Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Here's an excerpt from an article I wrote recently for the 'TSF Newsletter'.
"La Baule is a coastal commune in Western France in the Loire district. There, an air show took place, September 2-11, 1922, for which labels, produced by the Society for Air Propaganda, were used to carry mail to Le Bourget airport near Paris. The Society was formed after WW1 by Charles Robin (1897-1926)who some might say was a daredevil pilot. He once landed a plane illegally in a square in Bordeaux and died when his plane crashed during maneuvers at the young age of 29. The labels were produced in 6 colors and values and the plates defaced to prevent future printings of the original stamps. They were printed in sheets of 5x4. But many reprints exist, without values and clearly showing
the differences. These were produced, probably for collectors, on different colored papers. Simple designs but attractive nonetheless, and together with reprints, proofs and covers would make for a very interesting collection. I should add here that, like philately in general and Cinderellas in particular, there is much contradictory information around and there is, too, about this air show, the Society and the Labels"
Below are a set of original labels before the plates were defaced.
https://thestampforum.boards.net/thread/8461/current-issue-volume-july-september
More to come on this topic.
Londonbus1
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Air France advertising !
There are 4 Poster Stamps in the set but I am still searching for the others.
Beautiful designs and colours from the Gravure Institute in Paris.
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Circuit D'Anjou,
The first Aviation Grand Prix held by 'L'Aero-Club de France'
at Angers, took place June 16-17, 1912. The poster stamp produced to mark
the occasion shows a very atmospheric scene of a plane taking off and in
flight, the French Tricolor and the Angers City Coat-of-Arms. The site used
was the former Military Grounds at Avrille, which was converted by the
Aero Club for an event two years previously. Later, it was again used for
training Air Force pilots as well as for civilian use.
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Very nice LB1!
I haven't seen the original La Baule labels before.
I've had a group of ten La Baule labels for many years but knew nothing at all about them.
I now realise from your description that these will have been printed in black from the defaced main plate, each on a different coloured paper.
Here are three of them:
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Hi nigelc
Yes, those you show are from the defaced plates. Others have diagonal 'scratches' or both.
There are many different coloured papers and I don't think there is a list anywhere.
Interesting series.
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Ah, a topic near and dear to my heart!
Here is an item from my Pioneers of Aviation collection of RPPCs:
It's a photograph of Roger Sommer and his Farman biplane at the 1st Grande Semaine d'Aviation, held in Reims, 1909. It bears the 'official' label for the show, tied by the official (hexagonal) postmark BETHENY AVIATION, dated 29 August 09. So it was posted during the show. There is a receiver PM on the back, 31 August.
What is remarkable about Roger Sommer is he first flew this airplane on 04 July, mere weeks before the show opened. On 07 August, he set a new endurance world record of 2h 27:15, beating Wilbur Wright. He made a respectable showing at Reims, flying in many events. He won 500 francs (about $1500 in today's money), 3rd place in the Prix du Mechaniciens, for distance flown (90km) in a set time. This gave him a chunk of the purse, which totalled an astounding half $million, in today's money. This was an immensely popular show, some half million people in attendance over the week.
Another interesting aspect of this show was that there were many photographers present who would, during the nights, develop their glass plate negatives, print their postcards, and have them for sale as souvenirs the next day. I have fifteen RPPCs from this show, all postally used during the event itself.
-Paul
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I had one cover with an aviation label, but never got around to researching it. I know virtually nothing about it.
Tom
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Very interesting cover, Tom. The label is gorgeous! I will check my collection to see if I can match up the cancellation. Being hexagonal, it appears to me to be the official show cancellation.
I use The First Air Races website as a reference. Very detailed information on individual races. Here's the page for the 1910 Grande Semaine d'Aviation, with all the details on the proceedings:
1910 Grande Semaine d'Aviation
Also, the addressee is of note. I googled Arthur Maury, who was a noted French philatelist and publisher. Wikipedia says he died in 1907, but that may be an error.
From the 1912 edition of The Stamp Year, in the Philatelic Press Directory section, I found this:
"Collectionneur de Timbres Poste, Le. (M.) Pub.—“ Arthur Maury,” 6 Boulevard Montmartre, Paris. Ann. Sub.-—France, 1.50 franc; foreign, 2 francs. (No. 373—November I, 1911.)"
-Paul
Here is a history of Arthur Maury, and the company. Apparently, he DID die in 1907, but the company named for him, survived:
Arthur Maury
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Paul, thanks for presenting that information on the Caen cover. That was an amazingly detailed report of the races in your first link! That second link about Maury even included an etching of his storefront in Paris, and that is the address on the cover.
Tom
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Gotta bump this topic, londonbus!
