Newfoundland Air Mail 1919-39
January 25, 2023
Newfoundland has played an important role in the development of long-distance air travel. As the easternmost place in North America, it became a popular runway for many aviation pioneers attempting to cross the Atlantic by air in 1919. It also served as a refueling point for round-the-world attempts in the 1920s. Amelia Earhart made two record-setting flights from Newfoundland, in 1928 and 1932. The advent of passenger flights in the 1930s brought the pioneer period to a close, but established Newfoundland as a major stopover between Europe and North America. This June will mark 104th Anniversary of the Alcock & Brown flight (On 15 June 1919 came the telegram with the news that the Vicker's Vimy landed in Ireland, having completed the 1,860 mile flight in 16 hours. The news was received with great enthusiasm. "Well, it must be something for a man in Ireland today to be able to say Yesterday, when I was in America", quoted the pilots). The rest is history.
We are pleased to present the award-winning collection assembled by Jean-Claude Vasseur, author of "Newfoundland Air Mails 1919/1939" published in 2015. The collection tells the story of the Great Transatlantic Air Race and the struggles of early aviation. Many rarities and unique items are included.
The auction will take place on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 1:00 PM at Cherrystone Auction Galleries and on CherrystoneLive.
| Images | Description | Current Bid |
 | Lot #27 The Great Transatlantic Race Brackley and Kerr - "Handley Page" from St.John's 1919 (9 June) cover franked with $1 Trans-Atlantic surcharge, tied by St. John's departure pmk (First Day of Issue), Harbour Grace transit (June 14) alongside, addressed to England, without arrival as usual, fine (The Handley-Page "Atlantic" was the fourth plane in Newfoundland during Spring 1919. The St. John's mail for the Handley-Page was accumulated on June 9th (First Day of Issue of the surcharged "$1 Trans-Atlantic" and sent to Harbour Grace, where it received a transit (or actually the departure) cds on June 14th (the date of take-off of the Vickers-Vimy). Also included is a letter from a staff member written from "Handley-Page in sea Harbour Grace" on June 14th stating "which we hope will take-off today"  Catalog #C2 | Price Realized $575.00 |
 | Lot #28 The Great Transatlantic Race Brackley and Kerr - "Handley Page" from St.John's 1919 (9 June) cover franked with $1 Trans-Atlantic surcharge, tied by St. John's departure pmk (First Day of Issue), Harbour Grace transit (June 14) below, endorsed "Per Handley-Page Airship" and addressed to England, without arrival as usual, fine cover, signed Diena (The Handley-Page "Atlantic" was the fourth plane in Newfoundland during Spring 1919. The St. John's mail for the Handley-Page was accumulated on June 9th (First Day of Issue of the surcharged "$1 Trans-Atlantic" and sent to Harbour Grace, where it received a transit (or actually the departure) cds on June 14th (the date of take-off of the Vickers-Vimy) Catalog #C2 | Price Realized $550.00 |
