Canarias - Correo Aéreo

My earliest memories of Spain are of Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Isles As a child, I spent many summer holidays on the island. After a break of a few years, I returned to the islands, visiting multiple islands on a single trip. The islands I visited on those occasions were Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife, and La Palma. By the time I went to university, my father had retired and spent winters on Gran Canaria. I used to visit him there several times each winter. As my father started spending winters on the Spanish mainland, years passed without visiting the islands. I did not return to the islands until after my father had died, almost 25 years after our last stay in the islands. I stayed on Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Gomera. The only of the 'Siete Islas' I have never visited – I did see it from La Gomera - is El Hierro.

Last year, during a holiday in Castile, I picked up the 2023 'Catálogo unificado de sellos de España.' This lists 61 stamps and a miniature sheet with four further stamps overprinted for airmail use in the Canary Islands. Going through an auction catalogue, last month, I could not resist bidding for one of the sets of these stamps. I, really, should have saved the money to buy British stamps. However, sentiment got the better of me. Mine was the winning bid. So, now I find myself collecting Canary Islands stamps.

The set was issued on 4 February 1938. The overprints are on stamps of the 1937 'Cifras, Cid y Isabel' type issued by the 'Estado Español,' i.e., the nationalist band. The two lowest 'printed matter' values of that set have a numeral design. Eight further values depict the painting 'Se va desenchando Castilla delante de mi caballo' (Castile widens in front of my horse) by Marceliano Santa María Sedano. The painting represents Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar "El Cid" seated on his horse Babieca on his way into exile from Castile. The remaining stamps of the set show a portrait of Isabel I "La Católica" of Castile. The portrait appears to have been based on that by Bartolomé Bermejo.

The Edifil numbers of the overprinted stamps are 44 – 51. Three types of overprints were used.


Edifil no. 44: overprinted "50 C" in black on the 2 céntimos 'cifra' stamp (Edifil 815). The overprint is of the first type shown above.


Edifil no. 45: overprinted "80 C" in green on the 5 céntimos 'Cid' stamp (Edifil 816). The overprint is of the first type shown above.


Edifil no. 46: overprinted "1,25 P." in blue on the 10 céntimos 'Cid' stamp (Edifil 817). The overprint is of the first type shown above.



Edifil no. 47: overprinted "2,50 Pts." in chestnut on the 20 céntimos 'Isabel' stamp (Edifil 821). The overprint is of the second type shown above.


Edifil no. 48: overprinted "5 Pts." in green on the 25 céntimos 'Isabel' stamp (Edifil 822). The overprint is of the second type shown above.


Edifil no. 49: overprinted "10 Pts." in lilac on the 40 céntimos 'Isabel' stamp (Edifil 824). The overprint is of the second type shown above.


Edifil no. 50: overprinted "+ 80" in blue on the 30 céntimos 'Isabel' stamp (Edifil 823). The overprint is of the third type shown above.


Edifil no. 51: overprinted "+ 1,25" in red on the 50 céntimos 'Isabel' stamp (Edifil 825). The overprint is of the third type shown above.

Thank you for this presentation especially from your personal angle.

Hello, I am Ralph, Excellent collection of stamps from Spain with the Canary Islands overprint. I think it is a very elegant acquisition. I am an amateur collector and Spain is one of my favorites, just like GB and USA. But I also have stamps from all over the world.

There are many local overprints of the civil war era. Almost all were private overprints that never saw a post office. They, commonly, were sold at elevated prices. Some overprints were performed with the consent of the local military command. In some cases, recent research has shown such consent to be suspect. Nonetheless, the use of these overprinted stamps on mail, often, was condoned. Most of these overprints, including some provisional 'issues,' however, were attempts to defraud collectors.

The issues for the Canary Isles, however, were overprinted with the approval of the notional defence junta in Burgos. This junta, not to be confused with the republican national defence council, governed the areas under control of the nationalists. They were not just overprinted but surcharged and valid for postage. They are real postage stamps often overlooked by collectors.

I am finding it difficult to find literature on these overprinted stamps. Nor is there much information available online. Still some information can be found.

Before the military coup on 17 July, mail between the Canary Isles and the mainland and rest of the world was handled by the Spanish carrier LAPE. Also, there was a weekly Lufthansa flight 171 connecting Frankfurt with South America via Seville and Las Palmas. At the outbreak of civil war, LAPE was dissolved. Lufthansa redirected its flight 171 from Seville to Lisbon.

Soon after the outbreak of the civil war, the nationalists held control over the Canary Isles. But the nationalists, however, did not have aeroplanes. When Germany recognised the nationalist government, it had to suspend its service to Madrid. It continued to operate its weekly flight 171 to South America via Lisbon and Las Palmas.

