bobby1948
Departed
Rest in Peace
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Sir Edmund Burke
Posts: 690
What I collect: WW to 1945; US mnh 1922-1990; US used and unused to 1922
|
Post by bobby1948 on Feb 19, 2016 17:58:26 GMT
New Zealand: Antarctic Research (souvenir sheet)
|
|
|
Post by ronbreznay on Sept 29, 2018 20:13:55 GMT
Through Postcrossing, I got an Antarctica postcard postmarked there. One of the Postcrossing members knew someone who was going on an Antarctic expedition who was willing to take some postcards to mail from McMurdo. I got this postcard and several other Antarctica postcards from Zazzle.
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Nov 9, 2019 9:40:35 GMT
Here is an interesting cover postmarked from Little America, Antarctica 31 January 1934 and tied with the USA National Stamp Exhibition Issue (Michel 359B, Scott No.735a) depicting a world Map using a van der Grinten's Projection.
The fact that the cover was "delayed for one year because of difficulties" tells its own story...
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Nov 9, 2019 9:48:30 GMT
Here are three philatelic covers from separate voyages to the Antarctica region, cancelled on ship, i.e. the USCGC Edisto & Eastwind including signatures by the Commanding Officer (CO).
|
|
hrdoktorx
Member
Posts: 6,601
What I collect: France (and French territories), Africa, Canada, USA, Germany, Guatemala, stamps about science, flags, maps, stamps on stamps...
|
Post by hrdoktorx on Nov 9, 2019 16:40:02 GMT
Thanks for reviving this thread! I can contribute the cover below, with a nice cancel reading "U.S. Navy Operation Deep Freeze", which I find quite funny:
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Dec 13, 2019 7:42:26 GMT
In 1987, Hungary issued a set of six stamps depicting early explorers of Antarctica and the region. This cover is from that series showing both Robert F. Scott and his vessel, the Terra Nova. Hungary FDC - Robert F. Scott (Michel No.3911A, SG No.3787) with signature of the stamp designer, Pal Varga and dated Budapest 30 June, 1987.
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Jun 14, 2020 7:57:43 GMT
On January 29, 1957 the Japanese aboard the "Soya Maru" would reach their intended International Geophysical Year (IGY) station, Showa base, along the Prince Harald Coast of Antarctica and the mail carried on board would be cancelled the next day. The insert for the cover created by the Japan Postal Culture Association suggests “The picture on the cover represent a beautiful daybreak on the Antarctic Continent” and given that the Japanese had not explored the region since the earlier Nobu Shirase’s expedition, it seems only fitting to depict a sunrise,
The cancel reads at the top “First Successful Landing at Antarctica” / Prince Harald / Soya Ship Post office”.
The stamps used are from Japan's Showa series, 2nd Issue (SG 447) depicting a whaling vessel and seems an appropriate usage given the Japanese had for many years had a whaling fleet presence in the South Polar seas.
Whales, an Antarctic postmark and even a penguin or two, could one ask for anything more in a single cover...
Happy collecting!
