and a beautiful city that is veryeasy to get around in by virtue of its free street car system. Once one ofthe weaker WSP shows, it is now far stronger and very respectable,thanks in large part to the guidance of Michael Dixon, whose experience(he was president of Washington 2006), leadership and management

PAGE 178 AIRPOST JOURNAL MAY 2014 PAGE 179

In This Issue of the Airpost Journal

Copyright 2014 The American Air Mail Society. The Airpost Journal (ISSN 0739-0939) is pub-lished monthly by the American Air Mail Society, 11911 E. Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036.Periodical postage paid at Spokane WA 99201 and additional post offices. Postmaster: Sendaddress changes to American Air Mail Society, P.O. Box 5367, Virginia Beach VA 23471-0367.Domestic subscription rate $30 per year; $5 per copy.Opinions expressed in features and columns in this publication are solely those of the authors anddo not necessarily represent those of the society.

Editor and AdvertisingVickie Canfield Peters 11911 E Connor Road Valleyford WA 99036

[email protected] Writers and ColumnistsJoe Kirker Alan Warren

Chris Hargreaves Bob Wilcsek Lee Downer

— ARTICLES —Fritz W. Hammer: Indefatigable Airline Pioneer, Part 1............................... 182

William V. KriebelMore on the Pan American Airways Test of 1946 ........................................ 192

Richard SaundryThe Flying Buffaloes of the United States, Part 1 ......................................... 200

William DrummondEarle Ovington Flies the First Airmail . . . Then What?................................ 206

— NEWS —Aero 2014 Update.......................................................................................... 213

— COLUMNS and FEATURES —News of the Shows ........................................................................................ 214President’s Message ...................................................................................... 179Treasure Hunting for CAM Covers ............................................................... 208Why I Bought It!............................................................................................ 196

— DEPARTMENTS –APJ Ads ......................................................................................................... 220Membership Report ....................................................................................... 219

President’s MessageJim Graue

skills have proven to be a strong foundation for the formation of a solidshow committee. Thank you, Michael, for saving PIPEX (or whatever itmay be called in the future) from almost certain oblivion.

So there you have it: a wonderful opportunity for philatelic fel-lowship, sharing and fueling the fires of your interests in gaining philat-elic knowledge and actively building your collection. If you will be there,you will have no regrets.

* * *Not everyone will be at PIPEX, however, and among the miss-

ing, unfortunately, will be the majority of the AAMS board. Absent aquorum, a loaded agenda will be dealt with piecemeal via email. That isfar from the ideal way to engage in a meaningful, open and participatorydiscussion that leads to fully informed decisions, but we cannot let inac-tion prevail.

The first agenda item up for consideration is our AAMS publica-tions program.

• The inventory of old publications is still overloaded. Storageexpense alone is near $4,000 per year, a burden we must cut drastically ifnot eliminate.

• American Air Mail Catalogue has been dormant for 10 years. A newvolume is now ready for publication, the first volume of the new 7th Edi-tion, which will be in color! This volume is 696 pages with the followingsections:

CAM Routes 1-34 Philippine Islands

Foreign Flag Flights to the U.S.The board is considering printing options, press run, costs and

price. The important thing is that this key AAMS program is about to getunder way again, and our challenge is to keep it running consistently.

* * *We need to develop a consistent program for a strong presence

at the major U.S. national stamp shows. We will be joining with Metro-politan Air Post Society (MAPS), our affiliate in the northeast, in a jointbooth at APS Stampshow 2014 in Hartford, Connecticut, on August 21-24. The Crash & Wreck Mail Society will also be there. If we are given agood location (always very important), an attractive and arresting dis-play with a wide range of aerophilatelic literature, and a high profile as avery active society centered on one of the most interesting areas of ourhobby, we should get additional new members. Every AAMS member isimportant, a sustaining part of our society and a potential resource for

more information and insights in aerophilately.In the pursuit of showing active participation in a broad range of

aerophilatelic topics, a policy for allowing members to sell their personalaero publications at our AAMS booth is being considered.

* * *After our convention at PIPEX, it will be full speed ahead to

Aerophilately 2014. The deadline was May 1 for both exhibit applicationsand proposals for papers at the 8th Postal History Symposium on“Development and Operations of Trans-Oceanic Airmail to 1945.” Wewill know by the time of our convention at PIPEX whether either one orboth of these deadlines will be extended to allow late-comers to get onboard.


American Air Mail Catalogue,Sixth Edition

Publications of the American Air Mail SocietyVolume 1

U.S. Pioneer Flights (Pre-1918), U.S. Government Flights (1918-1924),U.S. Air Express, Interrupted Flights (Crash Covers), Airport Dedication

and Mexico First Flight Covers. Volume 2

FFUS (first flights of U.S. airlines since deregulation in 1978), GliderMail and First Jet Flights. 588 pages.

Volume 3FAM (Foreign Air Mail Contract Routes), Canal Zone and Alaska

Flights. 486 pages.

The Airmails of Canada and NewfoundlandComprehensive catalog of Canada and Newfoundland

airmail stamps and flight covers. 552 pages.

Hardbound Catalogues – Price $35.00 each, post paid in U.S. SpecialPrice to AAMS Members: $28.00 (one copy only)

Order from: Greg Schmidt, AAMS Publications Sales Man-ager,1978 Fox Burrow Court, Neenah WI 54956

[email protected]

AIRPOST JOURNAL APRIL 2014 PAGE 183

Fritz W. Hammer:Indefatigable Airline Pioneer

Part 1 of 2William V. Kriebel

Much of this material appeared in the Jack Knight Air Log (JKAL) in 1994,with some additional musings in 2010. I thought it might be of interest to thosewho had not received that former publication. Most of the black and white photosare courtesy of Lufthansa, and the airline poster is used with the written permis-

sion of the late Don Thomas, from his Nostalgia Panamericana (1987).Additions, corrections or comments are invited.

GermanyFritz Wilhelm Hammer was born on December 6, 1888, in Berlin.

