US Postage, 1940 To 1959

1949, 3¢ bright red-violet

..."A Descent into the Maelstrom".

1949, 6¢ magenta, "AIR MAIL"...

Then, the 1940s came to a close.

The 1950s...

The sesquicentennial of the National Capital...

1950, 3¢ bright blue, deep green, light violet, and bright red-violet...

Even my Scott specialised is listing that deep, greyish purple stamp as "bright red-violet"...

1950, 3¢ violet-brown...

1950, 3¢ yellow-orange, California centenary...

1950, 3¢ carmine-rose...

1952, 80¢ bright red-violet, but deep, and for mailing orchids to the mainland from Hawaii...

Did you notice that price-hike, from 3¢ to a whopping 80¢? It has been opined that the colour is actually unique, and in keeping with that of an orchid.

1952, 3¢ blue-green...

1952, 3¢ blue-green...

1952, 3¢ violet...

...flat-plate printing, the only way to print. What happened?

1952, 3¢ deep blue & carmine...

Ref: Scott #934 (1945 Army Issue)




Before it became the US Air Force in 1947, the air service had some interesting names:

Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps (1 August 1907 – 18 July 1914)
Aviation Section, Signal Corps (18 July 1914 – 20 May 1918)
Division of Military Aeronautics (20 May 1918 to 24 May 1918)
U.S. Army Air Service (24 May 1918 to 2 July 1926)
U.S. Army Air Corps (2 July 1926 to 20 June 1941) and
U.S. Army Air Forces (20 June 1941 to 18 September 1947)

John

Yes, I did suspect that the Air Force during that era was part-and-parcel of the Army. I'm familiar with the last three names you had listed.

Also, to an extent, the Air Force was a part of the Navy as well; our great aircraft-carriers that had escaped the attack on Pearl Harbor come to mind.

Love the engraving of that period. Why a Red Cross stamp in 1952, instead of waiting until the 1964 centenary? And two colors to boot. As the last commemorative of that year, it must have seen lots of Christmas mailing use.

What with interservice rivalry being what it is, neither the Navy nor the Air Force would likely agree with this. Naval aviators have never been part of the Air Force or its Army Air Corps predecessors. As early as 1911 both Navy and Army aviators were training independently with the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss. Their aviation services were clearly distinct. Even in the Navy, aviators are something of a distinct breed, historically known as the "brown shoe Navy" (because they wore distinctive uniforms and brown, not black, shoes, to distinguish themselves from the regular Navy). Navy aviation was honored on a 1961 4c stamp:

I have a nice collection of 19th Century US, but I enjoy this era as well. As a Wisconsin native, I have to add the 1948 issue celebrating Wisconsin's 100th anniversary as a state. And a first day cover with a Mae Weigand cachet with cheese! Go Cheeseheads!

Happy 4th!

Thanks all for the comments, and the images.

I dearly miss the Wisconsin cheese-samplers that were once sold in my area, back in the 1970s, possibly into the '80s; small triangles they were, and of varying flavours.

Armies and navies have been round for a long, long time...

Taking to the air was mysterious, "newfangled", and relatively recently...

...Da Vinci.

Then, on August 1, 1957, the government issued this...

50 years before, on August 1, 1907...

...a Wright military flyer, and the progenitor. Then, observation-balloons had been utilised during 1861-65.

1953, 6¢ carmine, "AIR MAIL", and not the best design I've seen...

...but I do like those corner-perfs, all four. I've never seen that before.

1953, 5¢ green...

1953, 3¢ rose-violet...

These two issues were used, therefore they had once belonged to my father, and from the "Liberty" issue...

1954, 8¢ dark violet, blue & carmine, and either flat-plate or rotary-press, the latter most likely, but not from a Giori press...

1955, $1 purple...

1954, 4¢ bright blue, "AIR MAIL"...

1955, 3¢ violet-brown...

...Charles Wilson Peale, "Welcome to my museum."

That one needs its gum removed.

1955, 3¢ green...

1955, 8¢ deep blue...

1955, 3¢ purple...

Incidentally, practically all of these mint examples are gummed, MNH, mint/never-hinged; but don't be surprised, not even in the least.

I regularly use all of the stamps shown as postage. I have a carton full of them and they are a cool way to spice up your mail for free.

I miss seeing those of the 1930s. I don't see those anymore. Nowadays, sellers are using either one stamp from recent years, "Forever" issues, or several from the '70s, '80s and '90s still.

1955, 3¢ green...

1955, 3¢ blue...



1955, 3¢ deep blue...

1955, 3¢ light brown...

1955, 3¢ rose-carmine...

Among other, Mellon was an art collector. Stamps are art, too, and we do collect them.

I am sure that Hap Arnold would have been surprised by the 1957 "Air Force" stamp, had he lived that long. He worked hard to justify the creation of a separate service for the "Air Corps," which came to fruition in 1947, and when he was made the first (and only) 5-star General of the Air Force (and the only person to be a 5-Star General in two services). The true 50 year anniversary of the "Air Force" was 1997:

But I do prefer the engraved stamps of times past: