Indian Airmails

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  • Home
  • Pre-1953 Airlines
    • 1911 1st Aerial Post NIC
    • Indian State Air Services >
      • 1929 Karachi - Delhi via Hyderabad & Jodhpur
      • 1931 Last Flight Karachi-Delhi
    • Delhi Flying Club >
      • 1931 Emergency Flight by Delhi Flying Club
      • 1932 Karachi - Delhi
    • Indian Trans-Continental Airways >
      • 1933 Karachi - Calcutta >
        • 1933 Eastwards: Karachi - Calcutta
        • 1933 Westwards: Calcutta to Karachi
      • 1933 Calcutta - Rangoon via Akyab >
        • 1933 Eastwards: Calcutta - Rangoon via Akyab
        • 1933 Westwards: Rangoon - Calcutta via Akyab
      • 1933 Karachi - Singapore Extension
      • 1934 Karachi - Australia Extension
      • 1936 Rangoon - Hong Kong
    • Indian National Airways >
      • 1933 Calcutta - Dacca
      • 1933 Rangoon - Calcutta
      • 1934 Karachi - Lahore
      • 1938 Delhi - Lahore
      • 1939 Karachi - Delhi
      • 1940 Karachi - Calcutta
      • 1947 Calcutta - Rangoon
    • Air Services of India Ltd >
      • 1938 Bombay-Kathiawar
      • 1940 Bombay-Amreli
      • 1940 Kolhapur - Bombay
    • Madras Air Taxi Service
    • Experimental & Survey Flights. >
      • 1931 England - Australia Flight >
        • 1st Experimental Flight
        • 2nd Experimental Flight
      • 1938 Flying Boat Coogee
    • Dalmia-Jain Airways Ltd
    • Orient Airways Ltd
    • Starline / Indian Overseas Airline >
      • 1948 - Nagpur - Lucknow
      • 1949 First Indian Night Mail Flight
      • 1949 All Up Internal Air Mail
    • Bharat Airways >
      • 1949 - Calcutta - Hong Kong
      • 1950 - Calcutta - Singapore
    • Himalayan Aviation
    • Aviation Related Events >
      • 1938 Karachi Airport
      • 1940 Hyderabad Air Service
    • WW2 Flights
    • Unknown Airlines
  • Tata Airlines
    • 1931 - Karachi - Madras: Route Survey Flight
    • 1932 - Karachi - Madras >
      • Official Southbound
      • Official Northbound
      • Other Southbound
      • Other Northbound
      • Other Material
    • 1933 - Karachi - Madras via Poona
    • 1935 Karachi - Madras via Hyderabad >
      • 1935 - Karachi - Madras via Hyderabad
      • 1935 Bombay-Hyderabad Errors on Stamp
    • 1935 - Bombay - Calcutta demonstration flight
    • 1935 - Bombay - Travancore via Goa & Cannanore
    • 1936 - Madras to Colombo via Trichinopoly
    • 1937 - First Flight to Bhuj
    • 1937 - Delhi - Bombay via Gwalior, Bhopal & Indore
    • 1938 - Karachi - Madras extension to Colombo via Trichnopoly
    • 1938 - Trichinopoly - Trivandrum extension
    • 1938 - Mansoon halt at Poona
    • 1946 - Bombay - Calcutta via Nagpur
  • Air-India
    • 1948 Air-India International Bombay - London Flight >
      • Postage Stamps - Errors
      • The Postage Stamp
      • First Day Covers
      • DG's Circular & Postal Notices
      • Official Covers
      • Air-India Covers
      • Special Flight Cachet
      • Postage Rates gallery
      • Local Cancellations
      • Private Covers Gallery
      • Interesting Places of Origin & Destinations >
        • Interesting Destinations
        • Interesting Places of Origin
        • Interesting Places of Origin & Destinations
      • More interesting covers
      • Return Flight covers
      • Other Philatelic Curiosities
      • Award winning exhibit
    • 1948 - 1953 Early Route Expansion
    • 1954 - 1959 Early Route Expansion
    • 1960 - 1965 Air-India Boeing 707 Era.
    • 1966 - 1970 Air-India Boeing 707 Era.
    • 1971 - 1975 Boeing 747 & Other Aircraft Era
    • 1976 Onward Boeing 747 & Other Aircraft Era
    • Crash Mail Covers
    • Postal Meter panels
  • Indian Airlines
    • 1960 - 1964
    • 1965 - 1969
    • 1970 - 1974
    • 1975 - 1979
    • 1980 - Onward
    • Crash Mail Covers
    • Meter Panel & Stationery
  • Foreign Airlines
    • Air Ceylon
    • Air France
    • B.O.A.C. >
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Colombo August 1952
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Singapore October 1952
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Tokyo April 1953
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Sydney March 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Tokyo July 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Colombo August-September 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Tokyo April 1959
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Singapore June 1959
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Sydney November 1959
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Manila November 1961
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Auckland April 1963
      • B.O.A.C. Boeing 707 London to Nandi November 1965
      • B.O.A.C. VC 10 40th Anniversary of Regular Airmail
    • Trans - Australian
    • TWA
  • Others
    • Zeppelin & Catapult >
      • LZ-10 Schwaben
      • LZ-13 Hansa
      • LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin
      • LZ-129 Hindenberg
      • LZ-130 Graf Zeppelin II
      • Catapult Mail
      • Ephemera
      • Fakes & Forgeries
    • Rocket Mail >
      • Indian Rocket Mail
      • Sikkim Rocket Mail
    • Astrophilately >
      • Indian Astrophilately
      • Astro Ephemera
    • Pigeon Mail
    • Balloon Mail
    • Air Mail Societies
    • Airship R 101
    • Indian Air Force
    • Modern Airlines >
      • Star Air
      • Vayudoot
      • Vistara
    • Misc. Airmails
    • Not in Collection (NIC) >
      • World War 1
      • World War 2
      • Slogan Cancellation
      • FDC
      • FDC (as Fake)
      • Zeppelin & Catapult
  • Resources
  • Useful Links
  • Contact us

Private First Flight Covers

Some philatelists and stamp dealers produced private covers/cachets to commemorate the flight, and sent mail on this service using them. An excellent listing of these was first published by Praful Thakkar in his Collectors Guide to First Day Covers etc. in 2010. Below each cover, I have mentioned his catalogue reference number.

These covers are illustrated in my gallery reachable by clicking the button below.

Picture
Picture
PT 948.1.4
Private cover addressed to Air-India International, London.
Picture
Picture
PT 948.1.5
Private cover with a Douglas DC-4 airplane picture and details of the flight.
Left: An unused cover in mint condition
Right
: A registered cover sent to Felpham, Sussex, England. The 4 as. registration charge is stamped on the reverse.

Picture
Picture
PT 948.1.6
Airmail cover overprinted privately by Dr. L. P. Advani, a philatelist from Bombay. The Rajput Princess (VT-CQR) was originally intended to be used for the inaugural journey, but later it was decided that the Malabar Princess (VT-CQP) would be used for this flight. This explains what the cover has 'BY RAJPUT PRINCESS' printed on the cover.

Picture
Picture
PT 948.1.8
Another example of an airmail cover overprinted into a private cover for this flight. This one does not mention the name of the airplane, but has all the remaining flight information on it.

Picture
Picture
PT 948.1.9
Private cover with an image of a vintage bi-plane, and sent by registered post to London

Picture
Picture
PT 948.1.10
Top : Airmail cover with a square violet hand stamp with the flight information, and an image of a Douglas DC-4. Popularly known as the Hansen cover, and named after the philatelic dealer who produced the hand stamp.
Picture
Picture
Top: Souvenir cover issued by the post office for use on that day with 12 a. postage stamp issued that day to London, addressed to C. Hansen, with his private rectangular violet cachet hand stamped on the reverse.
Picture
Picture
PT 948.1.11
Private airmail cover, with flight information printed. The clever use of the colours of the Indian national flag, Saffron, White and Green, makes the cover design all the more appealing.


Picture
Picture
Unlisted in PT
This is quite a rare private cover. It has the flight information printed, and is remarkably well preserved. Two additional aspects make this cover more special. On the bottom left is the receiving mark on the reverse of the cover. It says LONDON CHIEF OFFICE E.C.1, 10 JL 48. Receiving larks in London are quite rare, as the Postmaster of the London G.P.O. had refused to affix them on any incoming mail. Also featured below is the insert found inside the cover which reads, With The Compliments of Air-India International. This seems to suggest some kind of official connection. Since it is a printed item, I am sure many more such covers exist, and have simply to surface.