After studying at the TechnicheHochschules in Münich and Berlin (aninstitution equivalent to our M.I.T.) andthe Machine Building School at Hild-burghausen, he went to flying school.Fritz became a pilot in 1913, the sameyear he was awarded a national prize foran eight-hour flight.At the start of World War I, Germany,

like the other countries involved, had lit-tle regard of the military potential of theairplane. Its air force consisted mostly ofunarmed aircraft, which, with observers,were intended to be used in support ofground troops. The war would changethat.During the war, Hammer trained pilots

and observers and participated in the development of land-based torpe-do planes. He later moved to the “front lines” and, by 1915, was incharge of four seaplanes or, more properly, floatplanes - land planesequipped with pontoons instead of wheels or skids.

German aircraft development changed rapidly over the years.Germany built 24 planes in 1911; 136 in 1912; 1,348 in 1914; 4,532 in 1915;8,182 in 1916; 19,746 in 1917; and 14,123 up to the November 11, 1918armistice. War production saw the completion of some 48,000 airplanes.

Hugo Junkers of the Junkers Flugzeug-Werke A.G. of Dessau,Germany, produced the first all-metal airplane to fly. The Junkers J-1,made of corrugated duralumin (an early version of aluminum) rolled offthe line on December 12, 1915. By the end of WWI, Junkers produced 10more models.

With the end of the war, Junkers transferred his staff’s designefforts to commercial rather than military use. Their first product, the J-12, didn’t make it off the drawing board. It was superseded by theimproved J-13, which first flew on June 25, 1919. It was built as the F-13and went into service on July 18, 1919. With a two-man crew and acapacity for four passengers, Junkers had a great product, but few buy-ers. Most of the German airlines had already developed ties with othermanufacturers such as Dornier and Fokker. In addition, the Treaty of

Portrait of Fritz Ham-mer from a German magazine

The F-13 under construction

Completed F-13 with the German registry marking “D-1.”

Versailles all but eliminated aircraft development and production. Theend of the war also brought a surplus of existing aircraft with few, if any,buyers.

To solve his problem, Junkers hired Hammer as a “technical rep-resentative,” aka “marketing representative.” Junkers-Luftverkehr (itsown transport company) was formed in 1921 and set up routes betweenGermany, Hungary, Austria and Switzerland. Sixty F-13s went into ser-vice.

ColombiaThe Colombian capital of Bogotá is located almost two miles

above the coastline in the Andes Mountains. The city was previouslyreached by a tiring, treacherous two-week journey up the MagdalenaRiver from Barranquilla to Giradot and then overland by mule or horse(later by railroad). The need for an easier link between the Pacific andCaribbean seaports convinced the Colombian government to supportany attempt to bridge that gap by air.

Several Colombian businessmen formed the short-lived Com-pañía Colombiana de Navegacíon Aérea (C.C.N.A.) on September 16,1919. Even utilizing the talents and experience of ex-World War I pilotslike U.S. flyer William Knox-Martin, credited with flying the first airmailin Colombia in June of that year, the company could not overcome thecontinuous losses of men and machines.

The large, mostly French equipment was not designed for thearduous terrain and, by 1922, the first group to respond to the call wasall but out of business. Perhaps C.C.N.A.’s biggest contribution, to phi-


The cabin was enclosed, at first, but not the cockpit!

Passengers entering the cabin.

The Curtiss labels,with and withoutthe overprint

lately anyway, was theissuance of the “Curtisslabel” overprints. These arerecognized by Scott asColombia’s first airmailstamps.

SCADTAOn December 5, 1919,

two days after C.C.N.A.was authorized to carry

mail, the Sociedad Colombo-Almena de Transportes Aéros(SCADTA) was founded by a“group of eight.” It was com-prised of five Colombian busi-nessmen and German importerAlbert Tietjen, Fritz Klein andsalesman-engineer WernerKämmerer, who had assembledthe group.

While the others wereestablishing their infrastructureto operate in Colombia, Käm-merer went to Germany insearch of suitable aircraft for theplanned use. Having met FritzHammer, Kämmerer took hisadvice and ordered two JunkersF-13 floatplanes.

When the planes finallyarrived in Colombia, in July1920, they came with two veryimportant additions: Fritz Ham-mer and aircraft engineer Wil-helm (Guillermo) Schnurbusch, The latter served as SCADTA’s technical

director for the next two decades. The group was soon joined by anotherGerman pilot, Hellmuth von Krohn, who would go on to become the air-line’s chief pilot. Together they conducted survey flights up the Mag-dalena River. The all-metal F-13s proved very reliable and better able tocope with the conditions of climate and terrain than the fabric-and-woodplanes used by C.C.N.A.

A German-Czech geographer-industrialist from Austria, Dr.Peter Paul von Bauer, became involved with the company about the turnof the year 1921. Dr. von Bauer was involved in an Amazonian expedi-tion in 1911 and lived in South America from 1908 to 1916. He returnedthere in 1920, depressed about the effects of the war on his native land.

He took on the role of SCADTA representative, traveled to Ger-many and, with details provided by Hammer and Schnurbusch, orderedtwo more F-13s, these modified for the tropics. He sold off his invest-ments in Europe and plowed the money into SCADTA, gaining financialcontrol and its directorship in July 1922. He also developed a scientificdivision which did aerial survey and mapping work for the Colombiangovernment.

Dr. von Bauer also established offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Parisand New York (Interamerican Aerotravel & Supplies Inc, incorporated inDelaware), with enough promotional material that the world soon knewthat SCADTA had arrived and was THE airline in South America! On

MAY 2014 PAGE 187PAGE 186 AIRPOST JOURNAL

The SCADTA label

“Fright Service” was offered. Mostearly airlines were not so honest! This is arare 1927 SCADTA poster showing thethree aircraft used: the F-13, DornierMerkur and the Wal.

Three of SCADTA’s F-13s lined up on the shore of the Magdale-na River near Giradot (from the left, A-4, Bogatá; A-8, Magadalena;and A-10, Caldas. The photograph had to be taken between 1921,when the latter two were delivered, and 1926 when the Caldascrashed. Bogatá crashed in 1927 and Magdalena was returned toJunkers in 1929.

December 5, 1922, he executed a contract with the Colombian govern-ment to carry the airmail but, unlike other airlines in Europe and theUnited States, received no government subsidy. SCADTA’s stamps wereavailable abroad and generally bore an overprint relating to the countrywhere obtained..

