Can it fit even more?

post stamps
pelikaan-a-232-klein.jpgApparently, it was a question from a stamp collector in The Hague. On December 26, 1933, a resident of Surabaya (the former Dutch East Indies) sent a postcard to Mr. Zaalberg in The Hague. And not just any postcard! The card was covered in Indies stamps, such as the series with the surcharge for the AMVJ's Crisis Work, issued on December 1, 1933, two airmail stamps, one of 10 cents and one of 30 cents (green overprint on the 40 cent), the triangular stamp for special flights, issued in 1933, the Prince William I commemorative stamp, and the orange 12-cent stamps issued in 1933 featuring an image of Queen Wilhelmina. All together, a face value of one guilder and 54 cents. pelican-b-231-v2.jpgThe stamps were postmarked with the date stamp BATAVIA-CENTRUM number 8 on Boxing Day, December 26, 1933, at 3:00 PM. Except for the stamp for special flights, as that was postmarked with the special PELIKAAN Batavia-Centrum stamp on December 27, 1933, at 1:00 AM. In the upper right corner of the card was written: by Pelikaan. Actually, it should have read: by Zilvermeeuw, but that aircraft had bad luck and could not depart for the Dutch East Indies in December 1933. Therefore, the mail was transferred to the PH-AIP Pelikaan, which had landed at Tjilititan airfield near Batavia on December 22, 1933. With nearly 31.000 pieces of mail, or a weight of 186 kilograms. But mail that had been transferred from the Postjager and the IJsvogel was also on board, totaling approximately 757 kilograms. The return flight took place on December 27, 1933, and the plane was loaded with Christmas mail, more than 97.000 pieces of mail. The card from Surabaya was among them. In those days, a mail flight still drew quite a crowd. The Pelikaan appeared over Schiphol on the evening of December 30, 1933, where the runway was invisible due to low-hanging clouds and fog! Below, more than 20.000 spectators stood around the airport watching the landing. Thanks to a gap in the cloud cover and with the aid of a radio beacon, the pilots were able to attempt a landing after circling for 40 minutes and satisfy the spectators. The landing was successful, and the aircraft touched down at 10:10 PM. The mail was unloaded and transported to the various destinations. Thus the card arrived at the post office in The Hague, where it was stamped with an arrival stamp dated December 31, 1933, at midnight, a Sunday. pelican-a-232-v2.jpg On the back of the card, the sender had written: Are you satisfied now, Henkelman? That was all it could fit on! A card that, fortunately, was not destroyed by the addressee with scissors and the bowl of lukewarm water used to soak off the seals. A document containing a piece of aviation history, a document to keep! pelican-c-233-v2.jpg

4 comments

  1. A craftsmanship, but a magnificent piece with a rich history.
    By the way, what is 'gemaaktwerk'?
    All mail we send is man-made; after all, the piece of mail is “made” to be sent.

  2. ‘@Albert

    Isn't this a bit naive? 🙂

    Craftsmanship is anything that shows someone has gone to great lengths to do a stamp collector a service. The stamps would never be used in this way on a shipment to a non-stamp-collecting addressee. Craftsmanship is certainly amusing, but it has little to no place in a collection where postal history or the origins of a stamp issue are being explained.

    If, in the case of an emission, only man-made items can be found to substantiate the existence of such an emission, then in my opinion, such an emission becomes very dubious.

  3. You are right, I completely agree with you.
    Produced work includes, among others, FDC, first day papers, etc., etc.
    But still, Cees's little handmade piece is nice and certainly belongs in a collection.

  4. I would rather see artwork with stamps than all that worthless artwork without stamps… or all that disgusting artwork with fake stamps.

    Fortunately, I have a large recycling bin for all that junk. Philatelic work (even if there are 100 stamps on one letter) is always welcome!

    gr Johan / http://www.postzegelforum.eu

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