Don.....re buying the whole set just to get one stamp.This is very frustrating.On my last trip to England,went to a couple of shows and dealers would not break up sets for a particular stamp.However,I understand the reasoning ...not many people would buy an incomplete set.Right now,I am trying to complete my French Colonies omnibus series.Most sets consist of 4 or 5 stamps and are usually sold as the complete set.However,some sets are harder to find so I have to try and find the individual stamps.This involves buying from different sources with increased postal costs.Delcampe is a good source for buying individual stamps but its annoying to pay more for postage than I paid for the actual stamp..!!! Bob
I no longer buy short commemorative sets as it is a very long wait to find the missing stamps. Definitive sets are a different story. Usually no problem to fill them out. Sometimes, though, low or fractional values are difficult to find, especially used. Don
A very nicely centered set of stamps! I have a set of these in my Aircraft on Stamps collection, but not as well centered as yours. New Caledonia has issued several other attractive aircraft stamps, none of which I have. I need to see if I can buy them and mount a few pages from this French island territory. Don.
I came across this cover while I was looking for other items.A registered letter from Douala ,Cameroun,to France,dated 2 April 1946.The stamps were printed in 1941 but not on sale in Cameroun until 1946.There is a nice selection of stamps and nice cancels.
Some collectors of Aircraft on Stamps might find including hang gliders a stretch, but I have always found them interesting. Never tried it, but they were popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Hang gliders kind of morphed into ultralight aircraft and, while still around, neither are as popular as they used to be. Not many on stamps, but Romania issued this set of six. Don
Between 1941 and 1945,a series of airmail stamps was issued by 13 French colonies,after declarifng for France Libre.There was a total of 71 stamps,all with the same common design and colours.Some colonies issued a set of 7 stamps.Others such as Guadeloupe and Martinique only issued 2 stamps.The stamps show the Cross of Lorraine,the symbol of France Libre and a Fairey FC 1 airliner. Mint stamps are very common and easy to find,used copies a little harder. To me,a very attractive and colourful series of stamps...simple but effective.
Hi Bob: As usual, nice stamps plus an interesting aircraft in the design! The Fairey FC 1 was an advanced design for its time (1938/39), tricycle gear, long range, pressurized cabin, seating for 26, but it was an aircraft that was never built. Production was stopped due to the start of WW II and never resumed. I've wondered why it was chosen for the stamp series, especially since it was a British design on French stamps??? Don
Don...thanks,good question. These stamps were part of the Series de Londres stamps,issued by the Free French movement led by Charles de Gaulle.Their headquarters were in London.The stamps were designed by Edmund Dulac,a French designer who moved to England and became a British citizen.He was also involved in designing stamps for the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Maybe a British plane was used to show continued cooperation and support ?
An airmail cover from Senegal to NYC,dated 1949.The stamp was issued in 1942 as part of a series of 9 airmail stamps.According to Gibbons catalogue,not all stamps were used in Senegal and are not listed .However,they are all listed in Scott.This is a nice example with a nice cancellation. I am still waiting to receive the cover.It probably took less time to reach USA from Senegal than it takes nowadays from Europe to Ecuador....
Sorry...forgot to add the plane types. Latecoere Flying Boat on the first page. Second page also shows a Savoia Marchetti S-73 on the 4.50fr and 50fr overprint
Bob: Great stamps and pages! What size pages are you using? They look a little longer than 11 inches. Don
Yes, A4 is a little narrower and slightly longer than Letter Size 215.9 × 279.4 millimeters or 8.50 × 11.00 inches. A4 measures 210 × 297 millimeters or 8.27 × 11.69 inches. Don
An item I have just discovered in one of my shoe boxes.It is a prepaid/preprinted postcard from France,valid for postage to other countries.It was issued in 2017 and is a copy of a poster displaying the benefits of using airmail post.The original probably dates back to the 1920,s or 1930,s. It is interesting to see the times shown.For example,from France to West Africa is only 6 to 8 days !!! Also,no mention of times to N.America. I don,t know if the plane depicted is an artists impression or not. Bob
Hi Bob: That is a very nice card. The airplane is an artist's rendition, but a reasonably good one. One doesn't see many bottom views. If I were to write that card up, I would ID the airplane as a Dewoitine D.338. It was the fourth in a series of Dewoitine 300 tri-motors. The D.338 entered service with Air France in the late 1930s (1937 or 1938 maybe) on the Paris-Hanoi and Paris-Dakar routes. Depending upon seating configurations the D.338 could carry 22 passengers at 185 mph. Not a real speed merchant, but not bad for the 1930s. France issued an airmail stamp in 1987, Sc. C59, featuring the Dewoitine D. 338. The image below is from my Aircraft on French Stamps. The photo clip is is a maxim card featuring the airplane and the stamp from Google aircraft images on line. Don
Don.....interesting that you mention the Paris -Dakar route.I have been doing a little research and it appears that a lot of the covers I have from the French colonies in W Africa could have been sent to France by plane on the Mermoz line.I have seen a couple of covers and the sellers state they are from this service.However,there doesnt seem to be any airmail cancellation or marking to indicate this usage.Jean Mermoz was an early French aviator,famous for pioneering airmail service between France and Africa and S America.These stamps were issued in 1937.
Hi Bob: Check out this link for what erroneously might have been referred to as the Mermoz airline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aéropostale_(aviation) Mermoz was a pilot for this line. Scroll down on the link and see list of pilots. Looks like he flew out of Dakar and to So. America. At the Compagnie Générale Aéropostale, Mermoz travelled to Morocco, Senegal and other African areas. I didn't read the full article, but he may have been an investor or co-founder of the line. Looks like it merged into Air France see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aéropostale_(aviation) Don