SCADTA appeared to be successful, but was not without its dis-asters and mishaps. One was the tragic loss of the A-4 Tolima and its fourpassengers and crew during a small Barranquilla air show on June 8,1924. On board that day were pilot Wilhelm Fischer, SCADTA’s firstpresident Ernesto Cortissoz, and chief pilot von Krohn,

GermanyMeanwhile, on May 5, 1924, Deutscher Aero Lloyd A.G. (one of

Luft Hansa’s predecessors) founded the Condor Syndikat in partnershipwith the German trading company Schlubach Theimer. The groupplanned to study the viability of aircraft operations in South Americaand to promote Junkers’ and other German aircraft exports. SCADTAtook a 10 percent interest in the new company. (Davies notes that Ham-mer “had formed” the company, but, at the very least, he certainlybrought in SCADTA.)

The Caribbean and the United StatesCommercial aviation was far more advanced in Europe than in

the United States and the rest of the world. On this side of the Atlantic,

no one had seriously considered the potential of the Caribbean as an air-line market.

SCADTA, with impetus from the Condor Syndikat, looked toexpand beyond the limits of its own homeland and started some surveyflights to Venezuela. As the F-13s were clearly not up to long over-waterflights more potent equipment was needed. In 1925, Hammer went toGermany to find a more suitable alternative. Through his efforts, theSyndikat purchased two Dornier Wal flying boats. The planes weremade in Italy since in-Germany construction was still barred by thepeace treaty. They were shipped to Curaçao for final assembly and thenturned over, under lease, to SCADTA.

On or about August 18, 1925, these Wals, named Atlántico andPacifico, under Colombia’s colors, began a clockwise trip through allseven Central American countries, arriving in Havana on September 19.This was just four days after other agents from Junkers and a few localGerman residents helped establish Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB) inBolivia.

Dr. von Bauer and Fritz Hammer, now marketing director forSyndikat, were on board as goodwill ambassadors and negotiators forSCADTA’s planned expansion. In April of that year, von Bauer madeovertures to the U.S. Post Office Department and seemingly had beenwell received. Now, however, the two aircraft were denied entry into theU.S., although the Pacifico was finally permitted to cross to West PalmBeach via Miami.

Hammer went to New York looking for travel and commercialbusiness and investment support while von Bauer went to Washingtonto discuss his plans with the Postmaster General. He even obtained ameeting with President Coolidge, but the response was anything butwarm. Coolidge had been advised of the fears of the military. German U-boats plied the waters of the Caribbean just a decade before and therewas, of course, the Panama Canal, where over-flight restrictions werealready in effect. The Postmaster General, and others apparently, alreadyhad dreams of an American airline accomplishing von Bauer’s goals.

U.S. Air Force General H. H. “Hap” Arnold was one of thosewho reacted to the “threat” and, as he recalls in his book, Global Mission(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1949, pp. 115-116), there is an implicationthat his zeal was, perhaps, not entirely patriotic.

In a sense, the formation of Pan American Airways turned out to be thefirst countermeasure the United States ever took against Nazi Germany, thoughHitler was unknown in America then.


The Pacifico being christened in Barranquilla prior to theCaribbean flight.

In my job as Information Officer, I saw reports from the militaryattaché in Colombia which gave repeated data about a German airline, Scadta,run by a Captain von Bauer, and operating between Barranquilla and Bogotá.All pilots, mechanics, and equipment of this line running up the MagdalenaRiver, and far too close to the Panama Canal to be ignored, were German. Then Ireceived information that Captain von Bauer wanted to expand his successful airline, pushing it not only to Panama itself, but extending it through the CentralAmericas to Cuba and the United States to carry mail and passengers.

That was the last straw. I immediately went to see G-2 of the WarDepartment, and after that I called on Postmaster General New. I asked thePostmaster General whether, if Captain von Bauer arrived in Washington andrequested authority to carry mail from the United States to Barranquilla andBogotá, under the law he would have to give him the contract. Mr. New thoughtit over for a while and said he thought he would, unless there was some otherline, preferably an American line, that could perform the service. I asked himwhether the American line must be “in being” or if it could be one in the processof organization. He said he would have to wait and see what I meant by that.

I went back to my office, took a map, and drew a sketch of an air lineoperating from Key West to Havana, to the western end of Cuba, to the north-east point of the Yucatan Peninsula, down through British Honduras,Guatemala, Nicaragua, and to Panama. I then called in Major Spaatz and MajorJack Jouett. We talked it over for hours, and finally we called in an ex-Navy manby the name of John Montgomery. Together, we drew up a prospectus of such anair line and how it might make money. Then we sent John Montgomery to NewYork. Montgomery interested some moneyed people and funds were set up for anair line operating between Florida and Cuba and Panama. We found out that theStandard Oil Company had to send supplies to Havana, Key West, and to theCentral American ports, and the freight charges and the funds received for car-rying the mail between Key West and Havana would pay for the operatingexpenses of that part of the line. We also found out that most of the ports wherewe were going to land had ships arriving but once every thirty days. We figuredthat we would start out by giving these ports airplane service once-a-week, andlater on, give them service twice-a-week, which would save from thirty to forty-five days in delivery of goods.

With that information, and knowing that the capital in New York wasinterested in the line, we went back to Postmaster General New and told himjust what happened. When Captain von Bauer made his final appearance andapplied for permission to run the Scadta Line from Barranquilla to Panama andto the United States, he was refused.

Very few people in the War Department or in Panama knew that at

that moment jobs had been offered to Spaatz, to be operating director of the newcompany; to Jouett, to handle all personnel; to Montgomery, to be field manageron the line when it was in operation; and to me, to be president and generalmanager of Pan American. Just what would have happened had my tour inWashington remained unbroken, I do not know.

Juan Trippe did!So the 1925 trip, a failure for von Bauer and Condor Syndikat,

stirred the sleeping giant to the north into a new interest in theCaribbean and South America. It spurred the development of bothguideline controls and airline companies: the Air Mail and Air Com-merce Acts were passed in 1926 and Pan American Airways (Pan Am),founded in 1927, started Key West to Havana service. While von Baueraccepted his defeat and became content to make SCADTA a successfuldomestic airline, Hammer was outraged and blamed U.S. military/polit-ical intrigue for their failure.

The Pacifico returned to Havana and was boat-shipped back toCuraçao, where it was fated to crash the following year on a flight to Bar-ranquilla, another discouragement for SCADTA.

