This Day in History… April 19, 1930

Posted on April 19, 2019 by MysticStamp

Graf Zeppelins Issued 

US #C13 – Only 93,536 65¢ Zeppelins remain. Click image to order.

On April 19, 1930, three special airmail stamps, the Graf Zeppelins, were made available for sale to be used exclusively on mail carried via the Graf Zeppelin on its European – Pan American flights the following month.

In the 1920s, many nations became aware of the commercial possibilities of transoceanic flight.  However, there was only one company willing and able to initiate this service – Germany’s Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.  Even today this firm’s ventures seem daring and visionary.

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This Day in History… April 18, 1900

Posted on April 18, 2019 by MysticStamp

First U.S. Stamp Books

US #279Bj – A pane from the first booklet stamps first issued on this day in 1900. Click image to order.

On or around April 18, 1900, the US Post Office issued its first stamp books.

In 1884, a man named Albert W. Cooke of Boston received a patent for a “Book for Holding Stamps.”  Cooke’s design was for a small book that could fit in a vest pocket that had alternating pages of stamps and paper treated with wax “so that the gummed side of the stamps shall not stick to it under the action of heat or moisture.”

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This Day in History… April 17, 1958

Posted on April 17, 2019 by MysticStamp

Brussels World’s Fair 

US #1104 pictures the American pavilion and was issued on opening day.

On April 17, 1958, the Brussels World’s Fair, also known as Expo 58, opened its doors.

Expo 58 was the first major official world’s fair after World War II.  Bidding for the fair opened in 1948 and in 1953, Brussels, Belgium was selected as the host city.  It would be the 11th world’s fair hosted by Belgium and the fifth held in Brussels.

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This Day in History… April 16, 1889

Posted on April 16, 2019 by MysticStamp

Happy Birthday Charlie Chaplin 

US #3183a from the Celebrate the Century – 1910s sheet.

Sir Charles Spencer “Charlie” Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889.  While there is no official record of his birth, it’s believed he was born in South London, England.

Born to music hall entertainers, Chaplin’s childhood was one of poverty and hardship.  His parents were both ill and had trouble finding work.  They sent him to a workhouse when he was just seven years old.  Amidst his difficult childhood, Chaplin discovered he had a talent for acting, making his first stage appearance at the age of five.

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This Day in History… April 15, 1926

Posted on April 15, 2019 by MysticStamp

Charles Lindbergh, Airmail Pilot

US #3184m from the Celebrate the Century series.

On April 15, 1926, Charles Lindbergh made his first airmail flight.

When the US Airmail service was inaugurated in 1918, the Post Office Department oversaw the delivery of the mail.  Then in 1925, Congress passed the Kelly Act, which allowed the post office to work with commercial air carriers to create new airmail routes and deliver the mail.

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This Day in History… April 14, 1866

Posted on April 14, 2019 by MysticStamp

First U.S. Mourning Stamp

US #77 was based on a photo of Lincoln taken in 1861.

April 14, 1866 was the earliest known usage of the first US mourning stamp, which honored Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln had begun 1865 in a positive note.  He’d been re-elected and set forth his plan for bringing the seceded states back into the Union, stating, “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in – to bind up this nation’s wounds….”

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Posted in April 2019, This Day in History | 2 Comments