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Aug 19, 2020 20:40:06 GMT
An Australian Antarctic Territory first day cover, Landscape Scenes, issued 11th March 1987 and with a pictorial postmark from Melbourne, Australia. This particular cover was issued to commemorate British explorer Robert Swan's 'In the Footsteps of Scott, Antarctic Expedition 1984-1987' for the 75th anniversary of Captain Scott's arrival at the South Pole. It is signed by the expedition photographer Rebecca Ward. Scan_20200819 (3) by Daniel, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Aug 19, 2020 21:00:52 GMT
A US Navy Operation Deep Freeze cover for the United States Antarctic Research Program (USARP), National Science Foundation, Eights Station, Antarctica with a USARP hand stamped cachet, a US Navy postmark for 20th December 1963. A Clyde Sarzin cover, so philatelic. Scan_20200819 (4) by Daniel, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Aug 23, 2020 21:20:59 GMT
The Snow Cruiser in the Antarctic, the United States Antarctic Expedition 1939-1941 (Byrd Antarctic Expedition III) If you haven't heard of the Snow Cruiser, it is a fascinating story that didn't go according to plan. It was designed by Thomas Poulter who was a scientist and was second in command to Rear Admiral Richard E Byrd Jr on Byrd's second Antarctic Expedition. Believing that some kind of vehicle was necessary, he set about designing the Snow Cruiser from 1937 to 1939 along with the Research Foundation of the Armour Institute of Technology at their cost and it was then loaned to the expedition. The Snow Cruiser was 56 feet long, 17 foot wide and weighed 27 tons. It was designed to carry a light aircraft, a Beech 17 Staggerwing. The Snow Cruiser was built by the Pullman Company in Chicago. It then had to make its way from Chicago to Boston to be loaded onto the expedition ship, the journey was not uneventful and at one point it ran into a ditch. However, it reached Boston Army Wharf and, after some trouble, was loaded onto the USS North Star (later USCG North Star). It finally arrived at the base camp Little America at the Bay Of Whales, Antarctica in January 1940 and even had trouble disembarking but eventually made it ashore. However, it had further trouble moving through the snow and could only work by being driven backwards! It completed a hundred mile journey this way before it was decided to just use it as a, very comfortable, camp. Here is a picture: Snow_cruiser_2 by Daniel, on Flickr Covers, produced by the Fidelity Stamp Company, were produced and carried on board the Snow Cruiser before being returned to Boston on 5th May to be cancelled the following day. This example, shown back and front, has been double cancelled. Scan_20200823 by Daniel, on Flickr Scan_20200823 (2) by Daniel, on Flickr The Snow Cruiser was abandoned but rediscovered during Byrd's 1946 expedition and again in 1958 by another expedition (covers exist for this) but not moved. The ice shelf containing the camp, Little America, broke up and an iceberg was spotted in 1963 by USS Edisto containing identifiable parts of Little America and the markers left to identify the Snow Cruiser. That was the last that was known of the Snow Cruiser.
|
|
brightonpete
Departed
Rest in Peace
On a hike at Goodrich-Loomis
Posts: 5,110
|
Post by brightonpete on Aug 24, 2020 1:44:29 GMT
The Snow Cruiser in the Antarctic, the United States Antarctic Expedition 1939-1941 (Byrd Antarctic Expedition III) However, it had further trouble moving through the snow and could only work by being driven backwards! It completed a hundred mile journey this way before it was decided to just use it as a, very comfortable, camp. Funny how people from the north (or south in my case) think they know how to travel in the polar snow. Search And Rescue (SAR) techs came up to Alert from 8 Wing Trenton (Ontario) for some northern training. They brought everything they'd need to hike 20 or so kilometres to a CC-130 Hercules crash site and back. We didn't hear from them right away, then a storm moved into the area. As it turned out, it took them a week to get to the Winchester Hills, 6 kilometres away. They planned on a 2 week hike there & back. Lugging their sled on concrete-like snow was an exercise in futility! After the storm abated, they asked for help to get back to camp! I think that was the end of far north training for them!
|
|
hrdoktorx
Member
Posts: 6,601
What I collect: France (and French territories), Africa, Canada, USA, Germany, Guatemala, stamps about science, flags, maps, stamps on stamps...