On January 6, 1926, under pressure from the German govern-ment, as an economy measure, Deutscher Aero Lloyd and Junkers-Luftverkehr were consolidated into Deutsche Luft Hansa.

ReferencesAhrens, Werner. “Brazil – The Varig Air Mail Stamps,” Aero-Phi-

latelist Annals, Vol. 3, No. 3. Cinnaminson: American Air Mail Society,1956.

Davies, R.E.G. Airlines of Latin America since 1919. Washington:Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984.

Davies, R.E.G. Lufthansa: An Airline and its Aircraft. Rockville:Paladwr Press, 1991.

Wachtel, Joachim. The Lufthansa Story. Cologne: Lufthansa Ger-man Airlines, 1980.

— To Be Continued —


AAMS members get two free classifieds per year.Send yours to the editor today!

More on the Pan AmericanAirways Test of 1946

Richard SaundryI was exceedingly pleased to see Frank Reynolds' article on the

"Pan American Airways Test of 1946" which appeared in the March 2014issue of the Airpost Journal. Perhaps Frank and our readers will be inter-ested in seeing what is almost certainly a unique PAA test letter to SanJosé, Costa Rica, at the same time learning a little more of the back-ground story behind these often-overlooked PAA test letters .

The USPOD Information Service reported on October 23, 1946that, following the introduction of the 5-cent domestic airmail rate, therewas a 26.5 percent increase in the amount of airmail carried during thefirst 15 days of October, compared with the first half of September. Post-master General Robert E. Hannigan aptly reported:Experience has proven that by offering a good service at reasonable cost, the

public will utilize the service in ever-increasing volume. We are confident thatthis will be true of nickel air mail . . . From October 27 to November 2 we arecelebrating Air Mail Week to bring to the attention of the American people theadvantages of air transport. The President of the United States has added to thesignificance of this event by proclaiming this period as National Air Mail Week.

In a bulletin of October 23, it was further announced that uponthe introduction of the forthcoming new 10-cent per ½ ounce hemispher-ic air mail rate on November 1:a public test of the speed of air mail facilities between these countries [i.e. the

West Indies, Central and South America] has been arranged. For one day only,November 1, persons desiring to participate in this test may do so by addressingan envelope, prepaid with a 10-cent stamp, to ‘Pan America World AirwaysSystem, Air Mail Test’ at any of the capital cities of the countries listed here [atend were listed the 28 capital cities]. The sender's complete return address mustbe placed in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope. The envelope can bemailed in the regular way on November 1. Upon arrival in the country of desti-nation, the date of receipt will be stamped on it. Return postage will be appliedby Pan American World Airways and the envelope mailed to the sender throughregular air mail channels. The return address must be within the continentalUnited States and only one letter should be sent to each country.

Thus we have very clear instructions how interested collectorsshould organize their covers. The great problem, however, was that the

period between this announcement on October 23 and November 1 wasonly nine days. The view has been expressed in the March 1996 issue ofthe American Philatelist, (in an article dealing with the Transport Air MailSeries of U.S. stamps) that the number of covers sent might have beendisappointingly small. I believe, however, the number of covers con-trived by interested collectors was fairly large since along with FrankReynolds, I have experienced little difficulty, even here in the UK, inlocating any of the 1946 Pan American test covers.

Possibly the 1946 test letters have been largely dismissed by seri-ous collectors as being only pure confection. This is not, of course, whatthey were. There was a serious commercial reason for devising the tests.The covers provide the means for documenting an important change inU.S. air mail postage rates.

Notwithstanding the perceived rarity of these test covers, thereis another class of cover which is definitely much scarcer and which theknowledgeable collector should keep his or her wary eyes out for. Whenit was announced that the testing of the hemispheric air mail systemwould be made available to the general public on November 1, 1946, PanAmerican World Airways decided to test the procedure out for itself tomake sure its personnel in all the 28 countries of destination would knowhow to correctly and efficiently handle the expected flood of letters.

Accordingly, a few days before November 1, Pan AmericanWorld Airways sent out its own test letters with instructions how to han-dle them. These were de facto practice letters. They were testing the testletter system. I have one such letter sent by R. C. Lounsbury at PanAmerican World Airways in New York on October 28 to San José, CostaRica which was subsequently correctly franked for the return journey by


the Pan American World Airways officials in Costa Rica on October 31and returned by air to New York (manuscript endorsement "Rec'd NYCNov 4, 1946"). This cover still retained its enclosure, the original instruc-tions to Pan Am's staff how to handle this practice test letter.

I believe my cover to be a unique item from the perspective of aCosta Rica one-country air mail collector. I also anticipate there wouldonly have been one such practice test letter sent to each of the 28 countrydestinations. In fact, some 15 years ago in London I attended a meetingof the King George VI Specialist Society where an Asian gentleman gavea most erudite display of the stamps with their usages on cover of theKing George VI stamp issues of Jamaica, including a practice test letter toKingston, also dated October 28, 1946. We agreed on the scarcity and

probably unique aspects of our practice test letters.So the hunt could be on to find the remaining 26 practice test let-

ters. I was worried, knowing that the 10-cent rate was only to be intro-duced starting November 1, 1946, why my cover to Costa Rica, posted inadvance of that date also was also franked 10 cents. In fact, the air mailpostage rate was correct as the rate to Costa Rica had already beenreduced to 10 cents per ½ ounce on April 1, 1945. For destinations furtherremoved than Costa Rica from the United States the expected postagerate before November 1 would have been greater. To help readers locatethe practice test covers the rate to, say, Colombia in October 1946 was 15cents per ½ ounce, and further afield to, say, Argentina the rate was 20cents per ½ ounce. Any of the "mundane" test letters bearing stamps ofhigher denomination than 10 cents would well be worth a second look,for they might prove to be one of the very scarce practice test letters.

These practice test letters have, until now, remained largelyunrecognized by their owners or dealers. My cover resided in my collec-tion for many years until, for some unaccountable reason, I closely exam-ined the dates, and only then did I realize I was sitting on a howling rari-ty!


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Jim Graue

Few collectors buy covers for their collection for no reason. Thatcan make the “why” of the buy an interesting insight.

