Recalling pleasant things and taking the time to dwell on them.
Iowa City: Aviation.
(S-0031)U.S. #Q8 20¢ Parcel Post Stamp. The first U.S. postage stamp to feature an airplane (1912)(S-0032)U.S. #C7 1926 10¢ U.S. Map and Mail Planes (Blue) First Day of Issue: February 13, 1926 City: Washington, DC. In 1926, as air travel became safer and more contractors were entering into the competition, (Ford Motors was the first private contractor) the Postal Service announced a new rate system, with a one-ounce letter traveling less than 1,000 miles costing the customer only 10-cents. This U.S. #C7 stamp was released on February 13, 1926 to reflect the new rate.(S-0033)U.S. #C8 1926 15¢ U.S. Map and Mail Planes (Brown) First Day of Issue: September 18, 1926 City: Washington, DC. The new 10¢ for one-ounce rate encouraged new airmail business and more contractors began entering into flight agreements with the US Postal Service. Seven months after the release of the 10¢ postage stamp (#C7), it became necessary to issue this 15¢ stamp (same design but different color) to pay for a one-ounce letter being flown over 1,000 miles.(S-0034)U.S. #C9 1927 20¢ U.S. Map and Mail Planes (Green) First Day of Issue: January 25, 1927 City: Washington, DC. In 1927, a new airmail rate was once again announced. Effective February 1, 1927, all zones would be eliminated, and mailing costs would reflect only the weight of a letter. So, now the 10¢ stamp (#C7) would cover the cost of any letter weighing up to a half-ounce, regardless of the distance it was traveling. But, because many airmail letters weighed more than one-half ounce, it was necessary to prepare a new 20¢ stamp for those letters weighing up to one ounce.(S-0035)U.S. #C10 1927 10¢ Spirit of St. Louis/Charles Lindbergh First Day of Issue: June 18, 1927 City: Washington, DC. The stamp marked the very first time that a living person was honored on a U.S. postage stamp. It was issued in response to thousands of urgent requests from people who wrote to Washington asking for such a commemorative stamp. There is little doubt that the trans-Atlantic flight of Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh (from New York to Paris) contributed more to the increased use of air transport than any event in history.(S-0036)U.S. #C11 1928 5¢ Beacon on the Rocky Mountains First Day of Issue: July 25, 1928 City: Washington, DC. In an all-out effort to increase the use of airmail service, the Post Office Department reduced the rate to 5¢ per ounce. Beginning with this issue (C#11), airmail service revolutionized the way U.S. mail was delivered. The design features the beacon light that is atop Sherman Hill in the Rocky Mountains.(S-0037)U.S. #C12. 1930 5¢ Winged Globe First Day of Issue: February 10, 1930 City: Washington DC. U.S. #C12 pictures a pilot’s wing insignia and the globe in honor of their bravery and spirit of adventure. (C-0083)Air Mail Flight Cover postmarked in Iowa City Iowa City to Cleveland to Buffalo Air Route US #C7 – Postmarked: February 1, 1927(C-0083)Postmark cancellations: 1 AM-Iowa City, 2 PM-Cleveland, 11 PM-Buffalo. Cover features the 10-cent #C7 stamp & reflects the first day (Feb 1) of the new airmail postal rates.(C-0084)Air Mail Flight Cover postmarked in Iowa City Chicago to San Francisco Air Route – CAM 18 – Boeing Air Transport US #C10 – Postmarked: July 1, 1927 in Des Moines, Iowa 6:30 am (C-0085)Air Mail Flight Cover postmarked in Iowa City Chicago to San Francisco Air Route CAM 18 & CAM 17 – Boeing Air & National Air Transport US #C7 – Postmarked: July 1, 1927 4 AM-Iowa City, 9 PM-New York City Cover has the July 1, 1927 cachet and features the US #C7 10-cent stamp.