|
Post by hrdoktorx on Sept 12, 2020 10:43:36 GMT
Among the 1961 Norway issues, this pair of stamps commemorating the 50 th anniversary of the Amundsen expedition to the South Pole:
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Nov 2, 2020 4:21:37 GMT
The Trans-Polar Flight Expedition of Roald Amundsen 1924-1925 These small cards regularly turn up on the philatelic market but with little or no explanation as to their origin and purpose. They usually bear stamps with names and addresses on both sides. The Post card side will have a US 2 cent stamp and is addressed to The Trans-Polar Flight Expedition, Chistiana, Norway. The reverse states North Pole Mail and shows the return address of the sender. Two Norwegian stamps, postmarked Kings Bay, are usually placed over a green imprinted Cinderella stamp and so is rarely seen. I deliberately purchased a second card so as to remove the two Norwegian stamps to reveal the image. These are my two cards showing the Post Card sides, then the North Pole Mail sides and then an enlarged version of the imprinted stamp. From others that I have seen, they were posted to Norway from January to May 1924 but wouldn't be posted for return until June 1925. Scan_20201102 by Daniel, on Flickr Scan_20201102 (2) by Daniel, on Flickr Scan_20201102 (2) by Daniel, on Flickr After an unsuccessful 'Northeast Passage' expedition on the ship Maud, which became stuck in the ice for some years, Amundsen turned to the idea of flying to the North Pole. in 1923 he purchased two aircraft, a large Junkers and a small Curtis but the Junkers proved unsuitable for landing on ice and the idea was abandoned. Amundsen then appointed a man called Haakon Hammer to manage his business affairs and it was Hammer who came up with the idea, in 1924, of selling 10,000 of these post cards for $1 each, the cards to be carried on aircraft flown by Amundsen. Hammer promised other deals such as newspaper, magazine and film rights. Amundsen then purchased three Dornier-Wal flying boats. None of Hammer's other ideas were realised and Amundsen had to declare bankruptcy. Amundsen went on a lecture tour and met Lincoln Ellsworth whose father was a millionaire and it was agreed to sponsor Amundsen and use two of the Dornier-Wal aircraft for an expedition in May 1925 starting at Kings Bay in Spitsbergen. The idea was to fly as close as possible to the North Pole. After further mishaps, one plane was damaged, they achieved the northernmost latitude ever reached by a plane. When they arrived back in Spitsbergen in June 1925 it was to great acclaim having been assumed lost. This coincides with the return date of the cards. Amundsen would achieve a flight over the North Pole the following year in Umberto Nobile's airship the Norge.
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Nov 2, 2020 10:01:53 GMT
Nothing like a Polar Philatelic Post to engage the imagination and get the neurons firing; thanks for sharing daniel .
In addition to all the information you shared about the postcards, including their postage dates from March through April 1924, it might be of interest to note that the Trans-Polar Flight Expedition post cards existed in six different types, within one of two major categories. Your posting Daniel contains one from each of the two categories, both of which can be differentiated by the printings of the individual postcards themselves. The cards display either one of four types of the “Gimbel” imprint or none at all and these can be identified based on the addressee.
Given the different types produced, perhaps something to keep your eyes open for...
Happy collecting!
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Nov 2, 2020 19:01:01 GMT
Thanks stanley64. I meant to mention that these cards were litho printed by the American Bank Note Company, as indicated in the top left of the North Pole Mail side. Gimbel Brothers or just Gimbels was an American department store in New York and elsewhere. Note that in my example the wording for Gimbel Brothers overlaps the American Banknote Company wording, this clearly indicates that GIMBEL BROTHERS, U.S. AGENTS was overprinted rather than the card being a new or different printing. From the many versions on the net, I can see that the overprinting can be placed slightly further to the right but this might indicate various printings of the overprinting, as it were, rather than reprinted cards, in my view.
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Nov 3, 2020 9:02:39 GMT
Great stuff daniel and you are on the right track with one of the varieties be aligned or flushed to the right.
Other varieties related the Gimbel slug include the inclusion of "Inc" in the overprint, Gimbel overlapping the printers credit (as in your second example), darker and thicker lettering and there also a version with a four-digit numerical string running parallel to the left-edge of the card. Additional details and information on these postcards along with the expedition itself, can be found in Hal Vogel's article "Amundsen Trans-Polar Flight Expedition 50-YEAR-OLD "NEWS" ( Ice Cap News / March - April 1975 p. 38-42).
