Aleppo Cover

Many different air mail rates from the United States to international destinations were in effect prior to World War II. Finding examples of some of those rates is a relatively simple task; finding examples of others is much more difficult. This first flight cover from 1930 is without question one of the latter.

Franked with a single copy of the 14¢ American Indian stamp tied by a September 13, 1930, “Register or Insure Valuable Mail” slogan machine cancellation from Varick Street Annex in New York, New York, this envelope was mailed to Aleppo, Syria.

The envelope bears a Via Air Mail label picturing a biplane as well as a typrewritten notation: “Par Avion, by Air Mail. Via Amsterdam. First Flight.” It is addressed to an E. A. Skilton who was not present in Aleppo, hence the “inconnu” or “unknown” label, and has in the return address on the reverse a sender’s name of E. S. Skilton of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It is possible the middle initial in one of the names was a typo; in any case, this is obviously a philatelic cover.

Although this does not represent a commercial use of the 14¢ American Indian, the stamp nevertheless paid exactly the correct rate for the route the cover took. 14¢ covered the 5¢ per ounce rate for surface transportation between New York and Amsterdam, Netherlands, plus the 9¢ per half ounce rate in effect for air transport between Amsterdam and Aleppo.¹ This rate was in effect only from October 18, 1929, through February 16, 1931, making this a highly unusual solo use of the American Indian stamp.

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References

1. Beecher, Harry W., and Anthony S. Wawrukiewicz. U.S. International Postal Rates, 1872–1996. Portland, Oregon: Cama Publishing Company, 1996.

Published 2025-01-29 Last updated 2025-07-27