First KLM flight to New York in 1946

After the Second World War, regular KLM scheduled flight traffic quickly resumed. On May 21, 1946, the first transatlantic flight was operated from Amsterdam to New York. For this occasion, a special stamp was produced that was printed on the accompanying mail. An announcement regarding this appeared in the May 1946 issue of the Nederlandsch Maandblad voor Philatelie, along with an image of the special stamp. The flight was carried out with a DC-4 Skymaster, the PH-TAR 'Rotterdam'. It was not a direct flight, as a stopover had to be made at Prestwick in Scotland to refuel before the crossing. A stopover was also made at Gander in Newfoundland, Canada. In a bin of mail at a dealer's stand at a fair, I found a postcard that had been specially produced for the first flight. It was franked with a 40-cent stamp (per 5 grams), a 10-cent stamp (registration fee), and a 2-cent stamp. The card had been sent from Rotterdam and presented at the counter of the branch post office at the Museumpark in the Unilever office building. The branch post office opened on January 16, 1933, and was closed on November 3, 1950. The sender, the 'Bureau voor Philatelistische Documentatie', was located at Nieuwe Binnenweg number 156B, an address that still exists. This street was not far from the Museumpark. The agency was unknown to me, but I did find another advertisement from a publishing house and bookstore 'In den Bosch'. Also unknown to me. But then the back of the card. Listed on it was the address of Baron van Lynden in Herveld in the Betuwe. That was quite a familiar name to me. Baron GAF van Lynden was mayor of Elburg from 1940 to 1944. He was succeeded in 1944 by JWM Rösener Manz, who was a member of the NSB. Mr. GAF Baron van Lynden was secretary-treasurer of the Knighthood of Gelderland from 1953 to 1965. He had thus returned to the origins of the noble family, for his name was linked to the village of Lienden. From 1197 to 1247, Floris van Lynden, Lord of Lienden, lived there. But my concern was not so much with the Baron, but with the 40-cent stamp depicting Cornelis Evertsen the Younger, which was the only one produced using plate printing. Why only this stamp in plate printing, and all the other stamps, including the 'Germanic Symbols' series, in rotary gravure printing? The design of the 7½ cent and 40 ct stamps was created by Sem Hartz. He was employed as a designer and engraver by the printer, Joh. Enschedé & Zonen in Haarlem. However, due to the anti-Jewish measures of the occupying forces, he was forcibly dismissed and went into hiding. His designs for the two stamps were temporarily attributed to Kuno Brinks, one of the other designers of the 'Zeehelden' series of stamps. Kuno Brinks designed the 10-cent, 22-cent, and 25-cent stamps. After the war, the name of Samuel Louis Hartz, or Sem Hartz, was once again associated with the two stamps designed by him. All designs for the entire 'Zeehelden' series had been engraved in steel by the various artists with the intention of producing the stamps using plate printing. However, the plate printing presses of Joh. Enschedé were entirely occupied with printing banknotes, and the stamp designs had to be reworked for production in rotary gravure. Except for the 40-cent stamp, which was permitted to be printed using plate printing. In the June 1943 issue of the Nederlandsch Maandblad voor Philatelie, the series was announced without mentioning the name of Sem Hartz. Only the names of Kuno Brinks, Hubert Levigne, and NV Joh. Enschedé & Zonen were mentioned. The name of Mrs. Engelien Reitsma-Valença, designer of the 12½ cent and 15 cent stamps, was also missing at that time. To be complete, a further explanation regarding the series was included in the same issue of the Monthly Magazine. Only an image of the 7½-cent stamp featuring Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter was shown there. After this, the publication of the Monthly Magazine was discontinued until September 1945, when the first post-war issue appeared. That issue discussed the production of the 'Naval Heroes' series in detail. And the use of these stamps after the war? That was still possible up to and including May 31, 1946. The first flight to New York took place on May 21, 1946, so it was just barely possible. Was the Baron pleased with this franking? Perhaps he would have preferred to see the Liberation stamps that had been issued on April 1, 1946, and earlier. We shall never know.