Hello Dik,
your postcard is a great entrance to the Spanish mail to the Pan-American-Flight 1930!
I would suggest, that you ask our administrator to move this article to a new thread, maybe “Spanische Post zur Südamerikafahrt 1930” – I’m rather sure, there will follow some more input …
What I saw first on your card:
Es stammt von Barcelona und ist frankiert mit Flugpost Edifil 488, nicht sehr häufig.
That’s really true: the printed edition of the 4-Pesetas-stamp was 25.000, but it was – like all special issues at this time – only valid for few days (from Mai 10 to May 21). Most of the edition was sold after that date to the collectors with cancels applied to order (“Gefälligkeitsstempel”). I guess, that transported mail is not only “nicht sehr häufig” but markedly rare!
In my old Edifil-Catalog I found the 5-Céntimos-stamp too: Barcelona No. 4 – an obligatory tax stamp. Today I learned, that this additional stamp was necessary for mail from Barcelona. (Please, correct me, if i’m wrong!)
We know mailings from Barcelona, which were transported by ‘Graf Zeppelin’, but all cards and letters that I know, were loaded to the Junkers-Airplane of the special Lufthansa-Flight from Berlin to Sevilla during the intermediate landing in Barcelona. (See attachment)
Never before I saw a card, which came from Barcelona to Sevilla by surface and reached the Sevilla-post-office early enough for processing: it shows the Spanish special cancellation. (The plane from Berlin reached Sevilla tight before the ascent of the airship with no time for processing the mailings in Sevilla – these cards and letters received the German special cancellation during the flight onboard). Interesting: they don’t show additional franking of a Barcelona-tax-stamp.
We have some quantity-informations: 7.683 Spanish cards and letters were loaded to the airship at Mai 19 in Sevilla, 585 of those came by airplane from Barcelona, most of the “rest” show cancellations from Sevilla. I guess, that the percentage of Sevilla-mail is close to 90% (there are relatively few mailings from Madrid, were usually the special cancellation is missing.)
Ich frage mich ob Costa die Karte zurück geschickt hatte (nichts weist darauf), und was das für ein Fallschirm Stempel ist, der auf der anderen Seite steht.
I never saw this parachute-mark before, but i know the cancellation “BCM AIR FIELD”.
In another forum (Austrian “Briefmarkenforum”, where you find a lot of Zeppelin-mail) we found out, that it doesn’t refer to a Romanian airport or something like that, but to a stampdealer from Great Britain, who was specialised on airmail: Francis J. Field in Sutton Coldfield. “Air Field” was his Nickname respectively his label. Please don’t ask me, in which thread of the “Briefmarkenforum” you will find this information, maybe my friend @Klaus remembers – but I forgot it …
I think, that your card was “created” – like many other pieces of Zeppelin-mail – by a cooperation of stampdealers, who provided the cards and letters for their clients.
Your card is correctly franked with 4 Pesetas for the airship-transport of a postcard from Sevilla to Rio de Janeiro (Sieger# 58.Ad), Michel# 64 A)a.); in this amount the further transportation to the final destination in any UPU-country of the world was included. (Many Zeppelin-mailings are designated for an airship transport to country “X” and are addressed to country “Y”, often to the address of the sender. I prefer mailings like yours!)
Hopefully you understand my special humour, dear Dik:
You show us a very interesting card, but unfortunately it is in the wrong collection (If it were possible here: Smiley “sad”). Whenever you get rid of it, tell me, where I can find your trash-can (Smiley: “twinkle”) ….
Best greetings, Alfred