Flatboat Carried Mail

USA, FLATBOAT CARRIED MAIL TO HENDERSON COVER 08-08-1985

 A flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with square ends used to transport freight and passengers on inland waterways. The flatboat could be any size, but essentially it is large, sturdy tub with a hull that displaces water and so floats in the water. This differentiates the flatboat from the raft, which floats on the water. - Wikipedia

This is a Flatboat

Carried by Ski Train, Rio Grande- USA

USA 1981 Carried cover on The Rio Grande Ski Train.

Cover was carried on a Ski Train from March 28 to 29, via the Moffat Road. Nice cachet of Rio Grande Main Line and a round cancellation denoting that it was carried on the Ski Train

Missile Mail, USA

United States, 1959 Missile Mail. Landing of the first official Missile mail.

As per Wikipedia:

n 1959 the U.S. Navy submarine USS Barbero assisted the Post Office Department, predecessor to the United States Postal Service (USPS) in its search for faster mail transportation with the only delivery of "Missile Mail". On 8 June 1959, Barbero fired a Regulus cruise missile — its nuclear warhead having earlier been replaced by two Post Office Department mail containers — at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station at Naval Station Mayport. Twenty-two minutes later, the missile struck its target. The Regulus cruise missile was launched with a pair of Aerojet-General 3KS-33,000 [3 sec duration, 33,000 lbf (150 kN) thrust] solid-propellant boosters. A turbojet engine sustained the long-range cruise flight after the boosters were dropped.

The USPS had officially established a branch post office on Barbero and delivered some 3000 pieces of mail to it before Barbero left Norfolk, Virginia. The mail consisted entirely of commemorative postal coversaddressed to President of the United States Dwight Eisenhower, other government officials, the Postmasters General of all members of the Universal Postal Union, and so on. They contained letters from United States Postmaster General Arthur E. Summerfield. Their postage (four cents domestic, eight cents international) had been cancelled "USS Barbero Jun 8 9.30am 1959" before the boat put to sea. In Mayport, the Regulus was opened and the mail forwarded to the post office in Jacksonville, Florida, for sorting and routing.

Upon witnessing the missile's landing, Summerfield stated, "This peacetime employment of a guided missile for the important and practical purpose of carrying mail, is the first known official use of missiles by any Post Office Department of any nation."Summerfield proclaimed the event to be "of historic significance to the peoples of the entire world",and predicted that "before man reaches the moon, mail will be delivered within hours from New York to California, to Britain, to India or Australia by guided missiles. We stand on the threshold of rocket mail."

Notwithstanding the Postmaster General's enthusiasm, in reality the Department of Defense saw the measure more as a demonstration of U.S. missile capabilities. Experts believe that the cost of using missile mail could never be justified.

Post Buoy or Floating Mail containers

Post Buoy or Floating Mail containers in Sea in which mail was posted. This is a Hapag Llyod cover dropped off the coast of Azores ( Acores) , Portugal. 1976.

A Postbuoy cover, which is philatelic in nature with a cachet and a post mark of a postbuoy that was placed in the Kiel Bight in June 1984 on the occasion of the 19th World Postal Congress at Hamburg.

Bottle Mail - Dropped at the Strait of Messina

This rare cover I have is the famous and somewhat romantic sounding " Message in a bottle" or Bottle mail. The bottle was dropped with this cover by the M.S Christian Maersk and also has the signature of the Chief Engineer.

Carried by Manpowered flight

This is a philatelic cover which I have which is quite unique in the history of aerophilately in the respect that it was carried by a Man-powered flight called Jupiter. This is an experimental flight made by the RAF of Great Britain. It is signed by the pilot and he managed to fly a distance of 600 yards. Must have very good thigh muscles indeed!!

Harkara Mail - carried by Postal runner , India

This mail cover is based on the enactment of Harkara mail, which was followed in India during the early 18th and 19th Century. The 'harkara' runners were fearless people armed with a sword or a spear , and used to carry the posts or dak from one place to the another.
The enactment happened in Jampex 2005 and is signed by the harkara runner.

Total of only 100 covers had been carried in this event. So it is a bit rarer than the other harkara runner covers from India

Sea Jug Post

The cover I have here from my collection is the famous Sea Jug Post. This method was the use of a sealed can or “jug,” into which letters or messages were placed, and the “jug” tossed overboard to be carried by currents to coastal waters or to be picked up earlier by any vessel that might spot it. It was a metal can, painted yellow, and complete with little flag and mast, caught the attention of a Wareham man off Codman Point in 1954. Investigation showed that the can was from the Steamer John W. Powell. In it were about eight hundred letters that had been tossed into the sea off Cape Cod.

Got hold of this very rare cinderella of Sea Jug Post, which applies to letters consigned to bottles on the high seas.

It was issued in 1951 and it was reported in the Poster (LPCS American newsletter)

The words Neptune and Squids are play on words..