Picture
Picture
Picture

Picture
Picture
NIC 
Air-India International First Flight Bombay-London 8 June 1948
Privately printed cover and sent from Bombay to Cairo with 12a stamp, which was overpaid by 2a, as the postal rate for Bombay to Cairo was 10a. Special flight cachet Type B applied on the cover.
(Image Courtesy: Gaurav Gupta)

Picture
Picture
Air-India International First Flight Bombay-London 8 June 1948
Unlisted in PT
Privately printed souvenir cover of Philatelie Orient, Bombay send to London with the 12 anna value stamp issued for use that day and cancelled with the special boxed rectangular first flight cachet.

Picture
Picture
Air-India International First Flight Bombay-London 8 June 1948
Unlisted in PT
Privately printed souvenir cover of Philatelie Orient, Bombay send to Geneva with the 12as + 2as value stamp issued for use that day and cancelled with the special boxed rectangular first flight cachet type C.

Picture
Picture
NIC 
Air-India International First Flight Bombay-London 8 June 1948
Privately printed cover and sent from Bombay to Bern with 14a stamp correctly franked and
special flight cachet Type B applied on the cover.
(Image Courtesy: Gaurav Gupta)

Picture
Picture
Above: Unlisted in PT
Private cover addressed to Station Manager, Air-India International, Geneva from Victory Stamp Co., Madras on 8 June 1948.
Cover shows a cartoon drawing of the Lockheed L-749A, with the 12 as stamp issued for use on the 1948 first flight to London, and cancelled with the special boxed rectangular cachet at Bombay G.P.O.



Some more interesting covers

I am also displaying some covers below, which cannot be considered Private Covers, since they do not contain anything printed or even hand stamped to link them with the flight. However, they are very interesting, and a joy to keep in a collection
Picture
Picture
Top: An air mail cover with a aeroplane image printed. what makes this cover design special is the Indian Tricolour motif on the border of the envelope.
Picture
Picture
Top: Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay, guest stationary used for a letter mailed to London. On the front is a printed image of the hotel, and on the reverse is a stylised TAJ BOMBAY logo.
Picture
Picture
Air mail cover franked with the commemorative 12 as value stamp issued specially for use on this flight, and sent using official Cadbury-Fry stationary from Bombay to London.
Picture
Picture
Air Mail cover on Gannon Dunkerley & Co., Ltd. Bombay 1 envelope with the 12a. Commemorative stamp and tied with the boxed rectangular first flight cachet used for the 8 June 1948 flight. Cover addressed to Liverpool, England.
Picture
Picture
Top: Another interesting air mail cover, this one with an aeroplane motif in red and blue forming a panel on the top and bottom.
Picture
Picture
Air-India International
First Flight from Bombay to London, Cover sent to Deepcut Hants, England. 8 June 1948
Plain cover franked with the 12a value stamp issued for this flight and cancelled with the boxed rectangular special cancellation mark applied at Bombay on 8 JUN 48. The cover used is a business cover from THE GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., (INDIA) LTD.


Picture
Picture
Air-India International
First Flight from Bombay to London, Cover sent to Bristol, England. 8 June 1948
Plain cover franked with the 12a value stamp issued for this flight and cancelled with the boxed rectangular special cancellation mark type C applied at Bombay on 8 JUN 48. The cover used is a business cover from THE GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., (INDIA) LTD.
Picture
Picture
Private crested Stationary & double strike of cancellation.
Cover franked with the 12 anna value stamp issued for use on that flight, and cancelled with the commemorative boxed cancellation. Addressed to London, England, the cover has a private crest and monogram CTC on the reverse. It also has a ghost cancellation
​(faint double strike)

Picture
Picture
Air-India International First Flight from Bombay to London 8 June 1948
Business Stationary Cover – Somerville & Co. Ltd., Colombo
 It is not clear where this cover was posted, but it is the first cover we have seen using Ceylon business stationary.
​A clean and well preserved cover.
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