Stamp Collector

74 MAY 2020 www.allaboutstamps.co.uk The huge mountain ranges and tropical rain forests of Colombia make it one of the most fascinating natural regions of the world. The country’s economy has long been buoyed by the rich source of natural assets such as emeralds, coffee and gold, prompting healthy trade with other nations. But thanks to the more agreeable, cooler climate, larger settlements were established on the slopes of the Andes, away from the coast. The unique environment coupled with the land-locked location of most cities presented many challenges, not least the difficulty of communication. Indeed, Colombia’s stamp history illustrates the isolated nature of the region during the nineteenth century, with many separate states issuing their own stamps until the end of the civil war when Colombia finally became unified. Thanks to the geography of the country, progress of air travel during the early 20th century was eagerly observed by Colombian officials who were keen to establish new lines of communication. An experimental flight took place on 18 June, 1919 with American aviator Knox Martin flying the biplane Cartagena from Barranquilla to the seaport of Puerto Colombia. A small amount of mail was carried on the flight, and 200 copies of the 1919 2 centavos carmine rose stamp were overprinted ‘1er Servicio Postal Aereo 6-I8-I9’ for use on the flight – catalogues claim the overprint was not authorised by the country’s Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. The overprinting process was limited to ten stamps at a time, so two sheets of 100 stamps were cut into strips of ten using a knife or guillotine, creating a trimmed appearance on the horizontal edges and damaging some examples. The fifth stamp in each strip featured the Arabic figure for ‘1’ rather than the Roman numeral ‘I’ seen on the other stamps, and so twenty stamps promptly became a major rarities, with a catalogue value of more than £5,000 each. Of these, one strip of three and three pairs with the variety are known to exist and, as with any INSIDETHE BRITISH LIBRARY PHILATELIC COLLECTIONS Colombia’s airmail rarity Colombia 1919 Air 2c used on flown commercial cover to a passenger on board the ship ‘Alamo’. The Fitz Gerald Collection scarce and valuable item, forgeries are common. Around 160 covers were flown on the experimental flight, with all but one reportedly addressed to Vicente Puccini, the postmaster at Puerto Colombia, or his friend Vicente Lombardi. Just one non- philatelic cover was taken on the flight, addressed to Cristobel Jaramilla, and this item is found in the Fitz Gerald Collection, part of the British Library Philatelic Collections. The success of the pioneering flight led to the formation of a commercial airline in September 1919. The Compagna Colombiana de Navegacion Aerea (CC de NA) operated two biplanes and the first mail flight took place in December of that year. In the subsequent months, much philatelic material was produced with a variety of stamps used, including publicity labels for airline Curtis Co overprinted with the name of the company and surcharged 10c. Sadly, the firm’s operations were hampered by the rugged terrain and in 1920 two pilots were killed during flights before, two years later, the company ceased trading. A group of Germans joined forces with Colombians in 1919 and, after much analysis of the difficult routes, launched a more successful air service the following year, using more suitable Junkers hydroplanes, adapted to cope with the high altitude and tropical climate. The Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aereos, or SCADTA, issued stamps for some of its early experimental flights before issuing air stamps with values of 30c and 50c. These issues provide much scope for the collector, and provide a fascinating insight into the birth of international air mail. Colombia 1919 Air 2 centavos strip of three, one showing Arabic ‘1’ for ‘I’, held in the Fitz Gerald Collection at the British Library Philatelic Collections This gem from the British Library sheds light on the pioneering days of flight whilst also revealing how a nation’s landscape and economy influenced their progress