| 1925-1934 Various Issues Covers |  Top |
| Item # |
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US$ | ||
234355 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
"North Pole Mail" / "The Trans-Polar Flight Expedition" by Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth. Fundraising post card. Sold in the U.S. in 1924, with U.S. stamp applied and sent to Norway. This card was carried by the its ill-fated expedition. The cards were sold with the assistance of an Amundsen "friend", Hakkon Hammer. However, Hammer stole $10,000 of the proceeds and Amundsen did not have enough money to purchase the airplanes. Ellsworth stepped in to assist. On 21 May, two "flying boat" planes left from Spitzbergen toward the North Pole, but, due to engine failure, had to land on the ice. One plane crash landed and was unusable. For three weeks a runway was carved by hand from the rough ice surface, until the food ran out. The remaining plane was barely able to take off (a side rudder struck the ice and was damaged making the return flight very difficult). The plane barely reached Spitzbergen land, but ran out of fuel and had to land in a fjord before reaching its destination. A seal-hunting ship found it and towed it to Kings Bay, Spitzbergen, where it arrived on 18 June. Though the cards carried on the plane never reached the North Pole, and Amundsen did not receive the funds from the sale of the cards, Amundsen paid for the Norwegian postage to return the cards to their purchasers. Franked as usual with a 5 øre Posthorn and a 1925 25 øre Polar Bear stamp that was issued in advance of the expedition to commemorate and promote it. Canceled KINGS BAY 18 June 1925, the day the plane and entire expedition team was towed in from their ordeal. An extremely nice example. |
60.00 |
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229706 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
157 (VF) solo use on 1937 Superb cover from DRAMMEN to Germany. |
40.00 |