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Airmail Postal History continued...

Hindenburg Disaster

LotNo.

Symbol

CatNo.

Lot Description

2205

454B

1937 (May 4) Werner Doehner Hindenburg Crash Mail (Sieger 454B), while we don't know who this postcard was sent to in Dresden, we do know it was bought on board and written by 8 year old Werner Doehner; Werner was traveling with his parents and two siblings on the 1st North American Flight of the Hindenburg 1937 season and about to land at Lakehurst when a powerful explosion doomed the airship and cost the lives of his father, sister, and 33 others (62 would survive); the card was part of 26 items located in the Fourth Finding and sent to the Morgan Annex for processing; flames claimed the stamp, On Board postmark, and much of the address; a Scott # OX21 Post Office Seal has been applied to the postcard; written up and illustrated in LZ-129 Hindenburg Zeppelin Crash Mail by Dieter Leder, Very Good to Fine and rare, 372 items were recovered (from 17,000) of which less than half have been documented, ex Günther Heyd Collection.
Sieger €20,000 ($21,600). (Image)

Get Market Data for [Germany (Zeppelin) 454B] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

Estimate $7,500-10,000
SOLD for $8,500.00
Will close during Public Auction

2206

454Ba

1937 (May 4) Schiele Hindenburg Crash Mail (Sieger 454Ba), postcard bought and mailed by passenger Mathilde Doehner on the Hindenburg on the final flight to her friend, Frida Schiele in Niles Center, IL; it was placed in the metal integrated mailbox in the Reading and Writing Room on passanger A-deck; the On Board postmark was applied by Navigator Max Zabel who also functioned as the Hindenburg postmaster; on arrival at Lakehurst Naval Air Station the airship was about to attach to the mooring mast when the stern end of the airship exploded in flames; in the wreckage this item was from the First Finding consisting of 143 items; Frau Doehner's husband and daughter would perish in the crash while she and her two sons survived; the card has singe and oil stains but the postmark remains quite legible; has accompanying ambulance envelope with pair of Scott # OX21 Post Office Seals; written up and illustrated in LZ-129 Hindenburg Zeppelin Crash Mail by Dieter Leder, Very Good to Fine and rare, 372 items were recovered (from 17,000) of which less than half have been documented, signed A Falk.
Sieger €20,000 ($21,600). (Image)

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Estimate $10,000-15,000
SOLD for $12,500.00
Will close during Public Auction

2207

454Cb

1937 (May 10) Beier Hindenburg Crash Mail (Sieger 454Cb), one of two cards sent by Paquebot from New York after carriage on the doomed Hindenburg to Hilge Beier in Germany; part of the First Finding of 143 pieces, it was transported to the Morgan Annex where it was given a May 10th postmark and returned to Europe; the recipent may have been a collector since two similar cards were sent and an additional letter to a family member; the explosion of the Hindenburg had come as a shock as its sister ship, the Graf Zeppelin, had traveled 1,000,000 miles without serious accident; written up and illustrated in LZ-129 Hindenburg Zeppelin Crash Mail by Dieter Leder, Fine to Very Fine, 372 items were recovered (from 17,000) of which less than half have been documented.
Sieger €5,000 ($5,400). (Image)

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Estimate $2,000-3,000
SOLD for $2,100.00
Will close during Public Auction

2208

454 var. Canada

1937 (May 6) Intended for 2nd North American Flight (Sieger 454), Registered mail from Winnipeg to London had planned to travel by Hindenburg; following the accident it was determined that eastbound mail would travel by surface ship without additional auxiliary markings; one line "VIA NEW YORK" on face and several postarks on the reverse; Mi 64A, Fine to Very Fine. (Image)

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Estimate $500-750
SOLD for $500.00
Will close during Public Auction

2209

454 var.

1937 (May 6) Intended for 2nd North American Flight (Sieger 454), stunning oversized envelope with several German stamps, including a Scott # B102 souvenir sheet, canceled by seapost on the Europa and intended for the Hindenburg; the May 16th Europa date suggests the philatelic item may have been prepared for the following Hindburg flight, Fine to Very Fine. (Image)

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Estimate $400-600
CLOSED
Will close during Public Auction

2210

454 var. Mexico

1937 (May 6) Intended for 2nd North American Flight (Sieger 454), envelope from Mexico City intended for Berlin by Hindenburg; after the accident the Morgan Annex decided to send eastbound mail via surface ship to Europe without additional auxiliary markings; in this case a presumably private rubber stamp in magenta reads, "NEW YORK FOREIGN TRANSATLANTIC BY HINDENBURG"; the item was then forwarded to a new address, Fine to Very Fine. (Image)

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Estimate $500-750
SOLD for $425.00
Will close during Public Auction

