Zeppelin mail was mail carried on zeppelins, the Germanairships that saw civilian use from 1908 to 1939. Almost every zeppelin flight carried mail, sometimes in large quantities; the covers usually received special postmarks, and a number of nations issued postage stamps specifically intended for use on mail carried by the zeppelins.
Postcard flown on the first North American flight of the Graf Zeppelin (1928)
The first zeppelin to carry mail was LZ 4, in July 1908, followed shortly by LZ 3. The early flights did not use any special markings; the first was an oval reading "LUFTSCHIFF / SIGNALPOST" around the edge and "Z III" in the center, used on LZ 6 (Z 3) from August to October 1909. By 1911 a number of different postmarks were in use; a typical example was a circle reading "AN BORD DES / ZEPPELIN / LUFTSCHIFFES", with a date in the center and the name of the zeppelin at bottom. These were actually applied on board the zeppelin while in flight, at a small postal station.
The zeppelins were taken into military service in 1914, and thereafter did not carry civilian mail, although military commanders had special handstamps applied to their mail.
Letter on the first Germany flight of the Graf Zeppelin (1928)
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin had a long and celebrated career. Within weeks of its first flight in September 1928, the Graf Zeppelin carried the first airmail to go directly from Germany to the US and vice versa. Germany issued special 2-mark and 4-mark stamps for the occasion. On the return trip, the zeppelin carried almost 52,000 postcards and 50,000 letters. In 1929, Graf Zeppelin circled the globe, with stops in Tokyo and Los Angeles. By the time it was taken out of service in June 1937, the zeppelin had made 590 flights, each flight carrying up to 12 tons of mail to and from dozens of countries around the world.
Although LZ 129 Hindenburg is most famous for its fiery end, for the 14 months of its existence, it carried considerable amounts of mail overseas, and many of those are readily available today. Most of the 17,609 pieces of mail on the last flight were destroyed in the fire, but a handful were recovered, and today they are highly prized crash covers.
The LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II was the last of the zeppelins to carry mail; it was in civilian service for only a few months, from October 1938 to August 1939, and made only 30 trips, all within Germany.
Zeppelin stampsedit
US 65-cent "Zeppelin" stamp, one of three values issued specially for the May–June 1930 Pan-American flight of the Graf Zeppelin.
Zeppelin stamps were issued by a few countries to pay the postage for mail carried on Zeppelin flights during the late 1920s and early 1930s when Zeppelins flew passengers and mail from Germany to other countries and on return flights. Some stamps were regular issues overprinted while other were specially designed.
overprint "CORREO AEREO / R. S. 6–V–1930" 5c on 10c has additional "5 CTS." overprint 10c known in black and bronze overprint 50c known in red and bronze overprint[1]: 908
^ abcdefJames E. Kloetzel, ed. (2006). 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue: Volume 1 A–B. Sidney, OH: Scott Publishing Company. ISBN0-89487-375-X.
^ abcJames E. Kloetzel, ed. (2006). 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue: Volume 2 C–F. Sidney, OH: Scott Publishing Company. ISBN0-89487-376-8.
^ abcdefghJames E. Kloetzel, ed. (2006). 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue: Volume 3 G–I. Sidney, OH: Scott Publishing Company. ISBN0-89487-377-6.
^ abJames E. Kloetzel, ed. (2006). 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue: Volume 4 J–O. Sidney, OH: Scott Publishing Company. ISBN0-89487-378-4.
^ abcdeJames E. Kloetzel, ed. (2006). 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue: Volume 5 P-SL. Sidney, OH: Scott Publishing Company. ISBN0-89487-379-2.
^James E. Kloetzel, ed. (2006). 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue: Volume 6 So-Z. Sidney, OH: Scott Publishing Company. ISBN0-89487-380-6.