For the most part, I do not collect U.S. airmail covers (exceptthose flown on the German North Atlantic catapult airmail flights of1929-1935, and an occasional Hindenburg cover. Nevertheless, once in awhile (usually a great while, actually) I see a cover on display at a stampshow bourse table that is exceptional. First, it is attractive, at least in myeye (otherwise I would not have noticed it). In addition, there is some-thing special about it, at least in my mind, that makes it unusual or high-ly interesting, or both. Over many years I have a few of these, just a few,that I see as “Super Covers.”

Here is my latest example, acquired at APS Stampshow 2013 inMilwaukee. See if you like it as much as I do.

This cover measures 7.5 x 5 inches and is international insuredair parcel post! This is not something one sees every day, especially in

such a “collectible” size. It was sent from Pickerel, Wisconsin to Karlstad,Sweden on January 27, 1972. It is franked with 11 (block of 6, one pairand three singles) of the 21¢ U.S. airmail issue of 1971 (Scott C81), 10 ofwhich adorn the face of the cover. These are accompanied by, on thereverse, the 11th C81 plus two commemoratives (Scott 1442 and 1443)and two definitives (Scott 1338D and 1278). This totals $2.54.

International parcel post to Sweden, 8 ounces $ 0.31Insurance: Insured value $100 = Gfr (gold francs) 300 0.55Airmail: 21¢ per ounce x 8 ounces 1.68

$2.54Perfect!The face is adorned with a U.S. Mail Insured label, a orange-red

V international insurance label and two red/white/blue “Via Air Mail /Employ Epileptics” etiquettes. The reverse bears a POD Form 2922“International Parcel Post / Instructions Given by Sender” and the rub-ber-stamped date -2 FEB. 1972 which one can reasonably assume is thearrival date. The left end was opened by Swedish customs and bears aSwedish closure seal.

I found this cover irresistible. Some day a collector specializingin the 21¢ U.S. airmail stamp will want this cover in a big way! Smallwonder, as it is a “Super Cover!”

PAGE 196 AIRPOST JOURNAL MARCH 2014 PAGE 197

Why I Bought It!

AIRPOST JOURNAL MAY 2014 PAGE 199

The Flying Buffaloes of theUnited States , Part 1

William DrummondClair Aubrey Huston, also known as Charles Aubrey Houston,

was a stamp designer of renown for the United States Bureau of Engrav-ing and Printing (BEP). Huston was the primary designer of the 30-centBuffalo stamp, first issued on March 20, 1923 as part of the FourthBureau Issues. Huston worked for BEP for more than 21 years. The mostfamous issue he designed was the 1918 Curtiss Jenny stamp.

Charles R. Knight painted the buffalo on which the design of thestamp was based. Louis Schofield was the engraver on this stamp.

This article is based on a one-frame exhibit for the Greater Hous-ton Stamp Show Color Competition.

The concept of the exhibit is the usage of the 30-cent Buffalostamp to pay all or partially pay airmail rates to various destinations(special services noted). Routing information is delineated. Part 1 of thisarticle discusses European covers.

The 30-cent per half ounce airmail rate to Europe was effectivefrom April 28, 1939 until October 31, 1946. (1)

Example 1 was mailed from Ridgefield, Connecticut to Copen-hagen, Denmark on August 1, 1939. It went surface transit from Ridge-field to New York City, then Pan Am from New York City to London.There it was placed on a Danish airline flight to Copenhagen

The second cover originated in Coshocton, Ohio. It is addressedto Oslo, Norway and bears an August 13, 1940 cancel.

Central Ohio had very limited airmail service until after WorldWar II so this cover went surface transit from Coshocton to Cleveland. Ithopped a United flight to New York City and flew Pam Am to Lisbonand Lufthansa to Oslo.

Example 3 was sent to Stockholm, Sweden from Miami, Floridaon December 12, 1939. An Eastern flight took it to New York City. Fromthere it flew Pan Am to Lisbon and Lufthansa to Stockholm.

The 60 cents postage is equal to rate for a 0.51 ounce to 1 ounceletter.

The fourth example is a letter sent from Charlestown, Indiana toLiverpool, England on May 26, 1939. After traveling to Cincinnati by sur-face mail, the letter flew TWA to New York City then caught the Pan Amflight to Lisbon. British BOAC took it the final leg of its journey.

Paris, France was destination of the cover in Example 5. It wasmailed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 18, 1940. It wasplaced on an Eastern Airlines flight to New York City, Pan Am to Lisbonand by train to Vichy, France. It was then censored by German agents in


Example 1

Example 2

Vichy and returned via New York City on October 21, 1941.The writer of the letter shown in Example 6 gave instructions

that the letter to the Netherlands be transported via “Clipper.” As it orig-inated in New York City it caught the Pan Am flight to Lisbon on

December 21, 1939. Lufthansa took it to Amsterdam where it went sur-face mail to the recipient in Scheveningen. Example 7 went from NewYork City to Marseille, France on May 20, 1939.

From Lexington, Virginia, Example 8 went to Dordogne, Franceon September 21, 1939. Since Western Virginia was receiving sporadic air


Example 4

Example 3

Example 5

Example 6

service, it had to go surface to Washington, D.C. for transfer to an East-ern Airlines flight to New York City. Pan Am carried it to Lisbon whereit was put on a train to Dordogne.

The final cover in this group, Example 9, was sent to Istanbul,

Turkey on November 20, 1940 from Kent, Ohio. As in Example 2, it wentsurface transit to Cleveland for a United flight to New York City. PanAm took it to Lisbon and Lufthansa to Marseille when it was placed onan Imperial flight to Istanbul

Reference1. Rate from U.S. International Postal Rates, 1872 – 1996: page 137

by Anthony S. Wawrukiewicz and Henry W. Beecher


Example 7

Example 8

Example 9

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Earle Ovington Flies the FirstAirmail . . . Then What?

Earle Ovington was designated the U.S. Post Office Depart-ment’s “First Aeroplane Mail Carrier.” He made aerophilatelic history onSeptember 23, 1911, with a flight from Garden City to Mineola, NewYork, with a pouch of cards and letters.It was his only official airmail gig and hewasn’t even paid for his efforts.

He was authorized to pilot theplane that would carry mail from NewYork to Chicago and San Francisco, butthe engine of his cross-country planewasn’t up to the task.

Ovington continued to fly, even-tually moving his family to Santa Bar-bara, California. He built a house thatincluded an airstrip. The airstrip servedas the Santa Barbara airfield until Oving-ton’s death in 1936.

