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 #135 NEWFOUNDLAND AIR MAIL - 1921-1939 Flight Covers 1931 (15 July) Endresz and Magyar "Justice for Hungary" flight cover endorsed "Via Air Mail Plane Justice for Hungary", with corresponding Hungarian cachet and Budapest (July 16) arrival pmk, franked with $1 Air Post, with three-line cachet applied in Hungary. Cover was refused at Harbour Grace and handed over by the crew in Budapest, where the various cachets were applied. In addition, there is specially prepared postcard from Flint, Mich, with similar green cachets applied on arrival in Hungary (the flight did leave Harbor-Grace on July 15, 1931. The non-stop flight took 26 hours and 20 minutes covering 5770 kilometers in total. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the fliers were forced to make a number of bypasses resulting in their fuel running out earlier than planned. As a consequence, they were unable to land as planned on the outskirts of Budapest where thousands were awaiting them. Instead, they were forced to touch down 25 kilometers short, in a cornfield close to Bicske in Feher County)  Catalog #AAMC FF-44 Catalog Value $ 1,300 | Price Realized $350.00 |
