Lot 1573 India MAY.1.1931 Akyab to Calcutta First Flight with Stamp Variety, lovely cacheted envelope is franked with a 1a KGV definitive, plus a 3a Air Mail stamp, the latter with with 1 instead of second I” variety (S.G. #221b £325 for used). Front and back ALSO have a purple handstamp reading “VIA IMPERIAL AIRWAYS, / 1ST EXPERIMENTAL FLIGHT / AUSTRALIA TO ENGLAND”. Cover is addressed to Stephen H. Smith (and signed by him on back), alongside a MAY.4 Calcutta receiver. A scarce variety, especially on cover, very fine. From the The Leon Victor Pont Collection of Early India, New Zealand and Worldwide Pioneer Flight Covers. Est $100, sold for C$1,250.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.
Leon Victor Pont
Lot 1596, Italy group of Air Mail or First Flight Covers and Cards, 1917 to 1931, sold for C$1,989
Lot 1596 Italy Group of sixteen Air Mail or First Flight Covers and Cards, 1917 to 1931, with a 1917 experimental flight Rome to Torino (with a cover, plus a special white card cataloguing $1,300 in Scott, each with #C1 frankings); a 1925 cover with large Livorno label, franked with four pairs of Campari advertising tab 15c stamps (each catalogues $90 on cover); a 1930 flight Maryland Free State from London to Tripoli, signed by pilot; a 1930 first flight Rome to Rome Aerial Circuit of Europe cover (described by owner as one of ten covers in existence, signed by pilot Winifred Spooner); as well as various others (to Malta, Germany, India, etc., some faults due to dampness). Also includes two 1929 first flights from the Vatican. See scans online. From the The Leon Victor Pont Collection of Early India, New Zealand and Worldwide Pioneer Flight Covers. Estimate $300, sold for C$1,700.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.
Lot 1547, India 1911 world’s first offical air mail flight, Allahbad to Naini Junction then Calcutta, sold for C$1989
Lot 1547 India FEB.11.1911 World’s First official Air Mail Flight, Allahbad to Naini Junction, then to Calcutta. A large size post card with large magenta First Aerial Post cachet canceling stamp, reverse depicting the biplane used for this historical air mail flight. The card is also signed by the pilot Henri Pequet (only 40 recorded) and expert Stephen H. Smith. Serious creases and tears, still an important flight item. From the The Leon Victor Pont Collection of Early India, New Zealand and Worldwide Pioneer Flight Covers. Estimate $100, sold for C$1,700.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.
Lot 1618, Baghdad to Cairo covers, carried on to England and Ireland, sold for C$994
Lot 1618 Persia/Iraq 1923-1924 Baghdad to Cairo Covers, first was mailed MAR.30.1923 Baghdad to Cairo then on to England, franked with 6 British Occupation Iraq stamps, fine. Second mailed Teheran on DEC.24.1924 to Dublin, Ireland, franked with 10 Persia stamps depicting Ahmed Shah Qajar (some are on back of cover) with bilingual “BY AIR MAIL BAGDAD-CAIRO” handstamp in purple plus Teheran registration markings, Bagdad c.d.s. on back. This is a very early first First Flight from Iran, carried by a Junkers F13 aircraft were among the world’s best airplanes, from the military and transport point of view. Opened a bit roughly at top, still very fine and unlisted in AAMS. Also includes two 1933 flight covers Baghdad to Stephen Smith in Calcutta India, both with additional “Karachi-Calcutta / First Air Mail” pictorial handstamps on back (these with light stains, else fine). From the The Leon Victor Pont Collection of Early India, New Zealand and Worldwide Pioneer Flight Covers. Estimate $250, sold for C$850.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.
Lot 1567, India 1930 cover from Calcutta to Alameda California, sold for C$1,404
Lot 1567 India MAR.9.1930 “Maryland Free State” First Flight from Calcutta to Alameda California, piloted by Geysendorffer and Scholte, franked with 1a KGV definitive and a USA 2c cancelled at Alameda on MAY.12. Handstamped “AIR LINER / MARYLAND FREE STATE” and signed by pilot Scholte. Back has Stephen Smith signature. The American stamp fell off due to humid storage and has been replaced with a hinge, still rare, with only 26 covers flown. From the The Leon Victor Pont Collection of Early India, New Zealand and Worldwide Pioneer Flight Covers. Estimate $400, sold for C$1,200.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.