On 22 October 1936, an agreement is reached between the local authorities in Las Palmas and Lufthansa. From 31 October 1936, Lufthansa would carry mail to and from Las Palmas. It charged a rate per kilo that resulted in new airmail surcharges of 80 cts. for the first 25 grammes destined for the peninsula, Balearic Isles and North Africa. Every subsequent 25 grammes or fraction thereof cost 50 cts. The basic surcharge for airmail to Germany was fixed at 1 p. 25 cts. Local stock of republican stamps were surcharged with the values of 50 cts., 80 cts. and 1 p. 25 cts and made available from 27 October 1936. To avoid speculation, the stamps could only be bought and applied at the post office.

Between 27 October 1936 and April 1938, several overprints were performed. At first, remaining republican stamps were overprinted. As stock of new nationalist stamps such as the above arrive, these are overprinted. On 16 October 1937 three overprinted local social benefit stamps were released.

Above stamps were issued between 4 February and late April 1937. A common feature is that the overprints read "Vía Aérea" (air way) and not "CORREO AEREO" (airmail) as on earlier issues.

Varieties exist. Only recently, I found my block of 5 Ptas. stamps has the listed variety "broken P of Ptas." (Edifil 48ha) on the top left stamp. This variety occurs on the sixth stamp of odd rows on both the 5 and 10 Ptas. stamps.

I, recently, was able to add a second set of blocks to my nascent collection of Canary Islands stamps. The stamps from this set were released during the first half of July 1937. The overprints were carried out on a mixture of remaining "republican" issues and new nationalist issues that had been arriving from the Peninsula.

The overprint has three lines. The first "CANARIAS" was in a larger and somewhat bolder fount than the second "CORREO AÉREO". The third line was for the value. The set is listed by Edifil under numbers 23 – 30.

The 80 Cts. on the 2 Cts. republican issue of 1936 (Edfifil 731) is a key stamp in a collection of airmail overprints for the Canary Isles. Only 800 stamps were overprinted "CANARIAS / CORREO AÉREO / 80 Cts.". It is very rare on cover. The highest catalogue values for all the overprinted stamps are for examples on cover. Forged covers exist.

Edifil no. 23: overprinted "50 Cts." in black on the 1937 2 cts. (Edifil 803) stamp from the nationalist 1936 – 1937 "Junta de Defensa Nacional" set.


Edifil no. 24: overprinted "80 Cts." in black on the 1936 2 cts. "Cifra" (Edifil 731) stamp of the "República Española."

Only 800 stamps received this overprint, and blocks are extremely scarce. This (certified) mint block is thought to be unique. A forged overprint exists in which the "80" and "Cts." have the same baseline. In genuine overprints, "Cts." is set a little higher than "80".

Edifil no. 25: overprinted "80 Cts." in black on the 1937 5 cms "Cid" (Edifil 816) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series."


Edifil no. 26: overprinted "Pts. 1'25" in black on the 1933 1 céntimo. "Cifra" (Edifil 677d) stamp of the "República Española."

Edifil no. 27: overprinted "Pts. 2'50" in black on the 1937 10 cms "Cid" (Edifil 817) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series."


Edifil no. 28: overprinted "+ 80" in black on the 1937 30 cms "Isabel" (Edifil 823) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series."


Edifil no. 29: overprinted "+ 1'25" in red on the 1937 30 cms "Isabel" (Edifil 825) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series."


Edifil no. 30: overprinted "+ 1'25" in red on the 1937 1 Pta "Isabel" (Edifil 828) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series."


Several stamps show a broken "R" at the top in the "AÉREO" overprint.

The stamps for the Canary Isles exist with overprint varieties. The danger with such varieties is that they transform a collection started for sentimental reasons into a specialised collection. The price of a recent order fell a little short of the threshold for free postage. One of the overprint varieties for the Canary Isles would exactly bridge the gap and safe me the basic € 20 cost of postage. I could not resist. After all, applying some mental accounting practices researched by Tversky and Kahneman, I did not blow money on a specialised item but saved myself € 20 on postage.

The item in question is Edifil nr. 8hi (habilitación invertida), overprinted 50 Cts. inverted in red on the 1933 1 céntimo. "Cifra" (Edifil 677) stamp of the "República Española."


This is one of three stamps issued 2 March 1937 with the overprint "VIVA ESPAÑA / 18 JULIO 1936 / HABILITADO / AVIÓN / CANARIAS" plus value. The date was the planned date for the military coup. The commander of Melilla, however, proclaimed military rule on the 17th of July 1936, as originally proposed by general Emilio Mola.

The 1 céntimo stamp of the 'Second Republic' and, later, of the 'Spanish State' were issued imperforate. As can be seen in the previous post, some overprints were applied on perforated stamps.

I shall start with a few disclaimers:

1. I do not own the items shown in this thread. The pictures are taken from the catalogue for the Iberphil sale below and from ebay offerings.
2. I did not bid for the lot in Iberphil's sale of 9 May 2024.
3. I do not think Iberphil mislead anybody as it warned, as it normally does with larger lots that include postal history items, that the lot should be inspected. It did not make any claim that the postal history items were genuine.

Searching for information on the official wartime airmail issues of the Canary Isles, I came across the article in this link: http://www.filateliadigital.com/car...de-canarias/. The article, d.d. 22 January 1916, by Oswald Schier discusses forged covers. Some of these have been sold through auction houses.

Lot 1513 of Iberphil's 9 May 2024 online "Spain and Colonies" auction, number 114, comprised a complete mint / unused collection of the wartime airmail overprints of the Canary Isles with covers. The lot description includes a PDF of the collection. This is a true piece of eye candy. The lot was sold at the opening price of € 450 plus 20% commission.

Going through the PDF, I recognised a fake censor mark discussed in the article by Oswald Schier. Below image [1] is a capture from the auction catalogue. It shows a cover with a complete set of Edifil numbers 14 – 19 sent from Las Palmas to Seville. The stamps are cancelled 17 April 1937.


[1] Canary Isles Edifil 14 – 19 on cover from Las Palmas to Seville with censor mark

The key set for the Canary Isles is that issued early July 1937 I posted above. The set in image [1] is a close second. The 2023 Edifil catalogue prices these stamps at € 253 (**), € 170 (*), and € 73.50 (o). The stamps on cover are priced to a total of € 335.

As Oswald Schier wrote in his article, the black "CENSURA" mark at the lower right was an invention of the forger. For this reason, I think this item was the work of the same forger that made some of the covers shown in the article. The censor mark that was in use in Las Palmas is shown in image [2].


[2] Las Palmas censor mark

There are more similarities. Oswald Schier points at the shape of the righthand leg of the 'R' in 'POR' and 'AEREA' above the date in the cancellation. These are straight towards the lower end in the genuine cancellations (image [3]) and bend inwards in the forged postmark. Also, the letters 'ERE' in 'AEREA' are larger than both the letters 'A' in the genuine cancellation. They are not in the forgery. Again, there are similarities between above forged cover and some of those shown in Oswald Schier's article.


[3] Genuine Las Palmas 'POR VIA AEREA' cancellation.

A further similarity is the address. The forger appears to favour Seville addresses.

I had my doubts about the overprints. The second lines (18 julio 1936) of both red overprints, i.e., the + 1'25 on 1 Pta and on 50 cts are wider than the first line. Normally, that second line is shorter. The + 50 on 25 cts stamp has an unusually wide gap between the '+' and '50' and is misaligned. There are variations in the airmail overprints of the Canary Isles. I am not experienced enough to exclude the possibility of a variety with a long second line. The quality of the overprint looked 'off' to me.

Image [4] shows the mint set of stamps from the same lot.


[4] Canarias overprints on stamps of the Second Republic, Edifil 14 – 19

A further observation by Oswald Schier clinched it. Mr. Schier remarks the forger, likely, is not a native Spanish speaker as he does not use the tilde that such a native Spanish speaker would. Again, there are similarities with the forgeries in his article. The sender typed 'POR AVION.' This should have been 'POR AVIÓN.' Also, the recipient, Sr. D. CARLOS SEGURA PEREZ' has a rare name. The normal orthography would be 'PÉREZ.'

So, why am I sure the overprints are fake? The third line of all the overprints in image [1] reads 'AVION.' As can be seen from image [4], that third line should read 'AVIÓN.' Again, the forger forgot the tildes.

Learning every day.

Recently, I could add another set to my collection. This set was released on 29 December 1937. The overprint consisted of three lines "CANARIAS / Correo Aéreo" with the third line being the value. This is the similar to that above det (Edifil 23 – 30).

Although the two sets also share three of the regular Spanish stamps with the effigy of Queen Isabel I, the sets are easy to tell apart. The colours of the overprints differ, as do the surcharges. Also, the set released on 29 December has the second line of the overprint that reads "Correo Aéreo" in markedly bolder typeface and uses lower case letters.

The Edifil numbers for the set released on 29 December 1937 are 40 – 43. Only 3,000 sets existed as so many of the stamps with Edifil numbers 41 through 43 were overprinted. Of Edifil number 40 there were 30,000 examples.

Edifil no. 40: overprinted "+ 30" in black on the 1937 30 cms "Isabel" (Edifil 823) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series. (Edifil 28 was overprinted "+ 80" in black.)


Edifil no. 41: overprinted "+ 2'30" in green on the 1937 60 cms "Isabel" (Edifil 826) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series."


I, particularly, like this green overprint on the yellow stamp.

Edifil no. 42: overprinted "+ 2'50" in green on the 1937 50 cms "Isabel" (Edifil 825) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series." (Edifil 29 was overprinted "+ 1'25" in red – yes, that should have read "50 cms" and not "30 cms" -.)