Sources
Zeppelinpost Spezial-Katalog (Sieger) (in German)
Further readingedit
eZEP.de — The webportal for Zeppelin mail and airship memorabilia
Zeppelin Study Group — Research group for airship memorabilia and Zeppelin mail
Zeppelin Post Journal — Quarterly publication for Zeppelin mail and airship memorabilia
November 09, 2023
zeppelin, mail, mail, carried, zeppelins, german, airships, that, civilian, from, 1908, 1939, almost, every, zeppelin, flight, carried, mail, sometimes, large, quantities, covers, usually, received, special, postmarks, number, nations, issued, postage, stamps,. Zeppelin mail was mail carried on zeppelins the German airships that saw civilian use from 1908 to 1939 Almost every zeppelin flight carried mail sometimes in large quantities the covers usually received special postmarks and a number of nations issued postage stamps specifically intended for use on mail carried by the zeppelins Postcard flown on the first North American flight of the Graf Zeppelin 1928 Contents 1 First period 1908 to 1914 2 Inter war period 1919 to 1939 3 Zeppelin stamps 4 See also 5 Notes references and sources 6 Further readingFirst period 1908 to 1914 editThe first zeppelin to carry mail was LZ 4 in July 1908 followed shortly by LZ 3 The early flights did not use any special markings the first was an oval reading LUFTSCHIFF SIGNALPOST around the edge and Z III in the center used on LZ 6 Z 3 from August to October 1909 By 1911 a number of different postmarks were in use a typical example was a circle reading AN BORD DES ZEPPELIN LUFTSCHIFFES with a date in the center and the name of the zeppelin at bottom These were actually applied on board the zeppelin while in flight at a small postal station The zeppelins were taken into military service in 1914 and thereafter did not carry civilian mail although military commanders had special handstamps applied to their mail Inter war period 1919 to 1939 editIn late 1919 LZ 120 Bodensee resumed flights and mail carriage using postmarks much as before the war until 1921 when it was given to Italy as a war reparation LZ 126 carried mail briefly in 1924 before it was delivered to the United States and renamed the Los Angeles ZR 3 The Los Angeles carried mail between Lakehurst New Jersey Bermuda and Mayaguez Puerto Rico several times nbsp Letter on the first Germany flight of the Graf Zeppelin 1928 LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin had a long and celebrated career Within weeks of its first flight in September 1928 the Graf Zeppelin carried the first airmail to go directly from Germany to the US and vice versa Germany issued special 2 mark and 4 mark stamps for the occasion On the return trip the zeppelin carried almost 52 000 postcards and 50 000 letters In 1929 Graf Zeppelin circled the globe with stops in Tokyo and Los Angeles By the time it was taken out of service in June 1937 the zeppelin had made 590 flights each flight carrying up to 12 tons of mail to and from dozens of countries around the world Although LZ 129 Hindenburg is most famous for its fiery end for the 14 months of its existence it carried considerable amounts of mail overseas and many of those are readily available today Most of the 17 609 pieces of mail on the last flight were destroyed in the fire but a handful were recovered and today they are highly prized crash covers The LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II was the last of the zeppelins to carry mail it was in civilian service for only a few months from October 1938 to August 1939 and made only 30 trips all within Germany Zeppelin stamps edit nbsp US 65 cent Zeppelin stamp one of three values issued specially for the May June 1930 Pan American flight of the Graf Zeppelin Zeppelin stamps were issued by a few countries to pay the postage for mail carried on Zeppelin flights during the late 1920s and early 1930s when Zeppelins flew passengers and mail from Germany to other countries and on return flights Some stamps were regular issues overprinted while other were specially designed Zeppelin stamp issuing countries