Dieter Leder
 LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL

On May 6, 1937, airship LZ-129 Hindenburg crashed at Lakehurst, NJ. Of the 17,000 mailpieces onboard, only 357 were officially recovered. Described is the mail handling before and during the flight and all nine mail recovery operations. A 120-pages census lists all recovered articles and illustrates them, if documented. Eastbound mail intended for the return flight is also part of the Hindenburg crash mail story.

Issuing date: May 6, 2012
310 pages, Language: English
ISBN: 978-3-940702-35-7


 

LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL
Awards

In August 2012, the book was awarded the Reserve Grand Award at the APS Stampshow at Sacramento, CA (USA).
The book was also awarded the APS Medal of Excellence and the APS Award for Research.

++++ BREAKING NEWS ++++
The American Philatelic Society awarded Dieter Leder the George D. Kingdom Award for the Best Aerophilatelic Book in 2012:
LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL.

FISA, the International Ferderation of Aero-Philatelic Societies awarded Dieter Leder the FISA-Silver Medal for LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL.


 

LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL
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LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL
About this book
 

75 years ago, on May 6, 1937, airship LZ-129 Hindenburg crashed at Lakehurst, NJ. The cause of the crash is not yet finally determined. And many questions are still unanswered in connection with the mail onboard. Of the 17,500 mail articles onboard, only 357 were officially recovered.

The pre-crash section has four chapters. The first two are dealing with the westbound mail handling at Frankfurt Auslandsstelle (foreign section) and Luftpoststelle (airmail section) located at Frankfurt Rhein-Main airport. Chapter three is dealing with the operation of the onboard post office during the westbound flight. American mail intended for the eastbound flight is part of the fourth chapter.

The crash section reconstructs the flight of airship Hindenburg on May 6, 1937. The crash speaks for itself. Documented are also first rescue operations and the events directly following the crash. They had an impact on the following mail recovery.

The post-crash section describes in detail the nine mail findings in the wreckage between May 6 and July 12, 1937. Described is also the forwarding or returning of mail intended for the easbound (return) flight. Inquiries about lost mail received by various official departments is also part of the (aero-) postal history section.

The philately section is the largest of the book. Listed on 120 pages are all recovered mail articles, privately as well as officially recovered, and if the article is documented, it is illustrated. A new catalogue numbering system is introduced for Hindenburg crash mail. Further chapters are dealing with evaluating crash mail, forgeries and the history of expertizing such mail and the history of the Hindenburg crash mail files.

With the help of this handbook, the history and especially the postal history of each crash cover is fully documented. This includes the dispatch, the handling at the corresponding post offices up to the documentation of how the article was loaded into the airship and where the article was stored at the time of the crash. The book describes further on when, where and by whom the article was recovered and how the article was handled after the recovery and delivered to the addressee.

In years of research, fascinating and thrilling details have surfaced. The Hindenburg crash mail will be seen in a completely new light. The new book contains information on documented articles and it provides also information on unreported crash covers. Research revealed first information on several recovered articles although the article in question is still hidden in a collection or private possession.

In the epilogue of this work, Cheryl Ganz from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum describes LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL as "a comprehensive, authoritative and indispensible study for collectors, philatelic professionals and historians".


 

LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL
by Dieter Leder

Issuing date: May 6, 2012
310 pages, more than 300 illustrations
Language: English
hardbound, Euro 100 plus s/h
ISBN: 978-3-940702-35-7

The book section gives an overview on other publications by members of the ZEPPELIN STUDY GROUP .


 

LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL
 Ordering information
 

- ZEPPELIN STUDY GROUP members receive a 20% discount. The book is Euro 80 plus Euro 15 shipping and handling for the 2 kilograms/71 ounces heavy book.

- The regular book price is Euro 100 plus Euro 15 shipping and handling for the 2 kilograms/71 ounces heavy book.

- For all orders, please contact the author Dieter Leder by e-mail: zpj@arcor.de .


 

LZ-129 HINDENBURG, ZEPPELIN CRASH MAIL
Table of contents
 

- Acknowledgements
- Prologue by Cheryl Ganz, Smithsonian National Postal Museum
- Introduction

Pre-Crash
- 1. Westbound Mail, Foreign Section
- 2. Westbound Mail, Airmail Section
- 3. Westbound Mail, Onboard Post Office
- 4. Eastbound Mail, Morgan Annex

Crash
- 5. May 6, 1937

Post-Crash
- 6. Mail Findings, Overview
- 7. First Finding
- 8. Second Finding
- 9. Third Finding
- 10. Fourth Finding
- 11. Fifth Finding
- 12. Sixth Finding
- 13. Seventh Finding
- 14. Eighth Finding
- 15. Ninth Finding
- 16. Eastbound Mail
- 17. Inquiries about Lost Mail
- 18. Epilogue

Philately
- 19. Census of Recovered Mail
- 20. Catalogue Numbers
- 21. Evaluating and Prices
- 22. Expertizing and Forgeries
- 23. The Hindenburg Crash Mail Files

- Further Reading
- Notes
- Index
- Image Credits
- Contact


 
 
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