Edifil no. 43: overprinted "+ 5 Pts." in chestnut on the 1937 1 Pta "Isabel" (Edifil 828) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series." (Edifil 30 was overprinted "+ 1'25" in red.)

Today, I received a block that I ordered two weeks ago. It is a block of the Edifil nr. 40 stamp issued 29 December 1937 (see my previous post). The bottom right stamp has the variety known as "Cero caído." The "0" in the surcharge "+ 30" is set lower than usual. The seller did not mention the variety. It, however, is offered by other sellers who identify it as Edifil 40ha.

The stamp at top right has a broken first "A" in "CANARIAS." Although I have found more examples of the stamp with this variety offered, it does not appear to have been catalogued by Edifil. Maybe someone with a specialised catalogue (Serie Azul, tomo VII?) can confirm this.



As the block was not expensive, I took a gamble it is genuine. The overprints on the lefthand stamps looked genuine and the two varieties appeared on other stamps offered online. The Edifil 40ha stamp, further shows minor damage to the top of the last "A" in "CANARIAS." This too appears on other examples posted online.

To my surprise, all four stamps in the block have the mark (marquilla) of A. Roig of Barcelona. This mark can be found on many of the overprints of the Canary Isles.

First to correct an error. The Lufthansa route number was 191.In Lisbon, this connected with route 22 that carried mail to and from Burgos. From Burgos, the mail was distributed within the nationalist territory.

*The local government in the Canary Islands and Deutsche Lufthansa came to an agreement that was sanctioned by the technical junta in Burgos. As it was expected that a normal airmail service would be established soon, only small quantities for ca. two months were printed. The national service (by Iberia) was not established until 5 May 1938. So, quite a number of overprints exist.

The first of these series were overprinted on existing stock of 1 ctm. (50 Cts.), 2 cts. (80 Cts.), and 5 cts. (Pts. 1'25). This was done for a few reasons. There were large stocks of these stamps that had little postal use. Overprinting these would not deplete the stock of stamps required for ordinary franking. These airmail stamps only paid for a supplement. It kept the cost of the issues low. The local postal authorities had to account for the use of their stock. They, however, bore the cost of the agreement with Deutsche Lufthansa. It was not until later that they combined the two by overprinting the "+" values, thus maintaining the franking value of the stamps and adding the supplement.

Returning to the stamp with the inverted overprint. This was one of three stamps released 2 March 1937.

Edifil no. 8: overprinted "50 Cts." in red on the 1 ctm "Cifra" (Edifil 677) stamp from the 1933 republican "Cifras" series."


Edifil no. 9: overprinted "80 Cts." in green on the 2 cts "Cifra" (Edifil 678) stamp from the 1933 republican "Cifras" series."


Edifil no. 10: overprinted "Pts. 1'25" in green on the 1937 5 cms "Cid" (Edifil 816) stamp from the nationalist "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" series."

What is available on the web mentions that the efigy of Queen Isabel I that appears on some of these overprinted stamps was based on a portrait (ca, 1500) by an unknown painter.

In dissertation by Enrique Viruega Morales for the Real Academia Hispánica de Filatelia e Historia Postal (RAHF, no. LII) mentions that the painter has been identified as Juan de Flandes.


[from Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art]



I suggested it was based on an earlier portrait by Bartolomé Bermejo.


[from Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes]

The position of the cross on the hanger, the lips, and the younger appearance, still, make me think the stamp was based on the portrait by Bermejo.

Congratulations, a very beautiful and well-presented collection!

Clumsy (above):




Items was intended to refer to items of mail and not to blocks of stamps. Since, I acquired both singles and covers.

Some of the stamps were printed in a different ink from the one originally used.

The 10 Pts. stamp of the series posted in the first post was also overprinted in a grey ink. It, probably, is not the most spectacular colour error. Still, it is one (Edifil Canarias 49hcc).



Here are the two blocks scanned together:

On 23 December, a set of three with just the basic values (80 cts. basic weight step to the Peninsula, 50 cts. consecutive weight steps to the Peninsula, and 1,25 Pts. basic weight step to other European countries on the route of TO 191) was released. These had the value in the second line of the overprint and 'Correop Aéreo' in the bottom line.

Al three overprinted stamps were part of the 1937 - 1939 "Cifras, Cid e Isabel" issue printed by Hija de B. Fournier - Burgos and have the imprint at the bottom.

Edifil 37 / Aurioles 48, 50 Cts. overprinted in red on 1 Céntimo "Cifra" (Edifil 814).


Edifil 38 / Aurioles 49, 80 Cts. overprinted in blue on 2 Cts "Cifra" (Edifil 815).


Edifil 39 / Aurioles 50, 1,25 Pts. overprinted in violet on 10 Cms. "Cid" (Edifil 817).