I had noticed your attraction to labels, and was just surfing old posts. The Air France labels from the 1950s that you showed intrigued me. I found a nice image of the full set in a catelog of aviation "vignettes" at Association Arc-En-Ciel, here:
Association Arc-En-Ciel
The blue one is over Paris, the green one is over New York (both showing Lockheed Connies), the orange one is over the African savannah (showing a Douglas DC-6?), and the red one is in Martinique, depicting a Latecoere 631 seaplane.
GORGEOUS!
These may have been produced for philatelists to apply to souvenir covers. Here's a nice one I just bought:
Given the arrival backstamp, it's really too bad this one doesn't have the Martinique label. But, on the upside, the overprint on the label is VERY interesting. I believe "Par Voyage D'Etude" translates to "study flight". So was this cover carried on a pioneering direct flight from Paris to Fort-de-France? I found two other covers by the same sender, both with a "study flight" handstamp imprint. That must have been Madame's hobby focus...
Anyway, I have some research to do. I want to determine what airplane made the flight, and anything more about its significance (the flight or the plane). It probably was NOT the Latecoere 631, given the date and the tragic history of that airplane. Air France started flying the Comet in 1953, so the plane flying this cover was a propliner. And Air France moved its operations to Orly in 1952, so I would guess this flight departed from there.
Any ideas?
-Paul
PS, Since I posted this message, I've spent some time looking at Air France's equipment over this time period. I think it's likely that the aircraft used was a Lockheed Constellation L-749 (not the Super Connie L-1049C, which was not introduced until 1953). Air France ultimately had 10 of these airplanes. What I would REALLY like to find is a listing of the 'first flights' or 'study flights' that Air France did in the 1940s and 1950s with dates, destinations, origins, etc.
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The three pairs are to commemorate the French Aviation meeting at Bourges, Central France in 1922.
This was organized by the 'Societe de Propagande Aeronautique' and they produced the Poster Stamp shown here (not a full set). The Society was formed by young pilot Charles Robin who was killed at the young age of 29 when his Breguet XIX-A2 aircraft crashed during a race in Bordeaux in October 1929.
The bottom stamp is from the Paris Air Show meeting held in 1925.
Londonbus1
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Michael, Wonderful eye candy !
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LA BAULE, SEPTEMBER 1922.
Here's an excerpt from an article I wrote recently for the 'TSF Newsletter'.
"La Baule is a coastal commune in Western France in the Loire district. There, an air show took place, September 2-11, 1922, for which labels, produced by the Society for Air Propaganda, were used to carry mail to Le Bourget airport near Paris. The Society was formed after WW1 by Charles Robin (1897-1926)who some might say was a daredevil pilot. He once landed a plane illegally in a square in Bordeaux and died when his plane crashed during maneuvers at the young age of 29. The labels were produced in 6 colors and values and the plates defaced to prevent future printings of the original stamps. They were printed in sheets of 5x4. But many reprints exist, without values and clearly showing
the differences. These were produced, probably for collectors, on different colored papers. Simple designs but attractive nonetheless, and together with reprints, proofs and covers would make for a very interesting collection. I should add here that, like philately in general and Cinderellas in particular, there is much contradictory information around and there is, too, about this air show, the Society and the Labels"
Below are a set of original labels before the plates were defaced.
https://thestampforum.boards.net/thread/8461/current-issue-volume-july-september
More to come on this topic.
Londonbus1
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re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
Air France advertising !
There are 4 Poster Stamps in the set but I am still searching for the others.
Beautiful designs and colours from the Gravure Institute in Paris.
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re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
Circuit D'Anjou,
The first Aviation Grand Prix held by 'L'Aero-Club de France'
at Angers, took place June 16-17, 1912. The poster stamp produced to mark
the occasion shows a very atmospheric scene of a plane taking off and in
flight, the French Tricolor and the Angers City Coat-of-Arms. The site used
was the former Military Grounds at Avrille, which was converted by the
Aero Club for an event two years previously. Later, it was again used for
training Air Force pilots as well as for civilian use.
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re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
Very nice LB1!
I haven't seen the original La Baule labels before.
I've had a group of ten La Baule labels for many years but knew nothing at all about them.
I now realise from your description that these will have been printed in black from the defaced main plate, each on a different coloured paper.
Here are three of them:
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re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
Hi nigelc
Yes, those you show are from the defaced plates. Others have diagonal 'scratches' or both.
There are many different coloured papers and I don't think there is a list anywhere.
Interesting series.
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06:22:54pm
re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
Ah, a topic near and dear to my heart!