Something to keep your eyes open for...
Happy collecting!
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Nov 4, 2020 12:00:34 GMT
Keeping with the Antarctica / Polar theme, here is a cover from the Polish Antarctic Station, Arctowski.
ARC 17: During the XVII Expedition (1992- 1993) a postmark was introduced for Arctowski Station as applied here on stationery of the base.
Additional information about the Polish Expeditions (n.º 1-44) and the station itself can be found on their website here.
Happy collecting!
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Nov 17, 2020 0:01:05 GMT
The Trans-Polar Flight Expedition of Roald Amundsen 1924-1925 The polar bear stamp, shown on my card above, was part of a set of seven first prepared by Norway in 1924 to help fund Amundsen's expedition which finally came to fruition the following year. The stamps were issued on 1st April 1925 but were not well received by the philatelic press since funding an expedition was not thought to be legitimate . They were designed by Norwegian painter and illustrator Thorolf Holmboe and printed by Christian Knudsen & Co..Scott nos. 104-110. Here is a set: Amundsen's Polar Flight by Daniel, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Nov 17, 2020 2:45:17 GMT
Spedizione Artica Soccorso Aereo (Arctic Air Rescue Expedition) Cinderella Mystery Solved I came across this miniature sheet on ebay a while ago. It's rather odd-looking, for sure, with 2 stamps diagonally tête-bêche (if that's even a thing) and 2 blank stamps with offset printing. In fact, those 2 'blank stamps' are printed on the reverse! Further wording states Sesto Calende (a town in Italy)-Kingsbay. Then there is a date printed in thick ink making it unreadable other than Giugne (June). A very strange looking aircraft is depicted. Scan_20201116 by Daniel, on Flickr However, one of the great rescue missions in the Arctic was the search for General Umberto Nobile's downed airship, the Italia, in 1928. Having reached the North Pole on 24th May, the Italia encountered a storm and the gondola smashed onto the ice throwing 10 men out while the airship flew upwards and away with 6 men who were never seen again. Of the 10, one died from his injuries and several others, including Nobile, were injured. There were multiple rescue missions (including one by Amundsen which would cost him and his crew their lives) but they were not co-ordinated or well organised and it wasn't until the survivors were spotted by Lieutenant Colonel Umberto Maddalena in his Savola-Marchetti S.55 aircraft, depicted on the stamp, on 20th June 1928, therefore, the date on the stamp, that the evacuation could begin in earnest. Nobile was rescued by Einar Lundborg and the remaining survivors by the Soviet icebreaker, the Krasin. More details in a later post. This is a picture of the plane depicted on the stamps: Savoia-Marchetti_S.55 by Daniel, on Flickr Incoming mail to the Italian rescue mission was cacheted Sesto Calende which had a seaplane base on Lake Maggiore.
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Jan 25, 2021 4:02:34 GMT
In my post for The Trans-Polar Flight Expedition of Roald Amundsen 1924-1925 above, I mentioned Amundsen's Northeast Passage Expedition (also known as his Arctic Drift Expedition) 1918-1924/5, in the ship Maud. This is one of several pictorial postcards issued to raise funds. It states in Norwegian,German, English and French: 'This card will be carried by the "Fram" across the Polar Sea and afterwards conveyed by post to the addressee' A replica of Amundsen's signature is shown below this wording. Inspired by fellow Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen's similar expedition on the Fram by freezing his ship into the polar ice cap and drifting towards the North Pole. Things didn't go according to plan beginning with the idea of using Nansen's ship the Fram which was found to be unsuitable and so was replaced by a new ship, the Maud. To cut a long story short, the Maud got repeatedly stuck in the ice over several years and ultimately the project had to be abandoned. There are two special postmarks stating Polhavet (Polar Seas), one dated 13 IX 18 and the other dated 4 VIII 24, the dates of the expedition with latitude/longitude data with a picture of the ship. Clearly, those who purchased these postcards would not receive them back for many years. Scan_20210125 by Daniel, on Flickr Scan_20210125 (2) by Daniel, on Flickr
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Feb 19, 2021 17:21:23 GMT
For Byrd's Second Antarctic Expedition 1939-1941 (B.A.E II), two ships were involved: the Bear of Oakland and the SS Jacob Ruppert. The later of which maintain the expedition's authorized sea post office, Cover dated 10 Jan 1935 - S.S. Jacob Rupport posted prior to ships returning to Little America II after wintering in New Zealand.
