Red Cancellation, Chicago To Brazil, Via Graf Zeppelin

This letter was mailed from Chicago IL to Brazil, and the German stamp on the front was canceled May 18, 1930 - but why does it have so many cancellations on the back?

It went from Germany on a Zeppelin flight, passed through Chicago and then to Rio De Janeiro.
Nice Cover.

I guess this guy Richard J. Schwarz sent it from Germany to himself in Brazil, and it passed through Chicago. It makes sense now.
Thanks!

The Chicago receiving mark is July 3, so the cover was carried from Germany to Brazil (arriving on May 25th), then returned from Brazil to Chicago, using the return address on the back.

Perhaps another member could verify that the German postage was correct from Germany to Rio????

I've got the flight schedule and postage rates somewhere around here...

The 4 RM is correct for a letter from Germany to America via Zeppelin.

The South American flight on which this cover travelled:

18 May 1930 -- Depart Friedrichshafen
19 May 1930 -- Arrive Seville
20 May 1930 -- Depart Seville
22 May 1930 -- Arrive Recife
24 May 1930 -- Depart Recife
25 May 1930 -- Arrive Rio de Janeiro
25 May 1930 -- Depart Rio de Janeiro
26 May 1930 -- Arrive Recife
28 May 1930 -- Depart Recife
31 May 1930 -- Arrive Lakehurst
3 June 1930 -- Depart Lakehurst
5 June 1930 -- Arrive Seville
5 June 1930 -- Depart Seville
6 June 1930 -- Arrive Friedrichshafen

That accounts for the trip to Brazil. Not sure how the cover got from there to Chicago.

The firm in Rio was the Zeppelin agent in Brazil, so I could imagine that they arranged for the mailing and the return to the sender.

They were also exporters, and among other things, were agents for the Hamburg-Amerika Line, too, so the sender may have some legitimate reason for posting to himself care of them, but philatelic arrangements seem more likely.

If this is the case, then this sort of addressing should be common among Zeppelin covers...anyone know?

Don't mind me, just wiping the drool from my keyboard.

Thanks for the info everyone! I am learning a lot about these Zeppelin covers I have.

Zeppelin covers are usually philatelic.