"Wayzata" Newfoundland Airmail

I was sure that there was already a thread for this, but I couldn't find it. This is the unissued (but mentioned in Scott) "Wayzata" airmail.




I'm sure various versions of the story can be told. The one I think is most credible is that promoters approached Newfoundland for a transatlantic flight proposition. They parked a plane on Lake Minnetonka (in Wayzata, an upscale town just west of Minneapolis) and tried to raise money for the flight, which was eventually canceled. I don't know whether the promoters canceled, or whether the Newfoundland government canceled. The latter is what I've read more often.

If the story can be corrected, or fleshed out, have at it.

I made a post on the do-x flight,
maybe that's what you recall.
Similar vignette
I don't recall any wayzata post before.




Best I can do thus far

Wayzata: Aerial World Airways persuaded the Newfoundland government to issue a stamp in 1932 to finance purchase of a plane for a route from Wayzata, Minnesota via several cities to England; sales were poor and the scheme fell through.

I'll have to get my chief researcher 22crows onto it

Stop the presses :)

http://stampsnthings.blogspot.com/2...l-stamp.html

It is called the Wayzata because the printer was located there. I once lived there & I do have a copy of this issue. I've never taken the time to research the printer for confirmation, I may do that soon.

Rod, the link you provided had a nice writeup. I'll have to take a look at some other postings there. The footnote contained one bit of information I don't recall seeing before, regarding the printer...




Does anyone recall as a part of this story hearing about a plane being floated on Lake Minnetonka to be shown to investors? I seem to recall reading that it may have been a much smaller plane?

[url]/http://www.icao.int/icao/en/hist/st...age_1969.htm [url]

This is where Craig should have gotten his intel.

From The Book: PAPER CHASE
The Amenities of Stamp Collecting

BY ALV1N F HARLOW


TREASONS, STRATAGEMS AND SPOILS p218-19


One scheme was that originated by a pilot who wished
to fly from Minnesota to London, but lacked some of the
equipment for the job, including the minor item of a plane.

The captain, as he was of course called, just as a county-
fair balloon aeronaut used always to be a "professor," was
a good promoter. He organized Aerial World Tours, Inc.,
and persuaded the Newfoundland Government for a
promised consideration of $80,000 to permit his company
to print 400,000 so-called air-mail stamps of one dollar face
value, which were to be canceled by the St. John's post office
when he took flight from there. The promoters, however,
were to sell these stamps to collectors, and as will be appar-
ent even to a beginner in mathematics, at four-hundred per
cent profit.

After being printed in the United States, the stamps
were delivered to Newfoundland, and the promoters, rais-
ing $5,000 advance money somehow, drew twenty-five thou-
sand of them, which they began selling to philatelists. They
proposed to pick up some extra money in various ways. In
addition to the dollar charge for the stamps, there was a
handling fee of ten cents per order, plus postage and regis-
tration. Covers could be registered for an additional fifty
cents, though the regular mail charge was ten cents. For a
further payment of fifty cents the envelope would be auto-
graphed by the crew. But the company would not guaran-
tee delivery of any covers.

Philatelic editors on both sides of the ocean raised such
a storm of denunciation that the scheme was killed in its
infancy. The Standard cataloguers having indicated that
they would refuse to recognize the stamp, the buying of
them almost ceased. A group of persons, mostly dealers,
who had been stuck with large blocks of them, organized
a committee and tried strenuously to work them off. But it
was of no use; Scotts refused to countenance the stamp,
and finally the Newfoundland Government repudiated the
whole deal.

Nice story posted warrehouse.

Is the entire book that entertaining? Thanks for the excerpt!

Sham or not, its a pretty stamp.


[edit: I see Paper Chase: Amenities...is available on Google Books.]

Yes it is online and very fun & interesting!

What I will try to endeavor to do is find out who that person was behind Aerial World Tours, INC.

The Minnesota Secretary of State's office has an online listing for the filing, but no particular information. Getting a copy of the original Articles of Incorporation as filed would be interesting, but possibly not worth the charges...here is a snippet of the online filing.




The Articles, grayed out and printed as a backdrop, might make a nice background to a page for this stamp...some of the old Articles have some visual appeal.

Cjd, Very cool. Almost got what I would be looking for. I believe I will be going to library & research the local newspapers on this. I got to believe there was some kind of buzz.

The best coverage of which I am aware on this 'stamp' was aa 8 page article, "The Newfoundland Wayzata Stamp" by Alfrueda Gabiou in the 'Scott Monthy Stamp Journal Vol 60 # 10, July 1980.

This must be the aeorplane, an early German Dornier I believe.

Terry

Great card! Thanks for sharing it.

More is mentioned here about the "non-issued" stamp issue:

http://www.linns.com/howto/refreshe...rcourse.aspx

I also found it interesting that early on in this thread is mention (as in the above link, too) that the stamps were issued by the Bureau of Engraving of Minneapolis, MN. I wonder how many of us realize that is the same firm that has a branch "Art Instruction Schools" ... remember those matchbook covers from years ago where you were encouraged to submit a drawing of Spunky (the Donkey)?!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_In...tion_Schools