Postal administration Year Denominations NotesArgentina 1931 5 18 90 black overprint on 5 18 red overprint on 90 1 492 Bolivia 1930 5c on 10c 10c 15c 25c 50c 1b overprint CORREO AEREO R S 6 V 1930 5c on 10c has additional 5 CTS overprint10c known in black and bronze overprint50c known in red and bronze overprint 1 908 Brazil 1931 2500r on 200r 500r on 300r 2500r on 3000r overprint ZEPPELIN 2 500 overprint 2 500 REIS 1 1025 26 1932 3500r on 5000r7000r on 10 000r overprint ZEPPELIN 3 500 1 1025 26 Cyrenaica 1933 3l 5l 10l 12l 15l 20l Zeppelin and clouds forming PegasusZeppelin and ancient galleyZeppelin and giant bowman 2 668 Egypt 1931 50m on 27m 100m on 27m bilingual overprint GRAF ZEPPELIN AVRIL 1931 overprint error 1951 instead of 1931 2 979 Finland 1930 10m overprint ZEPPELIN 1930 forgeries are knownerror 1830 for 1930 2 1112 Germany 1928 31 1m 2m 4m stamps show Graf Zeppelin crossing ocean 3 163 1930 2m 4m note 1 overprint logo SUDAMERIKA FAHRT 3 163 1931 1m 2m 4m note 1 brown overprint POLAR FAHRT 1931 3 163 1933 1m 2m 4m note 1 overprint Chicagofahrt Weltaustellung 1933 for Chicago World s Fair flight 3 163 Greece 1933 30d 100d 120d Zeppelin over Acropolis 3 427 Hungary 1931 1p overprint Zeppelin 1931 on Turul carrying messenger stamp 3 766 Iceland 1931 30a regular issue overprinted Zeppelin 1931 3 799 Italy 1933 3l 5l 10l 12l 15l 20l Zeppelin over pyramid of Caius Cestius 3 1166 Liechtenstein 1931 1fr 2fr 1fr Zeppelin over Naafkopf Falkniz Range2fr Zeppelin over Valuna Valley 4 500 1936 1fr 2fr Airship Graf Zeppelin 4 500 Paraguay 1935 3p on 4p 4p overprint Cerreo Aereo Zeppelin image Graf Zeppelin the Zeppelin image was handstamps while the text was printed 5 150 Russia 1930 40k 80k Zeppelin and Call to Complete 5 year Plan in 4 Years for Graf Zeppelin flight from Friederichshafen to Moscow and return 5 706 1931 32 10k 15k 20k 50k 1r 5 different designs imperforate and with varying perforations and watermarks bogus perforations errors are known 5 706 1931 30k 35k 1r 2r North Pole issue with Graf Zeppelin and Icebreaker Malygin transferring mail all imperforate and perforated 5 706 San Marino 1933 3l on 50c 5l on 80c 10l on 1l12l on 2l 15l on 2 60l 20l on 3l overprint Zeppelin image ZEPPELIN 1933 L value also known inperforate 5 963 Tripolitania 1933 3l 5l 10l 12l 15l 20l Mercury and Zeppelin 6 573 United States 1930 65 1 30 2 60 three different designs illustrating a Zeppelin 1 123 1933 50 for the Chicago Century of Progress World s Fair flight 1 123 See also edit1930 Graf Zeppelin stamps of the United States LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin Airship ZeppelinNotes references and sources editNotes a b c Counterfeits are known of these stamps References a b c d e f James E Kloetzel ed 2006 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Volume 1 A B Sidney OH Scott Publishing Company ISBN 0 89487 375 X a b c James E Kloetzel ed 2006 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Volume 2 C F Sidney OH Scott Publishing Company ISBN 0 89487 376 8 a b c d e f g h James E Kloetzel ed 2006 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Volume 3 G I Sidney OH Scott Publishing Company ISBN 0 89487 377 6 a b James E Kloetzel ed 2006 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Volume 4 J O Sidney OH Scott Publishing Company ISBN 0 89487 378 4 a b c d e James E Kloetzel ed 2006 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Volume 5 P SL Sidney OH Scott Publishing Company ISBN 0 89487 379 2 James E Kloetzel ed 2006 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Volume 6 So Z Sidney OH Scott Publishing Company ISBN 0 89487 380 6 SourcesZeppelinpost Spezial Katalog Sieger in German Further reading editeZEP de The webportal for Zeppelin mail and airship memorabilia Zeppelin Study Group Research group for airship memorabilia and Zeppelin mail Zeppelin Post Journal Quarterly publication for Zeppelin mail and airship memorabilia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Zeppelin mail amp oldid 1153204506, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