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Camel Caravan Post office

Caravan Post office cover flown in an airplane from Lod to Sharm El Sheikh in the Sinai desert and then a camel caravan brought it to some small outposts in the desert. Israel gave Sinai back to Egypt in 1976, so that post office does not exist anymore

Post Office with Longest name

Unusual Post offices: The Post office with the Longest Name, the Postcard has been posted at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

It is a large village and community on the island of Anglesey in Wales, situated on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. This village has the longest place name in Europe and one of the longest place names inthe world. The short form of the village's name is Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, also spelled Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll. It is commonly known as Llanfair PG or Llanfairpwll - Wikipedia

Indian Tonga Mail

India Tonga Mail cover commemorating 150 years of India Post.

Early Indian Mails were carried in horse drawn carriages known locally as tonga. This cover is a tribute to the Traditional tonga mail and was issued on 27.02.2005

Winter Magdalen Mail - Barrel Mail carried

The cachet of the the first official flight cover from Grindstone island to Charlottetown carries an interesting story.

The Magdalen Islands are located in the Gulf of Saint-Laurence and are part of the province of Quebec. In 1910, these islands found themselves completely cut off from civilization when a telegraph cable broke. In order to communicate with the mainland, the ever-enterprising islanders filled a large, empty molasses barrel with letters. They then launched the mail-barrel with a sign that said ‘Winter Magdalen Mail’. The barrel was found in Nova Scotia by Murdoch McIssac who forwarded the mail and passed on the plea for help

Sikkim Helicopter Post

The Sikkim Helicopter Post was an innovative idea of popularising Postal Department of North Bengal and Sikkim by Mr. John Samuel,  the then Chief PMG. Though this Sikkim Helicopter Post did not last long but it can be credited as an pioneering effort at the small state of Sikkim. The launch of the Sikkim Helicopter Post was carried at Helipad, near High Court, Gangtok.

The Press Release said:

"SIKKIM HELICOPTER POST"


India Post in association with Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation launched a facility to post letters on board the daily Helicopter flight connecting the nearest Airport in North Bengal, Bagdogra to Sikkim’s capital, Gangtok, on December 2, 2003.

The mail posted on board receives a special hand-stamped cachet. 

Ciskei runner mail

Postal runners also carried mail in 1882 from Ciskei in South Africa. This philatelic cover depicts one such re enactment.

World's First "Airmail" flight

The first "airmail" flight happened in August 17 1859, aboard the hot air balloon named as Jupiter. John Wise, the aeronaut, was given 123 letters in Lafayette, Indiana, to deliver to New York City. The balloon had to ascend to 14,000 feet to pick up any wind, but that wind, unfortunately, carried it south. After covering only 30 miles in five hours, Wise descended in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where his trip was labeled a “trans-county-nental” flight. Wise gave the mail to a postal agent, who put it on a train for New York.

Jackass Mail, USA

This rider signed cover is a commemorative reenactment of the Jackass mail, which was the first official trans-continental overland mail stage line in the USA.

The San Antonio- San Diego Mail line of June 1857 contract was was awarded  James Birch who was to provide semi-monthly service on a thirty-day schedule.  For this, Birch would receive $150,000 per year subsidy from the government.
            In less than thirty days, Birch dispatched the first mail west from San Antonio.  Mules, rather than horses, were to pull the coaches and for this reason and the fact that pack mules actually carried the mail over the final 180 mile stretch from Ft. Yuma to San Diego, Birch’s new venture was more commonly known as the “Jackass Mail Line”.  The departure dates were set for the 9th and 24th of each month.

The usefulness of the “Jackass Line” came to an end when operations of the Butterfield & Overland Mail began in September 1858, much of the usefulness of the “Jackass Line” had come to an end when operations of the Butterfield & Overland Mail began.

Motor Boat Mail

This is a Motor Boat mail cover that I have where it depicts the Star route from Agness to Gold Beach, Oregon. 

Agness is served by one of only two rural mail boat routes still operating in the U.S. (The other is on the Snake River in Idaho). The mailboat runs on the Rogue River between Gold Beach and Agness during the summer months. The mail is delivered by road for the remainder of the year.

Spreewald Boat mail.

The Spreewald is a waterlogged area starting north of Dresden and extending north towards Berlin. For centuries the area was served only by waterways – a vast network of rivers and canals. Areas of dry ground are used for mixed farming and the produce is, even today, shipped out by barges. Along with it, mails are also carried by boat in the region.The mail is delivered to letterboxes on the river by a yellow-clad postmistress – pushing a yellow-painted Kahn (boat) .

Mail runner, Kokoda Trail

Mail runners used to carry mail in the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea. According to historian Stuart Hawthorne, before World War II, the route was referred to as "the overland mail route" or "the Buna road". He states that "Kokoda Trail" became common because of its use in Australian newspapers during the war, the first known instance being in Sydney's Daily Mirror on 27 October 1942.
Depicted are two varieties of commemorative covers in the Moresby Kokoda Mail runner re-renactment of 1985 and a map showing Kokoda trail in Papua New Guinea

Guam Guard Mail, USA

 

I have these two covers depicting the Carabao drawn cart commemorating the carriage of the early Guam Guard mail.