It was from this airfield the for-mer air racer ran an “unofficial” airmailoperation. He flew mail from Santa Bar-bara to Santa Cruz Island. He explains his “business” in an October 11,1930 letter to a friend in Chicago:

Santa Cruz Island is a privately owned island thirty miles offshorefrom Santa Barbara. There is no town there, and of course, no postoffice. There

are two ranch houses. I fly the mail but only unofficially. It comes to an addressin Santa Barbara (concern that operate fishing boats) and I collect it there andtake it to the Island and give it to the ranch house and they distribute it.

The letter goes on:Thanks for your tips on how to work the air mail cover racket. Am glad

to get information at any time, from anybody who is interested enough in me togive it. So when you have a helpful hint shoot it! You know I’m green at air mailcollecting.

Philatelic material for this article was provided by Carrolyn andDale Green.


Earle Ovington and hiswife, Adelaide, about 1913.

The top of the letter sent to his Chicago friend, bearing Oving-ton’s personal and island cachets. The wording in the middle reads:Earle Ovington, Owner and Subdivider of CASA LOMA, Santa Barbara,California. On the blank line on the island cachet is written: “I signhere.”

One of the covers Earle Ovington carried from Santa CruzIsland to Santa Barbara for inclusion in the regular mail stream.

Labels Ovington applied to the back of his correspondence

Pilot-Signed CoversI have a special affinity for pilots. I was fortunate enough to have

flown the United States’ best fighter planes for most of my militarycareer. In the late 1970s, when I reconnected with my philatelic past, itwas only natural that my interests narrowed to airmail stamps andaerophilately. My passion for CAM covers started when I purchased aCAM 12 cover signed, in beautiful script, “J H Cordner, Pilot” (Figure 1.)

In a personal way, the cover connected me with the history offlight in this great country. Even more important, the signature meantthat, at some point in the past, one of those courageous flying pioneershad personally touched this piece of mail. Pilot-signed covers became apriority of my hobby.

Pilot-signed covers should also be of interest to the CAM trea-sure hunter because the signatures provide added value and interest toCAM covers, even the most common items. Since there are no reliable

references to help establish price, valuation is largely subjective. In thecurrent market, I expect to pay at least a $10-20 premium for any coversigned by the pilot that flew a specific route.

Covers bearing signatures unrelated to the route should beworth less, except when the signer is famous or is collectible in someother category of interest. For example, Jimmy Doolittle, famous in the1920s and ‘30s, who later became a hero of WWII, signed covers fromflights that he did not fly. His signature is desired for its own sake andcommands prices to match that demand.

CAM covers fall into three major demand ranges. The top rangeincludes covers flown and signed by the superstars. The best examplesare: “Charles Lindbergh, Pilot” on a 1926 CAM 2 cover (Figure 2) and“Amelia Earhart” on a 1929 CAM 27 flight from Detroit to Cleveland.Covers in this range bring huge prices and are hunted by collectors out-side of aerophilately. Unless you find a long-hidden lode, they are notgreat targets for the prospecting treasure hunter.

The middle range includes common covers signed by workingpilots who flew daily routes for CAM contractors. These can be found oneBay, in dealer’s boxes at shows and in cover auctions. A pilot’s signa-ture adds value, providing a discriminator for the flood of common cov-ers, but these are like panning for gold dust in a stream . . . lots of workfor modest value.

The third range is where the treasure hunter can find the hiddengems and some of the precious metal of aerophilately. These are coverssigned by pilots who, for various reasons, didn’t put their “John Henry”


Treasure Hunting forCAM Covers

Lee Downer

Figure 1

Figure 2

on many collectors’ covers. The most notable example would be a coversigned by Elmer Partridge who died flying the CAM 9 inaugural in June1926. He could have signed a few prior to the flight, but, due to the cir-cumstances of that inaugural, that is unlikely.

In addition, there are pilots who died within a few weeks of theirinaugural, like Ross Kirkpatrick, killed three months after the CAM 7inaugural, as well as pilots who were moved to other contracts or otherjobs shortly after the first flights. An example is Lawrence Garrison, whoflew the northbound leg from St. Joseph on the CAM 3 inaugural andthen went to other routes or duties a month later. Try to find a CAM 3signed by him.

The process and logistics of getting a cover signed took time,perhaps weeks or months, depending on many factors that did not makethe effort easy. In general, the pilots and airlines cooperated with collec-tors since they wanted to use every means to get the public to spend theextra cents on their service.

When the relatively sparse numbers of 1926-1927 signed coversare compared to the large numbers of signed covers from the 1928-1930inaugurals, it is a good indicator of collector demand as well as how theprocess for getting covers signed improved. For the prospector, thoseearly routes are where the high grade ore is hiding. Pilots died orchanged airlines and requests for signatures got lost in the process, mak-ing some of these signatures quite scarce.

In this article, I’ll put the metal detector on CAM 9 because thereare some great potential finds for the diligent, well-informed prospector.The CAM 9 inaugural was a disaster. A freak weather system that cen-tered in the area between Chicago and Minneapolis brought rarecyclone-strength winds kicking up huge dust storms on the surface. Visi-bility in some places was down to feet and turbulence was bone shaking.

Only one pilot made it all the way on his planned route. Fourpilots were forced to land short of their destinations due to turbulence,winds or airplane malfunctions. One pilot abandoned the missionbecause of air sickness and another died in a crash.

Perham Nahl provided a detailed description of the variouspilot’s travails in a June 1976 APJ article, a thumbnail of which is in Vol-ume 2 of the American Air Mail Catalogue, Fifth Edition. Perry talks aboutsix pilots, but a subsequent 1985 investigation by the Minnesota StateHistorical Commission, revealed that there were possibly seven involvedin this first day for the contractor, Charles Dickinson. Ron Sarson, writ-ing several articles for APJ, took the research to a new level of accuracy,

but there is still a mystery surrounding the name and the role of a sev-enth aviator who was either M. J. Riddle or Merrill K. Riddick, neitherlisted as first flight pilots in the AAMC.

Details of what the seventh pilot did are still not clear, but, as apilot, I have a theory. As one of the airline’s pilots, Riddick/Riddle wasscheduled, along with Billy Brock, to fly the southbound mail from Min-neapolis on June 7. He was to do it in a new Elmer Partridge-built cabinplane, a small, closed-cockpit aircraft that looked like a Bellanca.

