Bumping this thread up with one of my favorite one-of-a-kind airmail borders in which the cover designer cleverly incorporated the sled dogs and aircraft into the airmail border Don
The above cover was characteristic of Alaska, our 49th state. Here's one with Hawaiian designs, our 50th, with a big, bold cancel. Not much philatelic value in this cover, but a nice addition to my Airmail Borders collection. I'd bet an IRS employee snatched this one out of the mail room waste basket! Don
One of my favorite airmail borders here. Silhouettes of U.S. naval ships form the border. I have a few of these covers. They are interesting in that the design disappeared after the U.S. entered WW II and, aside from this cover, my examples have all been postmarked from battleships. After a long, and on-going search I have been unable to find out who designed and sold this type of cover. There was a chatty four-page letter included with this cover. The writer was a sailor on U.S.S. Nashville, which was a cruiser. He mentions that he hopes to get the letter on "a Clipper air mail," but does specify if he meant the daily Clipper flight or this specific cover. This stationery is also great for my Aircraft on Covers collection with its illustration of a Martin 130 Clipper. There are a couple of variations that I will post later, if I can find them. Don
Time to bump up this thread with a variant on the above cover. This one has the ships around the border, but also includes red and blue rectangular dashes below the ships and scroll work in the corners. This cover was posted aboard the U.S.S. Tennessee, a battleship. There is a return address on the reverse for A.E. Mason, % Postmaster, San Pedro, California. While there is no rank before his name, Mason probably served aboard U.S.S. Tennessee. It is odd, however, that Mason did not include his ships name in his address. San Pedro was the home port for many Pacific Fleet ships in the 1930s and 1940s. I also include a scan of two similar covers that were never used. I bought these two covers in an attempt to find out who printed these covers. The top shows only that American News Company distributed this design and the lower displays a copyright notice by Nanco, Inc. My search for any information about American News and Nanco has been unsuccessful. Who designed and sold this unusual airmail stationery remains a mystery to me. Don
A couple of variant borders featuring lightning bolts, one from the U.S., the other from Italy, both from 1953. Don
This cover has several collecting points for me. It qualifies as an Aircraft on Covers, a WW II patriotic with the "Keep 'em Flying slogan, a local, Oklahoma-related cover, and the variant airmail border at the bottom of the envelope. Right now I have it in my Airmail Borders album. Don
It is not unusual for a business to use stationery that includes its logo or initials. This Algerian company has gone one step further, however, and incorporated its name as part of an airmail border. Don
This cover featuring red and blue bunting as an airmail border was a commercially sold stationery, or at least used to be. It is difficult to find airmail envelopes since domestic airmail as a class-of-mail was ended. Don
Red and blue question marks for an airmail border are the main reason I collected this cover. Although, it is also a good Aircraft on Covers with its image of a Lockheed Electra 188 in the upper left corner and in the drawing tying the Turkish stamp. Lots of handstamps on this cover. It was obviously a handback philatelic promotional item but I have never learned what was mysterious about the flight. For me it remains a mystery! Don
An ordinary Venezuelan commercial cover from the WW II period. The postmark is illegible, but the stamps date from the late 1930s and early 1940s and it was opened and resealed by a censor, which leads me to date it in the early 1940s. I have collected this cover for its different airmail border of small red and blue pyramids. Don
A first-flight cover, NYC to Vienna, Austria. There is a clear Vienna receiving cancel on the reverse. There is also a handstamp on the reverse that reads "King's Stamp Club, Box 27, Colvin Station, Syracuse, New York." The franking is a little unusual on this cover. Many collectors would have used the special 30c transatlantic airmail stamp, Sc. C24, for this cover. The use of two Prexies, however, make it a little more desirable for those collecting Presidentials on cover. I have collected it for its attractive art deco styled airmail border. Don
An usual border out of the Dominican Republic. I had not seen it before, or since. The stamp on the left center is Sc 617, the high value of a set of three commemorating the centenary of Dominican Republic stamps. The pair at top are Sc. 620, the low value of a set of two calling attention to the general elections of 1966. Minimal value for both, but both of interest topically. The one on the left for stamps on stamps and the top one for maps on stamps. Don
It has been awhile since I've posted one of my airmail variant covers. This one has always interested me. Don't know who designed it, but it is, indeed, one of a kind. It is canceled at the Burlington Station which was in the Burlington Terminal. I worked there off and on when I was a substitute railway mail clerk in 1959-1960. Don
I have never seen another like it. If one shows up you should buy it as I think the design is scarce. Don
Probably not! My guess is there was at least one for each point on that airmail route, Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis. Most likely a lot more, but just not on the market. Don
This is actually a commercial cover, but I keep it in my Variant Air Mail Borders Collection for its border of palm trees bending in the wind. Don .
It has been over a year since I've posted a cover in this thread. Different ones keep appearing, however, and I buy them when reasonably priced. This one is a real treasure that I found on eBay earlier this spring. It has four collecting points. First, it is a National Air Mail Week cover posted on May 19, 1938, national pick-up day from small towns. Second, it is from a very small town and boasts a cartoon cachet by John Coulthard, my favorite cachet artist. Third, a note from the sender was enclosed explaining his motive for posting the cover, and, lastly, and most importantly for me, is its highly decorative and unique airmail border formed by red and blue arrows. There are three other cover collections it could go in, but I am placing it in my Arrows Airmail Borders collection. As an aside, Hobo Hot Springs is now called Miracle Hot Springs. According to Wikipedia, the name change occurred in 1947. No info, but I doubt that it still has a post office. Don
I just wrote up a couple more variant airmail borders so I might as well post them. First, is a piece of commercial airmail stationery used to send a personal letter from Spokane, WA to Indianapolis, IN. I have never seen anything similar to it. Most unusual, especially to see the design continued on the reverse. The franking on this cover is also odd as there was no apparent reason to apply the Martha Washington 1 1/2 cents Prexie for postage. The 8 cents airmail stamp would have been sufficient. Second, is a cover with the airmail border formed by red and blue Tiki's on the left and right side of the envelope. A note on the reverse indicates it was posted in 1968 by a passenger aboard RHMS Ellinis, a luxury cruise ship of the Chandris Lines, when it passed through the Panama Canal. I have seen a couple other examples of this design. It is also commercial airmail stationery, perhaps, available to passengers aboard ship. Don
