Mystery First-Flight Cover??

I've had this cover for a few years now and have not seen anything to explain the "Mystery Flight" in the upper left corner.

It looks like a pretty straight forward first flight publicizing the use of Lockheed Electra aircraft on the Istanbul-Amsterdam route. Also looks like a hand-back as there is no addressee or address.

Anyone have any insights about what might have mysterious about this cover?

Don

Sorry Don Sellos, but, I cannot help you here. Interesting cover though and it is the first time I have heard of this flight. It must have been legitimate if the Turkish stamp was applied to the cover as well to show arrival (??)

Thanks for posting this.

Chimo

Bujutsu

The mystery was that it was unknown to everyone(airmail cover collectors) were the flight was actually going to.(except for the crew of the plane I presume/hope).

25000 KLM covers were issued and flown both ways.

You may find it interesting or a gimmick.

I, being close to the source, see them pop up regularly and they do not command high prices.

Johan

Neither did this one! lol Thanks, Johan. I collected it for the images of the Lockheed Electra (aircraft on covers) and for the question marks airmail border (variant airmail borders), thus an interesting cover for me. I always have been curious as to what made the flight mysterious.

25,000 is, indeed, a bunch of covers. KLM must have given them away to anyone who would take one!

Don

Sure does not seem like such a big mystery when it states too and from an there were 25,000 printed. That is a larger quantity than most first day covers that Canada Post issues today, I believe.

The cachet, the purple handstamp address and the blue green cachet are all in English. One could suspect Lockheed also had a hand in this.

Now that I look at cachets and the stamps themselves again, it must obviously had been a "special" flight celebrating 40 years of KLM airways.

Johan Buvelot, great insight. May not be worth much, but it is an interesting cover, I would say.