Show Me Your Airmail Covers, Envelope Designs

That is what is so interesting about this topic. It seems there were printers like Linprint that designed envelope borders as well as their secondary cachets. Then there was Harry Ioor whose designed dozens of envelopes and may have also contributed designs to other printers as well, as the cachets he also designed. There is a widespread use of certain border fonts that I try to link to a single source but trademarks and copyrights are limited and there was probably some crossover once an envelope became popular. There is also the repeating motifs of biplanes and single wing planes that are nearly identical in design. Single author or Xerox copies? Can't finish a rant without a cover so here is a Graf Zeppelin cover with the unusual cross motif of planes and ocean liners. I won't be getting this cover for $5.

Hi Stampmaan2002:

Here's my NRA border cover. There is a Universal Ship Cancellation Society handstamp with a mail clerk's name on the reverse (see below). The mail clerk must have been the one to prepare this cover.

I notice that my cover differs in that it was sponsored by the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. I wonder if the Chamber had anything to do with printing the borders on the envelopes? It appears that the border is printed over the cachet.

Don

A second cover from my "Connected Terminals" group of different airmail borders. This one links the Chicago PO with NYC Hall. I have not seen the blue and red saying in the lower left on any other cover.

Don

DonSellos,

Thanks for posting the image of your cover.

I don't believe the border would have been printed last, but rather that it would have been printed first and available for use in formats other than the uses you and I have.

If anyone has a commercial use of the NRA border, please post it.

Continuing the "connected terminals" theme is this 1927 first flight from Chicago to Cleveland on which red and blue parachutes bear the names of the principal cities on the route.

Don

Red and blue bars come in all shapes and sizes edge, center, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, etc.

Beautiful covers! I particularly like the monoplanes on the last one.

An airmail rainbow connects NYC with Atlanta, Georgia, on this cover.

A continuation of the connecting terminals theme with a red, white, & blue searchlight connecting Chicago and NYC.

This piece of stationery by National Airlines is the last of my "connected terminal" theme airmail designators. This connects Jacksonville, FL with NYC.

Beautiful covers everyone!

Typical border, but nice imagery!





And a peek inside the envelope reveals more imagery!




Transo Envelope Co. Chicago

Hi Ciletaliph:

I like the cachet in your cover in the previous post! It has a recognizable drawing of a Boeing 247 in flight and a nice aerial view of an airport with multiple crosswind runways. Nice detail.

Here is a border from my Checkerboard grouping:

And another checkerboard, this one is a J.W. Stoutzenberg design.

You keep surprising me Don. I'll try and up the ante.

Well, that one certainly does! George, that is a real beauty. Never seen one like it before. A one-of-a-kind for sure.

PS I would bet you didn't find that one in the $1 box!

Don