On June 6, that seventh pilot flew Partridge, the reserve pilot, onthe positioning flight from Chicago to Minneapolis in order to get an “onthe job” check in this new aircraft. Due to the incredible turbulence, theseventh pilot got so airsick they put down in Watertown, Wisconsin, toride out the worst of the storm. When it became clear that the seventhpilot could not continue the mission, Partridge would have gotten hisplane to Minneapolis to take it on the inaugural southbound flight.

The seventh pilot was not listed in the AAMC because there wasofficially no mail carried on the positioning flight from Chicago to Min-neapolis. At the scheduled time, 2:10 p.m., on June 7, Partridge took offwith the Chicago-and-beyond mail, heading directly to Maywood Field,the Chicago terminus. Tragically, shortly after takeoff, he crashed andwas killed near Mendota, just south of St. Paul, Minnesota.

After a disastrous start, the next day was much more normal, butwith very small mail weight, an issue that quickly plagued the airline: no


Figure 3CAM 9 Chicago cover signed by Henry Keller and Dan Kiser

mail, no money. Adding to the problems for this contractor, the pilotsrefused to fly the Laird Swallow airplanes which had behaved so poorlythe day before. Citing safety and performance issues, they either werelaid off or walked away. The low mail volume continued through the

summer months, eventually forcing the Dickinson Airline to cease opera-tions until it could reorganize later in the year.

For the CAM treasure hunter, any signed CAM 9 covers fromthat first inaugural in June 1926 are high grade ore. After the inaugural,the pilots went to find other work while Dickinson struggled. Even ifthere was a process to get covers signed, it didn’t work in the aftermath,so collectors had to use ad hoc methods to get their signatures.

Signed inaugural covers from Nimmo Black, Billy Brock, MattyLaird, Dan Kiser, and especially Henry C Keller are scarce and shouldbring big premiums, if you can find them (figures 3 and 4). A coversigned by Merrill Riddick or M. J. Riddle would help solve the mysteryof the seventh pilot and would be a platinum find. A cover signed priorto the flight by Elmer Partridge, if any exist, would be among the truegems of CAM collecting.

Once again, if any readers have or knowledge of a Partridge orRiddick/Riddle signed cover, let me know through the editor ([email protected]). Happy hunting!


Figure 4Nimmo Black signature on the back of a Chicago-to-Minneapolis cover

The Aerophilatelic Event of the Decade

Aerophilately 2014National All-Airmail Philatelic Exhibition

with FIP Recognition and WorldWide Participation

September 12 – 14, 2014American Philatelic Center

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

in Conjunction with

Eighth Annual Postal History Symposium

Development of Trans-Ocean Airmail ServiceSponsored by

American Air Mail SocietyAmerican Philatelic Society

American Philatelic Research Library Smithsonian National Postal Museum

All – Airmail Philatelic Exhibition Airmail Dealers

Programs Seminars Meetings Social Events

For additional information, please see . . .www.americanairmailsociety.org

www.stamps.org

SANDICAL 2014January 24-26, 2014 - San Diego, California

GoldLewis Bussey French Naval Mail to America: The RF Period

and Lead-Up 1943-1945Also: Felicitations of the Jury,APS Excellence 1940-1980Vermeil

William J. Snyder The Beacon Air Mail StampSilver

Don Chafetz First All New Jersey Flight 1937Also: WE Sterling Achievement Award

Single Frame Grand AwardJeff Ward Cayenne Airmails

Also: Gold, AAMS Award

Sarasota National Stamp Exhibition 2014February 7-9, 2014 - Sarasota, Florida

Reserve Grand AwardJames W. Graue Zeppelin South America Flights 1930-1937

Also: Gold, AAMS AwardGold

Millard Mack The 6¢ Transport Airmail Stamp Goes to War

AMERISTAMP EXPO 2014February 14-16, 2014 - Little Rock, Arkansas

Single Frame Prix d’HonneurUttam Reddy The World’s First Official Aerial Post 1911Arnold Wasserman The 24¢ Jenny Bicolor

Single Frame GoldRichard E. Drews Atlantic Coast Air Services “Tramtickets” for Lundy

IslandAlfredo Frohlich SCADTA Airmail Stamps for SCADTA Airmail

Service in EcuadorAlso: AAMS Award

Single Frame VermeilJohn M. Hotchner U.S. 5¢ 1946 DC-4 “Skymaster” – Usages from and

to Foreign Countries and U.S. TerritoriesSingle Frame Silver

Bruce Marsden Swissair’s 1947 First Flight to North America

ARIPEX 2014February 21-23, 2014 - Mesa, Arizona

GoldAllen Klein Remembering the USS MaconStephen Tucker Pan American’s Pacific Clippers 1935-1941

Silver-BronzeWilliam Woytowich Alaskan Emergency Air Mail Flights 1933-1948

Youth SilverIan Gazdacko Flying Machines and Communications

Also: Youth AwardSingle Frame Grand Award

Allen Klein Flown Mail on the USS Shenandoah

Single Frame Reserve Grand AwardDickson Preston Processing Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg

Passenger MailSingle Frame Vermeil

Dickson Preston Short Paid Trans-Atlantic Zeppelin MailAlso: AAPE Award of Honor

TEXPEX 2014February 28 – March 2, 2014 - Dallas, Texas

GoldRay Cartier Primary Recovery Ship CoversBernie Bernstein Airships of the “Foolish Count”

Also: AAMS Award,AAPE Creativity Award

Michael D. Dixon Use of British World War II Prisoner-of-WarStationery

Also: APS Excellence 1940-1980,Military Postal History Soc. Award,

UPSS Marcus White Award, Title Page Award


News of the Shows

VermeilDavid Ball Americans in Space

Also: Machine Cancel Soc. Award

Silver-BronzeJohn Macco Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

One Frame Grand AwardAlfredo Frohlich SCADTA Airmail Stamps for Ecuador

One Frame GoldStephen Reinhard Swiss Pioneer Airmail: National Flugspende Stamps

and MailDon David Price The Jenny: Printing Variations of America’s First

Airmail StampAllen Klein Delivery Flight of the ZR-3: Germany to the US

One Frame Silver BronzeCheryl Ganz The Piccards: A Ballooning Family

St. Louis Stamp ExpoMarch 21-23, 2014 - St. Louis, Missouri

Reserve Grand AwardRobert Hisey French Airmail Route in Africa During World War II

