Centenary of airmail commemorated by Norwalk Stamp Club March 10

NORWALK, Connecticut – (March 3, 2018) – A hundred years ago, the U.S. Post Office began sending inter-city mail by aeroplane. Extra postage was required for the new service. The first flight, flown by an Army pilot and witnessed by President Woodrow Wilson, took off from Washington D.C., bound for New York, with a stop in Philadelphia.

The Norwalk Stamp Club will mark the 100th anniversary of U.S. airmail service at its annual exhibition and show on March 10 at the Norwalk Senior Center, 11 Allen Road, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In keeping with tradition, the club will issue a theme-specific commemorative cachet designed by famed illustrator Chris Calle, who will be on hand to autograph copies of the stamped cover.

Airmail service – like aviation itself – didn’t start out smoothly. Pilots got lost, ran out of fuel or crashed. And the post office famously printed one sheet of the first airmail stamps with the central design inverted, in advertently creating one of philately’s most collectible errors.

In time, cooperation between the Post Office and the military and civilian pilots not only helped speed mail but also advanced the cause of aviation. Today, nearly all mail travels by air.

The aircraft depicted on the first three U.S. airmail stamps was a Curtiss JN-4H biplane, popularly known as the Curtiss Jenny. It’s depicted on the special cache the Norwalk Stamp Club will sell at the show on March 10.

The Norwalk Philatelic Exhibition (known as NORPEX) is the longest running stamp show in the region. A dozen stamp dealers with a global inventory of more than 750,000 stamps and other philatelic material will have booths to serve the needs of collectors. The Postal Service will be offer current commemorative stamps. Members of the club will be available to evaluate collections from members of the public.

The NORPEX commemorative covers will be available for $2.50. Those who want to order by mail can send a self-addressed stamped envelope with a check payable to the Norwalk Stamp Club to: P O Box 267-M, Norwalk CT 06856-0267.

About the Norwalk Stamp Club

The Norwalk Stamp Club, founded in 1962, meets at 8 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month excluding July and August at the Norwalk Senior Center. For special events, such as the Norwalk Oyster Festival and the annual NORPEX exhibit, the club produces souvenir collectible cachets commemorating a local topic or event. More information on the web @Norwalkstampclub.