Description
Postcards and letters that were flown on the zeppelins Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg were prized all over the world in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The premium prices paid for the luxury of mailing a postcard or letter on one of these two zeppelins were good bargains for people who never got to fly aboard one. Even here in the United States, special stamps were issued for the purpose of mailing items aboard one of the zeppelins. The always-popular gentle giants of the air flew all over the world, and made regular runs to the U.S. and South America. Today we are offering a postcard that was carried on a flight from Vienna to Germany. The simple card measures 4″ x 6.” At the top is a Luftpost blue sticker. In the upper right corner is a 1 Mark German postage stamp, featuring an eagle. It was canceled at Friedrichshafen on the Bodensee on 12 July 1931. In the center is another circular cancellation for 12 July 1931 from Vienna, with special emphasis that the postcard has traveled aboard the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin. The lower left of the card has a triangular cancellation indicating it is for a 1931 flight of the Graf Zeppelin from Vienna. This was a relatively short “hop” from Friedrichshafen to Vienna. The card’s opposite side is blank. The primary purpose was to send the card to an individual, not to deliver an actual message, but to have something that actually flew on a zeppelin!