Here is an item from my Pioneers of Aviation collection of RPPCs:
It's a photograph of Roger Sommer and his Farman biplane at the 1st Grande Semaine d'Aviation, held in Reims, 1909. It bears the 'official' label for the show, tied by the official (hexagonal) postmark BETHENY AVIATION, dated 29 August 09. So it was posted during the show. There is a receiver PM on the back, 31 August.
What is remarkable about Roger Sommer is he first flew this airplane on 04 July, mere weeks before the show opened. On 07 August, he set a new endurance world record of 2h 27:15, beating Wilbur Wright. He made a respectable showing at Reims, flying in many events. He won 500 francs (about $1500 in today's money), 3rd place in the Prix du Mechaniciens, for distance flown (90km) in a set time. This gave him a chunk of the purse, which totalled an astounding half $million, in today's money. This was an immensely popular show, some half million people in attendance over the week.
Another interesting aspect of this show was that there were many photographers present who would, during the nights, develop their glass plate negatives, print their postcards, and have them for sale as souvenirs the next day. I have fifteen RPPCs from this show, all postally used during the event itself.
-Paul
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re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
I had one cover with an aviation label, but never got around to researching it. I know virtually nothing about it.
Tom
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10:06:45am
re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
Very interesting cover, Tom. The label is gorgeous! I will check my collection to see if I can match up the cancellation. Being hexagonal, it appears to me to be the official show cancellation.
I use The First Air Races website as a reference. Very detailed information on individual races. Here's the page for the 1910 Grande Semaine d'Aviation, with all the details on the proceedings:
1910 Grande Semaine d'Aviation
Also, the addressee is of note. I googled Arthur Maury, who was a noted French philatelist and publisher. Wikipedia says he died in 1907, but that may be an error.
From the 1912 edition of The Stamp Year, in the Philatelic Press Directory section, I found this:
"Collectionneur de Timbres Poste, Le. (M.) Pub.—“ Arthur Maury,” 6 Boulevard Montmartre, Paris. Ann. Sub.-—France, 1.50 franc; foreign, 2 francs. (No. 373—November I, 1911.)"
-Paul
Here is a history of Arthur Maury, and the company. Apparently, he DID die in 1907, but the company named for him, survived:
Arthur Maury
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re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
Paul, thanks for presenting that information on the Caen cover. That was an amazingly detailed report of the races in your first link! That second link about Maury even included an etching of his storefront in Paris, and that is the address on the cover.
Tom
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09:23:09pm
re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
Gotta bump this topic, londonbus!
I had noticed your attraction to labels, and was just surfing old posts. The Air France labels from the 1950s that you showed intrigued me. I found a nice image of the full set in a catelog of aviation "vignettes" at Association Arc-En-Ciel, here:
Association Arc-En-Ciel
The blue one is over Paris, the green one is over New York (both showing Lockheed Connies), the orange one is over the African savannah (showing a Douglas DC-6?), and the red one is in Martinique, depicting a Latecoere 631 seaplane.
GORGEOUS!
These may have been produced for philatelists to apply to souvenir covers. Here's a nice one I just bought:
Given the arrival backstamp, it's really too bad this one doesn't have the Martinique label. But, on the upside, the overprint on the label is VERY interesting. I believe "Par Voyage D'Etude" translates to "study flight". So was this cover carried on a pioneering direct flight from Paris to Fort-de-France? I found two other covers by the same sender, both with a "study flight" handstamp imprint. That must have been Madame's hobby focus...
Anyway, I have some research to do. I want to determine what airplane made the flight, and anything more about its significance (the flight or the plane). It probably was NOT the Latecoere 631, given the date and the tragic history of that airplane. Air France started flying the Comet in 1953, so the plane flying this cover was a propliner. And Air France moved its operations to Orly in 1952, so I would guess this flight departed from there.
Any ideas?
-Paul
PS, Since I posted this message, I've spent some time looking at Air France's equipment over this time period. I think it's likely that the aircraft used was a Lockheed Constellation L-749 (not the Super Connie L-1049C, which was not introduced until 1953). Air France ultimately had 10 of these airplanes. What I would REALLY like to find is a listing of the 'first flights' or 'study flights' that Air France did in the 1940s and 1950s with dates, destinations, origins, etc.
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re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
The three pairs are to commemorate the French Aviation meeting at Bourges, Central France in 1922.
This was organized by the 'Societe de Propagande Aeronautique' and they produced the Poster Stamp shown here (not a full set). The Society was formed by young pilot Charles Robin who was killed at the young age of 29 when his Breguet XIX-A2 aircraft crashed during a race in Bordeaux in October 1929.
The bottom stamp is from the Paris Air Show meeting held in 1925.
Londonbus1
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re: FRANCE: Aviation Labels, Poster Stamps and Events.
Michael, Wonderful eye candy !
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