According to Discovery, The Story of the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition by Richard Byrd. On page 371, it says “I immediately got in touch with the Ruppert’s officers at Dunedin and ordered them to start with all possible dispatch. On the 15th she raised steam and put out of Otago harbour. Captain Gjertsen had returned from Norway to resume his post as Commodore...
Happy collecting!
|
|
JeffS
Member
Posts: 2,603
What I collect: Oranges Philately, US Slogan Cancels, Cape of Good Hope Triangulars, and Texas poster stamps and cinderellas
Member is Online
|
Post by JeffS on Jul 25, 2021 14:52:08 GMT
Operation Deep Freeze crew mail is not common.
Cover posted at Wellington New Zealand with PACKET BOAT postmark of 20 MR 56. Note that the letter was written much earlier on March 3.
Sender is a member of the "Wintering In" group of Deep Freeze I, and that this is "the last mail out of here until October or November."
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Oct 10, 2021 23:31:16 GMT
In my 'Spedizione Artica Soccorso Aereo (Arctic Air Rescue Expedition) Cinderella Mystery Solved' post above, I wrote about Umberto Nobile's expedition to the North Pole using his airship, the Italia. Although he reached the North Pole, it would ultimately result in tragedy. Here are various commemorative and remembrance items issued at the time and on various anniversaries.
These first two Italian Cinderella stamps were issued in 1928 to commemorate the flight, other colours were available. Alongside is a commemorative poster stamp for his previous expedition to the North Pole with Amundsen and Ellsworth in 1926.
This sheet, I assume that it is a reprint, was issued for a polar postal history exhibition "The Conquest of the Poles" from 4th to 19th March 1978 in Cremona, Italy. It depicts one of above stamp in a double pane sheet overprinted for the exhibition.
Nobile was rescued by Swedish Air Force Lieutenant (later Captain) Einar Lundborg. Nobile was the best known explorer and was seen as the 'main prize' in the various rescue attempts. In fairness to Lundborg, he did return to attempt a further rescue but his plane crashed and he was stranded until his co-pilot rescued him (accounts vary but I believe this to be correct). Lundborg became a celebrity and this cover with a hand stamped cachet marks a tour of the US, in this case Seattle, Washington. He died during a test flight in 1931.
Finally, a British postcard issued on the 50th anniversary, honoring all those who died in the crash of the Italia, subsequently and those that died in the various rescue attempts, including Roald Amundsen. The monument at Tromso, Norway is also shown naming all those who died.
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Nov 1, 2021 9:31:59 GMT
Carrying on with the Antarctic theme, here is an issue for the 30th Anniversary of Antarctic Treaty,
The one Czechoslovak polar station bears the name of that country's first Antarctic explorer, Václav Vojtěch,
Happy collecting!
|
|
stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,822
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
|
Post by stanley64 on Dec 7, 2021 9:25:04 GMT
There are two special postmarks stating Polhavet (Polar Seas), one dated 13 IX 18 and the other dated 4 VIII 24, the dates of the expedition with latitude/longitude data with a picture of the ship. Clearly, those who purchased these postcards would not receive them back for many years. Scan_20210125 (2) by Daniel, on Flickr Thanks for showing Daniel, the Norwegian North Polar Expedition of the Maud, 1918-1925 used two cancels for all mail carried on-board; one machine, the other a hand cancel. The one shared here is of the machine cancellation.