2211

454 var. USA

1937 (May 6) Intended for 2nd North American Flight (Sieger 454), uprated postal stationery with May 6th New York cancel intended for Hindenburg flight; following the accident it was decided that the mail would travel by ship without additional auxiliary markings, Fine to Very Fine. (Image)

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Estimate $300-400
CLOSED
Will close during Public Auction

2212

454 var. USA

1937 (May 6) Intended for 2nd North American Flight (Sieger 454), pair of philatelic covers intended for flight on the Hindenburg; Grandy Naval Heros cachet on a Registered business-sized envelope addressed to Germany, along with a Receipt for Registered Article dated May 4th, a two-line official cachet instructs the post office to RETURN TO SENDER; the second is addressed to Czechoslovakia, following the airship accident the mail (including this item) traveled by surface ship to Europe, an arrival cancel on the reverse confirms the delivery, Fine to Very Fine. (Image) (Image2)

Get Market Data for [Germany (Zeppelin) 454 var. USA] Visual Pricing Guide Sample Census

Estimate $500-750
CLOSED
Will close during Public Auction

2213

454 var. USA

1937 (May 6) Intended for 2nd North American Flight (Sieger 454), Registered philatelic mail intended for the Hindenburg; following the accident it was decided to forward eastbound mail via surface ship without additional auxiliary marking; in addition to the privately produced four-line explanation, is an official two-line cachet and the autographs of Max Pruss and Albert Sammt, Fine to Very Fine. (Image)

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Estimate $500-750
SOLD for $550.00
Will close during Public Auction

2214

454 var. USA

1937 (May 6) Intended for 2nd North American Flight (Sieger 454), Registered Paquebot sent to Leipzig; private four-line cachet likely created by the German Zeppelin Transport applied to this Europa mail; the Luftpost ettiquette label has a large "X" and the envelope was forwarded; Leipzig receiver on reverse; following the accident it was decided to send eastbound mail via surface ship without additional auxiliary markings, Fine to Very Fine. (Image)

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Estimate $1,000-1,500
SOLD for $550.00
Will close during Public Auction

2215

454 var. USA

1937 (May 6) Intended for 2nd North American Flight (Sieger 454), noted philatelist Robert Schoendorf sent 5 envelopes on a round the world journey; on late April they were postmarked in Guam for the FAM 14 Guam to Hong Kong flight; the back of the envelope shows the transit at Victoria on Apr 28 and arrival in Brooklyn Jun 28 in preparation for the west to east Atlantic crossing by the Hindenburg; with the destruction of the airship the mail was sent by surface ship to Europe without additional auxiliary marking; the cover, Registered in Frankfurt and with the Luftpost ettiquette crossed out, has a presumably privately produced one line rubber stamp which reads, "AIR SERVICES TO NORTH AMERICA SUSPENDED"; Mi 64A, Fine to Very Fine. (Image)

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Estimate $750-1,000
CLOSED
Will close during Public Auction

2216

454 var. USA

1937 (May 6) Intended for 2nd North American Flight (Sieger 454), pair of envelopes intended for the Hindenburg flight, one with a Roessler cachet and Cinderella label on the reverse; following the accident, eastbound mail was sent by ship without additional auxiliary markings, Fine to Very Fine. (Image) (Image2) (Image3)

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Estimate $350-500
SOLD for $250.00
Will close during Public Auction

2217

1937.0510 letter

1937 (May 10) Correspondence Concerning Hindenburg Disaster Mail (Sieger 454), two days after the explosion of the German airship Hindenburg at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, the surviving Navigator and on board Postmaster, Max Zabel, writes on DZR United States Representative letterhead; he informs "To Whom It May Concern" that mail intended for Mr A C Church was lost in the accident in New Jersey; of the 17,000 pieces of mail carried on the flight only about 140 had been recovered when the letter was written; in total only 372 pieces of mail would be recorded, Very Fine. (Image)

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Estimate $250-350
SOLD for $425.00
Will close during Public Auction

2218

1938 Knight Report

Knight, R.W., The Hindenburg Accident, August 1938, from the Department of Commerce, Report No. 11 of the Bureau of Air Commerce's Safety and Planning Division, subtitled "A Comparative Digest of the Investigations and Findings, With the American and Translated German Reports Included"; written by the Acting Chief of the Air Transport Section, and comprising three sections: a comparative digest of the German and American reports, a translation of the German report, and the report of the US Dept. of Commerce Accident Board; 68 pages, staple-bound with greenish light card covers, "12729" (copy number?) on each page; some wear but still intact; a "first look" back at the disaster. (Image)

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Estimate $150-200
SOLD for $150.00
Will close during Public Auction