1930 Graf Zeppelin First Flight Cover C14-15

1930 Graf Zeppelin First Flight Cover C14-15

Own a Legendary Piece of Aviation and Postal History

Imagine holding a cover that traveled across three continents aboard the famous Graf Zeppelin. This 1930 First Flight Cover tells the story of one of aviation's greatest achievements—the historic Europe-Pan America Round Flight.

Now you can.

A Journey of 18,000 Miles by Ship and Airship

On April 19, 1930, the U.S. Post Office released three special Graf Zeppelin stamps exclusively for the historic flight. Shortly after, collector Thomas Chapman purchased this $1.30 brown (C14) and $2.60 blue (C15) stamp—a combined face value of $3.90, roughly equal to a week's wages in 1930. He applied them to this cover and mailed it to himself via the Europe-Pan America route—its first stop, New York's Varick Street Station on May 1, 1930.

The Varick Station postmarked and canceled the stamps and applied the distinctive purple diamond cachet reading "First Europe Pan-America Round Flight" with the triangular route. Nearly all U.S. mail for the Zeppelin flight passed through Varick Station.

From New York, this cover traveled by steamship - the SS Albert Ballin - across the Atlantic to Germany, arriving at Friedrichshafen. There, German postal clerks applied a red "South America" handstamp and a May 19-20 postmark (visible on the back) marking the start of the airship flight.

The Graf Zeppelin then carried this cover on an extraordinary journey: south to Seville, Spain for refueling, across the Atlantic to Recife, Brazil, then to Rio de Janeiro where it dropped and picked up mail and passengers. Next, the airship flew north to Lakehurst, New Jersey, then back across the Atlantic to Friedrichshafen, completing the round trip.

After the flight ended, Germany returned the mail by ship to the United States. Look for the green backstamp showing when it arrived home in June. The cover then entered the regular U.S. mail system for final delivery to Washington, D.C.

Signed by the World's Best Airship Pilot

What makes this cover truly extraordinary is the signature of Captain Ernst A. Lehmann (1886-1937). The Pittsburgh Press called Lehmann "the best airship pilot in the world," and with good reason. He commanded over 100 Graf Zeppelin flights between 1928 and 1936, including many on the Pan-America route.

Zeppelin captains often signed covers carried on historic flights. These signatures connected collectors to the pioneering aviators who made history. Lehmann's signature is especially meaningful because of his tragic death seven years later. On May 7, 1937, he died from burns suffered in the Hindenburg disaster at Lakehurst—the same airfield where this cover once touched American soil.

A Rare Survivor

First Flight Covers from the 1930 Graf Zeppelin Pan-America Round Flight are scarce. Those signed by Captain Lehmann are even rarer. This cover survived nearly a century to spark multiple stories: the golden age of airships, the beginning of intercontinental airmail, and the life of a legendary airman.

You can see the complete postal journey in the markings: the Varick Street cancellation, the German red handstamp, the backstamps showing the flight's progress, and Lehmann's signature authenticating this cover's historic journey.

Add This Piece of History to Your Collection

Covers of this significance and condition don't appear often. This is your opportunity to own an authentic artifact from aviation's most romantic era - a cover that flew aboard the Graf Zeppelin and bears the signature of one of history's greatest airship pilots.