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Pioneering flight rarities |
 Lord Northcliffe, the newspaper tycoon, had offered a number of prizes before the war, for the first flight from London to Manchester (1910) and round Britain (1911). In 1913 he announced a prize of £10,000 for the first successful flight across the Atlantic. The project was shelved on account of the outbreak of war, although there were no aircraft in 1914 that were capable of such a long flight. Early in 1919 Northcliffe repeated his offer and, by the end of March, six entries were received. The men who actually achieved success were John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown, both knighted for their achievement. The Postmaster General of Newfoundland authorised the overprinting of the 15c stamp with a $1 surcharge for use on the small quantity of mail carried on the converted Vickers Vimy bomber. Although flown covers are very desirable, the mint stamps are not scarce and can be picked up for around £100.
Overprinted Caribou
The first of the Newfoundland air stamps consisted of the 3c Caribou overprinted in five lines ‘FIRST TRANS-ATLANTIC AIR POST April, 1919’. Two sheets were thus overprinted, but of the 200 stamps 18 were defective and destroyed, 11 were given as presentation copies, and 76 were sold to raise money for the Marine Disasters Fund. The remaining 95 were affixed to the envelopes carried by Harry Hawker and Kenneth Mackenzie-Grieve in their Sopwith Atlantic, which took off on April 18. Bad weather, and engine failure, forced them down in the Atlantic the following morning but they were rescued by a Danish ship. The aircraft, together with the mailbag, was salvaged a few days later and most of the covers (forwarded by sea) show evidence of their immersion in salt water. Today Gibbons lists the mint Hawker 3c at £15,000.
More highly-prized are the 3c Caribou stamps which were overprinted in manuscript, by the Postmaster General Dr. J.A. Robinson, ‘Aerial Atlantic Mail, J.A.R.’ and affixed to about a couple of dozen covers. They were carried by Raynham and Morgan in their Martinsyde ‘Raymor’ which attempted the flight about an hour after the Sopwith but crashed on take-off, both men being slightly injured. A second attempt on July 17 likewise ended in disaster, so the Martinsyde covers had to be sent by sea. The manuscript overprints now rate £20,000 in used condition. This stamp was never available in mint condition, being affixed to covers when they were handed in for posting. A single example of the 2c Caribou with a similar manuscript overprint is known with an ordinary unoverprinted 2c, used on cover postmarked April 18, 1919.
De Pinedo flight
The Italian aviator Francesco De Pinedo is forever linked to the Newfoundland-Rome flight of 1927, on account of the very rare stamp produced in connection. This time the 60c stamp of 1897 portraying Henry VII was overprinted ‘Air Mail DE PINEDO 1927’ in red ink. De Pinedo left Trepassey aboard his plane Santa Maria II on May 23, 1927 but was forced to land in the ocean about 200 miles from the Azores. He continued from the Azores and reached Rome on June 16. Of the three sheets totalling 300 stamps, some 258 were sold over the counter, 18 were presented to officials, and four defective copies were destroyed. Of those sold, some 225 were affixed to covers, but about 75 other covers were franked by ordinary, unoverprinted 60c stamps. Very few De Pinedo stamps were preserved in unused condition and as a result they are now quoted at £24,000.
Six years later Newfoundland’s 75c airmail stamp was surcharged $4.50 and overprinted in connection with the Balbo Mass Flight across the Atlantic. These stamps are quite plentiful but one sheet was overprinted upside down. When the error was discovered it was torn up and thrown away but a block of four was retrieved in undamaged condition, while a further four which had been damaged were expertly repaired. These stamps now rate £35,000 apiece. A sheet of the 10c airmail was overprinted by mistake, and the handful of examples that have survived likewise command a price of £35,000.
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Tales by Mail - Book 1, by Karen Cartier
 Tales by Mail is for children of all ages, perhaps up through 60 or so. It brings together stories literally from around the world ... from Botswana to Denmark, from New Zealand to the Faroes, from Saar to Israel.
The stories are short, each with a message, and each illustrated by a stamp issued by the country of the story's origin. Each who reads this book no doubt will develop a different favorite story, which is to be expected. Formatted simply, each story is preceded by a full-color illustration of the commemorative stamp that no only is impressive in its own right but also serves through its design to set the stage for the story that follows.
For those who wonder of the relationship between a stamp design and what is "behind" the design, this book serves as an excellent example.
Teddy Bears Celebrate 100th Anniversary
 Teddy bears, enormously popular symbols of human caring and loving, are being honored by the U.S. Postal Service with the issuance of the Teddy Bears commemorative stamps. The 2002 issuance of the stamps coincides with the 100th anniversary of teddy bears.
The Teddy Bears pane of 20 self-adhesive stamps depicts four lovable, cuddly teddy bears. Photos of the bears appear in the header; details of the photos appear on the stamps. The four stamp designs are repeated five times each on the pane. All four teddy bears were manufactured in the United States and are now owned by private collectors. The Ideal bear dates to circa 1905, the Bruin bear from circa 1907 and the Gund bear from circa 1948. The unlabeled "stick" bear dates from the 1920s. Mass- produced stick bears were characterized by their short arms, thin legs and upright posture. The Ideal bear, the Bruin bear and the stick bear belong to Paul and Rosemary Volpp of Carson City, Nev. The Gund bear belongs to Helen Sieverling of Pasadena, Calif.
The idea of the teddy bear was born in 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a captive bear during a hunting trip. Washington Post cartoonist Clifford Berryman depicted the incident on the front page of the newspaper, and soon toymakers began to manufacture the "teddy" bears associated with the president's name. People in all walks of life love teddy bears, and enthusiasts—known in the teddy bear world as arctophiles—pay top dollar for the collectibles.
Today there are teddy bear magazines, clubs, collector shows and programs, both educational and medical, that feature these little stuffed companions. Teddy bears have had endless books, songs and poem written about them. Widely viewed as symbols of security and comfort, teddy bears are often used by police officers and hospital staff to calm the young and old alike in traumatic situations
Second Set Of Penguin Stamps
 British Antarctic Territory has issued its second set of penguin stamps on a miniature sheet and in a booklet from the Port Lockroy Post Office.
The 12 airmail postcard values feature photographs of Chinstrap, Emperor, Adelie, Gentoo and Macaroni penguins, including juveniles.
All the photographs were taken by members of the British Antarctic Survey.
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