Also: APS Research Award, APS Excellence 1940-1980AAMS Award

GoldWilliam J. Drummond Foreign Air Mail Route 14: 1935-1941S. H. Bernstein The Airships of the “Foolish Count”


AmericanAir Mail Society

Dedicated to the research, study, documentation andpreservation of aerophilately worldwide through education,

study, research and services.Organized in 1923, Incorporated in 1944 as a non-profit corporation of

the state of OhioIRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization APS affiliate #77

PRESIDENT: Jim Graue, 11911 East Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036([email protected])

VICE PRESIDENT: David E. Crotty, Ph.D., PO Box 16115, Ludlow KY 41016-0115 ([email protected] )

SECRETARY: Dr. Robert Dille, 335 Merkle Drive, Norman OK 73069-6429 ([email protected])

TREASURER: Stephen Reinhard, P.O. Box 110, Mineola NY 11501 ([email protected])

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Mark Banchik, P.O. Box 2125, Great Neck NY 11022 ([email protected])

DIRECTORS AT LARGE:Kent Kobersteen Steve TuckerDavid Ball Pat Walters

ADVISORY EXECUTIVE BOARD (Past Presidents):Cheryl Ganz Jonathan L. Johnson, Jr. Stephen ReinhardA.D. Jones Kendall C. Sanford Allen KleinDerrick Pillage Greg Schmidt Mark Banchik

Samuel J. Pezzillo Andrew McFarlane

LEGAL COUNSEL:Robert J. Horn, Jackson Lewis LLP, 10701 Parkridge Blvd., Suite

300, Reston VA 20191

Application for MembershipApplicant to provide two references, philatelic preferred.

Want to buy, trade or sell?Take advantage of the classifiedsads featured monthly in the APJ

April 2014

Submitted by Membership Secretary Rudy Roy

New Applicants12255 Baltzell, Bob, Independence MO. CAM PA NAW AL. By: APS12256 Carroccia, Alfred A., West Seneca NY. FAM CC HC AL APS. By:

AAMS Website12257 Walczyk, John, Canton OH. AS CAM FAM NAW. By: APS

Reinstated10689 Friedman, Robert J.11785 Monday, Nyle C.11011 Schultz, Steven

Resigned10386 Deardoff, Ronald W.12074 Kunz, Walter.

Lapsed06770 Briton, Abraham08349 Strauss, John H.

— Summary —Total Membership —March 1, 2014 .........................................................936New Members ............................................................................................. +2Reinstated..................................................................................................... +3Resigned .........................................................................................................-2Lapsed............................................................................................................ -2Total Membership — April 1, 2014 .......................................................937

(not including 3 new applicants)


American Air Mail SocietyMembership and Subscriptions

Annual membership dues for new members, which includes a subscrip-tion to the Airpost Journal is $30 domestic, $40 Canada, $50 Mexico and

$60 worldwide.All foreign dues include first-class airmail shipment.

PublicationMonthly Official Publication: Airpost Journal

Editor and Advertising: Vickie Canfield Peters, 11911 E. Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036 ([email protected])

Publications CommitteeChairman: Jim Graue, 11911 East Connor Road, Valleyford WA 99036

([email protected])

Member Services

Auction Manager:Don Lussky, 1332 N. Webster St., Naperville IL 60563

Publications Sales Manager:Greg Schmidt, 1978 Fox Burrow Court,Neenah WI 54956 ([email protected])

Merchandise Sales Manager: J.L. Johnson, Jr., 248 Shore Ave., EasternPoint, Groton CT 06340 ([email protected])

Historian: Len Lukens. 4601 South Pacific Highway, #2, Phoenix OR97535

Membership Secretary: Rudy Roy, P.O. Box 5367, Virginia Beach VA23471-0367 ([email protected])

Webmaster:David Crotty ([email protected])

Convention Coordinator: Ken Sanford, 613 Championship Drive, Oxford CT 06478-3128 ([email protected])

Advance Bulletin Service

AAMS Membership Report

Address Changes RequestedWhen relocating, keep your Airpost Journal coming in atimely manner. Send all address changes or corrections toMembership secretary Rudy Roy, Box 5367, Virginia

Beach VA 23471-0367 or email

AIRPOST JOURNAL

APJ ADS AAMS EXCHANGE DEPARTMENTBUY — SELL — WANT LIST

All members, including Life Mem-bers, are entitled to two free 25-word“Wanted and Exchange” notices peryear in the APJ Ads section of theJournal.

RATESTWENTY CENTS PER WORD.

Minimum $5 per insertion.Remittance must accompany orderand copy. The Airpost Journal, 11911E. Connor Road, Valleyford WA99036. Ads can also be emailed [email protected].

Ads must be received by firstof the month preceding publicationdate.

FOR SALE

FOR SALE? For trade? Looking forsomething? Use the APJ classifieds.AAMS members get two free adsper year. Write yours today and sendit to the editor at the address above.

WANTED and EXCHANGE

WANTED: C11 Beacon unusualcommercial usages (rates, routes,Asian and African destinations).Mint GFH and CIR/JHS Sideogra-pher initials. Kent Kobersteen, POBox 155, Occoquan, VA [email protected]. 6/14

* * *CHRISTMAS greetings aero-

grammes used by prisoners and mili-tary in World War II wanted. PeterFink, Restaurant Lowen, CH-9532

Rickenbach/Wil Switzerland. FAX:011 41 719124315, telephone 01141 719233010 6/14

* * *

MEXICAN airmail and flight coverswanted, through 1939. To, from,through Mexico. Send photocopiesor scans, with price desired, toStephen Reinhard, P.O. Box 110,Mineola, NY 11501. or send [email protected] 6/14

* * *

LIFELONG specialist eagerly seek-ing specific US airmail proofs,including C1-C3, C11, C12, C17,C19, and some later. Any airmailessays also greatly desired--much inchoice/rare C1-2-3 material to possi-bly trade. Also looking for any C3FAST Plane (the true variety) forcensus and study. Joe Kirker,[email protected] 6/14

* * *

WANTED: Covers carried by Aéro-postale/Air France on South Atlanticflights 1934-1936. DLH flights oversame route 1936-1939. Send [email protected] 6/14

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