TCP-M/J 04 - The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada

Identifying Air Mail: Part II
By Murray Heifetz
Figure 17. “Boxed” airmail handstamp on posting from
Vancouver to Paris Sep. 8, 1933. This variety with splits
on all four sides of the frame is a type used only in
Vancouver.
Figure 18. Facing
Label for airmail
from Dunville to
Los Angeles July
27, 1936. 250,000
printed Sep. 23,
1935
Not everyone had access to etiquettes, and the need
to indicate “By Air Mail” was done by both handscript
and by rubber stamp. The variety of rubber
stamps is unlimited but one grouping was post office
authorized and likely produced. This is the “boxed”
AIR MAIL handstamp proofed in 1928. This writer
has made a study of these markings and classified
them according to their size, frame and letter characteristics.
There are, to date, 18 varieties in use from
1929 on. In practice they are rarely found after the late
1930’s but some people have the original handstamp
and still use it. It is not known whether the Post Office
had these produced and then distributed them
nationally, or merely laid out the specifications and
had postmasters get their own supply made locally.
(Figure 17).
Etiquettes and handstamps were useful for individual
pieces of mail but, as the use of airmail increased,
there was a necessity of identifying quantities of mail
intended for carriage by air. To meet this need the
Post Office produced facing labels and tags. While I
don’t have too much information on the facing labels,
I believe they were used when the quantity was
smaller, intended for a single destination, and could
be tied in a bundle with the facing label attached to
the top letter in the bundle. To support this I illustrate
a cover with the facing label attached. This label was
printed in 1935 which is the earliest I have. My latest
is 1960 though I suspect there are both earlier and
later printing dates. (Figure 19).
When there was a complete mail bag for a single
destination, the post office used tags tied to the outside
of the bag. These were in horizontal and vertical
Figure 19. Air Mail tag for mail from Montreal to Quebec
City. Card type printed Jan. 3, 1956. 600,000 printed.
Figure 20. Marking “TRANS-ATLANTIC AIR MAIL/ARMY
P.O. ENGLAND” on cover from Calgary Mar. 17, 1941
158 May - June / Mai - Juin 2004