(C-0086)Air Mail Flight Covers postmarked in Iowa City Chicago to San Francisco Air Route – CAM 18 – Boeing Air Transport US #C10 – Postmarked: July 1, 1927 2 PM-Iowa City, 8:30 PM-San Francisco (July 2). Cover has the July 1, 1927 cachet and features the new US#C10 10-cent Charles Lindbergh stamp.(C-0087)Air Mail Flight Covers postmarked in Iowa City Chicago to San Francisco Air Route – CAM 18 – Boeing Air Transport US #C10 – Postmarked: July 1, 1927 2 PM-Iowa City, 8:30 PM-San Francisco (July 2). Cover has the July 1, 1927 cachet and features the new US#C10 10-cent Charles Lindbergh stamp.(C-0090)Air Mail Flight Cover postmarked in Iowa City From Iowa City to Detroit – CAM 18 & CAM 27 – Boeing Air Transport & Trans-American US #C11 – Postmarked: August 1, 1928 11 AM-Iowa City, 2:00 AM-Toledo (Aug 2), 8 AM-Detroit (Aug 2) Cover has the August 1, 1928 “Fly Your Mail – Iowa City” cachet and features the new 5-cent Beacon on the Rocky Mountains (C11) stamp. Beginning with this new 5-cent issue (C#11), airmail stamps were restricted to exclusive use on mail carried by air and could no longer be used as a substitute for ordinary postage. (C-0088)Air Mail Flight Cover postmarked in Iowa City From Iowa City to San Francisco – CAM 18 – Boeing Air Transport US #C11 – Postmarked: August 1, 1928 4:30 PM-Iowa City, 8:30 PM-San Francisco (Aug 2)(C-0088)(C-0089)Air Mail Flight Post Card postmarked in Iowa City from Iowa City to San Francisco – CAM 18 – Boeing Air Transport US #C11 – Postmarked: August 1, 1928 4:30 PM-Iowa City, 8:30 PM-San Francisco (Aug 2)(C-0089)
(C-0281)Air Mail Flight Postal Cover postmarked in Iowa City from Iowa City to Decatur, Illinois – Boeing Air Transport – U.S. #619 1925 Lexington-Concord Issue – 5¢ The Minuteman – First Day of Issue: April 4, 1925 First City: Washington, D.C.; Concord, MA; Concord Junction, MA; Boston, MA; Cambridge, MA; Lexington, MA
(C-0093)Air Mail Flight Postcard postmarked in Cedar Rapids Chicago to San Francisco Air Route – CAM 18 – Boeing Air Transport U.S. #C10 Postmarked: July 10, 1928.(C-0093) By 1928, airmail is becoming more popular. Rates will be reduced to five cents per ounce on August 1. This cover is postmarked on July 10, 1928, celebrate the first airmail flight into Cedar Rapids, and carries the 10-cent per ounce rate.(C-0091)Air Mail Flight Postal Cover postmarked in Cedar Rapids Chicago to San Francisco Air Route – CAM 18 – Boeing Air Transport U.S. #C10 Postmarked: July 10, 1928.(C-0091)(C-0092)Air Mail Flight Postal Cover postmarked in Cedar Rapids Chicago to San Francisco Air Route – CAM 18 – Boeing Air Transport U.S. #C7 Postmarked: July 10, 1928.(C-0092)(C-0094)1928 International Civil Aeronautics Conference – U.S. #649 2¢ Wright Brothers Airplane, U.S. #650 5¢ Lindbergh Monoplane First Day of Issue: December 12, 1928 City: Washington, DC Postmarked: December 17, 1928 25th Anniversary (Dec.17, 1903) of Wright Brothers flight cachet – Postmarked in Kitty Hawk, NC (5 days after the Civil Aeronautics Conference welcomed Orville Wright and Lindbergh).(C-0095)National Air Mail Week – May 15-21, 1938 Postmarked in Iowa City: May 16, 1938 U.S. #C23 1938 6¢ Eagle First Day of Issue: May 14, 1938 City: Dayton, Ohio & St. Petersburg, Florida.
This bi-colored 6¢ airmail stamp (#C23) was issued in celebration of National Airmail Week, which commemorated the 20th anniversary of the first government airmail flight (1918). President Franklin Roosevelt, a stamp enthusiast, was presented with some possible designs for the new stamp, but sketched his own idea instead. His flying eagle became the picture on the new airmail stamp.