The following editorial comment which appeared in  the Guam Recorder for May 1930, gives some idea of the operation of the Guard Mail:
The two most important projects recently undertaken affecting the prosperity and advancement of the residents of Guam have been the inauguration of the Guam Guard Mail
Service and the decision of the Governor to construct a new athletic field. The Guam Guard Mail got underway for a flying start in a carabao cart on the morning of April 8th. The first route opened was between Agana, Asan, Piti, Agat and Sumay. The service was completely equipped with  mail bags, mail boxes, cancelling stamps, and signs, with Bordallo’s bus line as carrier for the mail and the commissioners
of the outlying points to act as postmasters. Philippine two centavos and four centavos stamps were obtained on the GOLD STAR surcharged with the words “Guam Guard Mail.” This is purely a local service for the benefit and convenience of the civilian population of Guam.…

Reindeer Carried cover

Reindeer Carried cover

Gallivare, Marknad is an  outlying village in Finland where the postman comes on a sleigh drawn by reindeer. There is a Post Office in Finland that is only open one day in the year , on the day of  the reindeer market.  Its name is Gallivare, and the the envelope has a postmark of a reindeer on it over the Finnish stamp . A great postmark and cover to collect indeed!

Mailed Underwater, Aquarena Springs USA

Covers showing Mailed underwater in the Underwater post box at Aquarena Springs amusement park in San Marcos, Texas . Dont know whether they are still there!

Oldsmobile Kalahari mail - classical era carried covers

A cover from Kalk Bay, South Africa carried by Oldsmobile Expedition across the Kalahari Desert from Gobabis to Ghanzi cancelled by the special and extremely rare OLDSMOBILE / 23 Nov 1929 / KALAHARI MAIL.

Also a newspaper article on the mail. 

Only a handful of covers are recorded and this mail is therefore very scarce.

Boat Mail, from Jalpex event in India on river Ganges

A philatelic exhibition boat mail cover from India, issued during Jalpex 1994, carried by boat from Rajghat to Assighat in Varanasi.

A total of 200 covers were carried on this event by boat

Helicopter mail, Nicobar islands, India

A philatelic cover from India, where Helicopter from Port Blair, Andaman islands have carried mail to Campbell Bay Nicobar islands on 3rd December, 2004.


Total of 300 covers were carried on this flight.

First Transpacific Mail carried by Outrigger Canoe

A Cover with a nice cachet denoting that its the First Transpacific Mail carried by Outrigger Canoe carried out from Feb 28 to May 8 from Hawaiian islands to Pago Pago.

Carried by Rickshaw, Hong Kong

Reverse of a Cathay Pacific philatelic cover which shows that the cover was carried from East Farm Airport to Sunpex Chinatown by a rickshaw, which is a man-powered pulled carriage.
Rickshaws are a common mode of transportation in Indian subcontinent and China.
Dated 2nd Oct 1985. Hong Kong.

Carried by Ox caravan

One of my recent acquisitions is this 1937 souvenir cover from the N.W.T. Celebration Commission, which was carried by ox cart caravan, reproducing the trek of the pioneers to the Northwest Territory in 1787. It was postmarked at Ipswich, Massachusetts on December 8, 1937, and at Marietta, Ohio, on April 7, 1839. Illustration by Wm. Mark Young.

Underwater Post office at Eilat, Israel

Postcards from Eilat Underwater post box were sent by one of my friends in Israel, and with the postmark " From the Depths of the Red Sea. ( I have defaced the addresses of both to prevent misuse, excuse me for that".

The postcards were sent from the Observatory of Eilat Aquarium Water park, Israel. They were posted in the  Eilat Underwater post box inside the Eilat Aquarium Water park. The sign on the box promises that all letters will get special underwater Eilat postal mark. It is below the Red Sea.

Camel Mail from Israel

Israel 1983: mail with camels to Bethlehem. The cachet appears in two colours , blue and red . I have both of them.

Packhorse mail , Australia

This interesting cover is named as packhorse mail and the cover has been carried by packhorses from Thornborough to Cairns in Australia. The Mail travelled from 4th Oct to 8th Oct 1974.

It was to commemorate the use of packhorse mail track some 100 years ago, and during the celebrations of the Cairns district centenary.

Camel Train carried covers

A Cover carried by the Camel train with a label  of camel post in the reverse ,  in imitation of the famous Camel Post stamps of  SUDAN.

Cover is dated 1988, post marked T.P.O and overprinted "Special Handling"

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And talking of camels, here is a cover carried by Camel Cart on a philatelic event , commemorating Gandhi.




A total of 250 covers were carried