AIR MAIL STAMPS

Southland Times, Issue 22491, 28 January 1935, Page 11

AIR MAIL STAMPS

NEW ISSUES DESCRIBED. WORK OF NEW ZEALAND ARTISTS. The ■ history of air-mail stamps is a long one, which goes back to the days of carrier pigeons, when New Zealand became the first country in the world to issue an air-mail stamp. In 1898 there was considerable mining activity in the Great Barrier Island, with' the result that a good deal of correspondence passed between the island and the mainland. The wreck of the steamer Wairarapa at Miner’s Head, in October, 1894, had drawn attention to the isolation of the Great Barrier, and a successful attempt had been made to overcome this by the institution of a pigeon service. With the dual purpose of advertising the service and of facilitating the collection of postage on letters, the company operating the pigeon service issued a stamp of the value of 1/- on October 27, 1898. In 1899 an opposition service also issued stamps, and both issues remained in use until a cable between Auckland and the island was opened for traffic in September, 1908. Pioneer Mail Flights.

In December, 1919, the first of a series of pioneer air-mail flights was made in the Auckland province. A seaplane from the Kohimarama flying school was used. Because of the uncertain nature of these experiments it was not considered either expedient or necessary to issue any special stamps, and it was not until the end of 1930 that private enterprise was again responsible for an air-mail stamp. On December 22, 1930, Dominion Airlines, Ltd., inaugurated an air service between Hastings and Gisborne, and mail was carried on the first flight from Hastings to Gisborne. The company issued a special stamp of the value of 6d to cover the cost of the carriage of a letter, and these stamps were used for one week only. According to New Zealand law the levying of a charge for the conveyance of letter mail is the monopoly of the Post and Telegraph Department, and when the illegality of Dominion Airlines’ action was pointed out the stamps were withdrawn. ■ Recent Developments. In 1930 New Zealand became a party to an air-mail convention which was signed in London, and from July 1 of that year it became possible for letters to be sent by various air-mail services in Australia, Canada, United States of America, and from Karachi to London. For the purpose of these services the authorities decided to issue official airmail stamps, and a Wellington artist, Mr L. C. Mitchell, was commissioned to prepare a design. Nickel electrotype plates were made at the Royal Mint, London, and were received in New Zealand early in November, 1931. On November 12 it had been arranged to .conduct a flight in New Zealand so that correspondence from southern offices could be conveyed to Wellington and Auckland to connect with a special Christmas air-mail service from Australia to England. In order that the distinctive air-mail stamps might be first used on mail carried on this flight the authorities rushed the plates from Auckland to Wellington and immediately commenced the printing. The set of air-mail stamps, comprising three values, 3d, 4d, and 7d, was placed on sale on November 10. The original design was not particularly attractive, and as a relatively cheap method of production had been qfaployed the stamps were not received with favour. The authorities realised that a more attractive design and a better produced article were required, and in 1932 a competition among New Zealand ai"tists wes held, with the purpose of selecting a new series of designs. Unfortunately the specification limited the subject of the designs, and although three drawings, submitted by two Christchurch artists, were tentatively selected, they were not used.

Latest Air-Mail Issue. Recently Mr J. Berry, a young Wellington artist, was commissioned to prepare a design for another set. The subject matter of the design was suggested by the postal authorities, and because at the time it was hoped that the stamps might first be used on mail across the Tasman, the aeroplane at Bell Rock, New Plymouth, was considered the most appropriate subject for the design. Although some criticism has been levelled at the inclusion of a tree fem and a Maori, it was considered advisable to incorporate in the design something that would be characteristic of the country. A point of interest is that on this occasion the die has been engraved in Melbourne by the Commonwealth stamp and bank note printer. The engraving is particularly fine, and compares favourably with the work of leading stamp printers in Europe and in America. The excellence of the stamps that have been turned out by the Australian authorities during the last few years has no doubt influenced the New Zealand authorities in deciding to have these dies cut in Australia, but there is another factor which probably had something to do with it. The Georgian issue of stamps for New Zealand was in preparation for more than three years, and approximately the same time has already been necessary for the preparation of the forthcoming issue of pictorials. The greater accessibility of Australia has meant that the commission for the air stamp plates has been executed within a reasonable period. Although the plates are being made in Australia the actual printing will be done at the Government Printing Office in Wellington, and it is expected that the stamps will be on sale about the middle of next month. When the new set is issued it will supersede the issue of 1931. Three values are to comprise the set, namely, Id, 3d, and 6d, and the colours that have been tentatively selected are red, claret, and purple respectively.