The 6¢ Eagle first went on sale in Dayton, OH, the home of the Wright brothers, and St. Petersburg, FL, where the first passenger flight was made. A temporary post office was established, because the American Air Mail Society was holding its annual convention in St. Petersburg. To celebrate the anniversary, towns all over the U.S. prepared individual First Day Covers. (C-0095) Most covers were mailed on Thursday, May 19 to take part in special one-day-only flights. Towns with no airport cleared fields and closed roads so the planes could land and take-off with the special envelopes. The special purple postmark on this cover celebrates the first air mail service through Iowa City (Chicago to Omaha) on January 8, 1920.(C-0109 – C-0116)U.S. #C26 1944 8¢ Twin-Motored Transport Issue Date: March 21, 1944 City: Washington, DC Seven (7) Love Letters between George & Dixie between Feb 8 – Feb 17, 1945.(C-0096)Air Mail Flight Cover Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the First Trans-Continental Air Mail Route – September 8, 1920 – U.S. #C26 1944 8¢ Twin-Motored Transport First Day of Issue: March 21, 1944 City: Washington, DC Postmarked: September 8, 1945 The first full-transcontinental air mail flights began on September 8, 1920, with Iowa City being the one stop for fuel between Chicago and Omaha. These flights were only attempted in daylight hours, however, and provided little advantage over the train-delivered mail. Still, the concept of delivering mail by air was proven by these early flights. Five months later, in February 1921, Smith Field (Iowa City airport) was designated as a fuel stop on the first transcontinental day/night air mail attempt. This flight tested the feasibility of flying the mail around the clock, in all weather conditions.
This airmail cover, postmarked in 1945, celebrates the 25th anniversary of that first full-transcontinental air mail flight that came through Iowa City in September 1920. The cover features US #C26, the 8-cent issue in a new set of airmail stamps of the twin-motored transport plane which made their appearance from 1941 to 1946. These stamps were intended to cover the various rates in effect for both domestic and overseas airmail service, and the 8¢ issue was required when postage rates were increased to help finance WW II.(C-0097)Air Mail First-Day Cover Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of U.S. Air Mail (1918) – U.S. #C74 1968 10¢ Curtiss Jenny First Day of Issue: May 15, 1968 City: Washington, DC An 10¢ Airmail stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of regularly scheduled Air Mail was issued in Washington, DC, on May 15, 1968. The horizontal stamp pictures a Curtiss Jenny, the 90-horsepower biplane that carried mail on the Washington-New York City run when Air Mail was first established on May 15, 1918. This first-day cover also features two past commemorative stamps:
U.S. #C451949 6¢ Wright Brothers. Issued in 1949 to commemorate the 46th anniversary of the first successful flight of a heavier-than-air powered aircraft by the Wright Brothers. The flight took place in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. Orville flew for 12 seconds and traveled 120 feet. Later that day, Wilbur flew for 59 seconds and covered 852 feet.
U.S. #C47 1953 6¢ Airmail Powered Flight. Issued in 1953 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ historic flight at Kitty Hawk. The first-day city of issue, Dayton, OH, was home to the Wright brother’s bicycle shop where they built their historic planes.(C-0098)Air Mail Cover Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of U.S. Air Mail Route #1 (1918) – Postmarked September 12, 2008 in Iowa City, Iowa U.S. #3924 37¢ 35 Bonanza – American Advances in Aviation First Day of Issue: July 29, 2005 City: Oshkosh, WI, U.S. #3756 5¢ Toleware – American Design. First Day of Issue: August 20, 2004 City: Santa Clara, CA (C-0099)Air Mail First-Day Cover Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of U.S. Air Mail (1918) – U.S. #5281 (Blue) and U.S. #5282 (Red) 2018 50¢ Airmail Centenary First Day of Issue: May 1, 2018 (Blue), August 11, 2018 (Red) City: Washington, DC (Blue), College Park, Maryland (Red)
Our Iowa Heritage 