For those interested in knowing more, there is currently a series of articles being published in the Polar Post, the quarterly journal of the Polar Postal History Society of Great Britian (PPHSGB) on the mailings and of the "Polhavet" cancellations from the Maud's journeys...
Happy collecting!
|
|
hrdoktorx
Member
Posts: 6,601
What I collect: France (and French territories), Africa, Canada, USA, Germany, Guatemala, stamps about science, flags, maps, stamps on stamps...
|
Post by hrdoktorx on Jan 29, 2022 21:56:51 GMT
Triptych from Monaco issued for the centenary of the Peary-Henson expedition to the North Pole:
|
|
|
Post by daniel on May 9, 2022 3:01:14 GMT
Einar Lundborg Revisited
Having rescued Umberto Nobile (see above), Lundborg achieved great fame and toured the United States starting with a visit to the White House to meet President Herbert Hoover on April 1st 1929 with the tour lasting over a month. He would also go on to meet Greta Garbo.
Three further covers are shown here for Pittsburgh, San Francisco (with an additional Swedish stamp) and Portland, Oregon with the latter being signed by Lundborg.
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Jun 13, 2022 3:31:27 GMT
Little America was, in fact, a series of U.S. Navy bases on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica between 1929 and 1958. This cover was cancelled on May 1st 1956, U.S. Navy Operation slogan. At this time, it was the fifth and final base, part of Operation Deep Freeze. Little America V broke off, or calved to use the technical term, in 1987 and was redesignated Iceberg B-9.
|
|
|
Post by daniel on Jun 18, 2022 4:07:55 GMT
The Centenary of the First British Antarctic Expedition, The National Antarctic Expedition 1901/1904 A postcard marking the Centenary of the Departure of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and the Discovery from Lyttelton, New Zealand on 21st December 1901.
|
|
tobben63
Member
Stamp eat sleep repeat
Posts: 1,866
What I collect: I collect to much, world wide!
|
Post by tobben63 on Jun 18, 2022 5:29:58 GMT
The Snow Cruiser in the Antarctic, the United States Antarctic Expedition 1939-1941 (Byrd Antarctic Expedition III) If you haven't heard of the Snow Cruiser, it is a fascinating story that didn't go according to plan. It was designed by Thomas Poulter who was a scientist and was second in command to Rear Admiral Richard E Byrd Jr on Byrd's second Antarctic Expedition. Believing that some kind of vehicle was necessary, he set about designing the Snow Cruiser from 1937 to 1939 along with the Research Foundation of the Armour Institute of Technology at their cost and it was then loaned to the expedition. The Snow Cruiser was 56 feet long, 17 foot wide and weighed 27 tons. It was designed to carry a light aircraft, a Beech 17 Staggerwing. The Snow Cruiser was built by the Pullman Company in Chicago. It then had to make its way from Chicago to Boston to be loaded onto the expedition ship, the journey was not uneventful and at one point it ran into a ditch. However, it reached Boston Army Wharf and, after some trouble, was loaded onto the USS North Star (later USCG North Star). It finally arrived at the base camp Little America at the Bay Of Whales, Antarctica in January 1940 and even had trouble disembarking but eventually made it ashore. However, it had further trouble moving through the snow and could only work by being driven backwards! It completed a hundred mile journey this way before it was decided to just use it as a, very comfortable, camp. Here is a picture: The Snow Cruiser was abandoned but rediscovered during Byrd's 1946 expedition and again in 1958 by another expedition (covers exist for this) but not moved. The ice shelf containing the camp, Little America, broke up and an iceberg was spotted in 1963 by USS Edisto containing identifiable parts of Little America and the markers left to identify the Snow Cruiser. That was the last that was known of the Snow Cruiser. Here is a video on youtube
|
|