Philately Requests and the Clipper Air Mail

Several letter writers wanted King to send back stamps.  Postage stamp collecting (philately) was very popular at the time and having President Franklin D. Roosevelt often mentioned as an avid collector didn't hurt its popularity.

And air mail service over the Pacific Ocean was achieved in the 1930s with the advent of the China Clipper. On November 22, 1935, the Martin M-130 China Clipper opened the first regularly scheduled air mail service across the Pacific, from San Francisco to Manila. The China Clipper was the name of one of three Martin M-130 flying boats built for Pan American Airways (more).

Hollywood helped build interest for the Pacific air mail service when it came out with the  1936 movie "China Clipper."

CA Seward: Special Stamps: Clipper Air Mail, Feb 1, 1936

                                                                                                C.A. Seward
                                                                                                1534 North Holyoke Avenue
                                                                                                Wichita, Kansas

                                                                                                Feb 1 – 1936

Mar King
c/o Mo Doe Tong
Hong Sun Bak Sar
Canton, China

Dear King – I hear that the Clipper Air Mail Service is to be extended on to China very soon.  If it arrives while you are there will you send me as many envelopes as they will allow with any special stamps that China may issue for the return trip.  I can still sell them here to collectors – and will divide the profits with you when you get back here.

In case China does not issue a special stamp for the return flight then put the nicest stamps you can get on the envelopes.

If you can buy up a lot of Chinese stamps (used ones) you can sell them here when you get back.

We all still eat at the Pan American Café and send out best greetings to you.

Sincerely,  C.A. Seward 

 

Feb 21, 1936 - Stamps for Kathleen Weigand

I was a philatelist, too, and had several albums of stamps. Those albums have disappeared after I went to college.  I still had the collector's file book used to hold stamps until they could go into an album.  Here are two envelopes I have from China.

And here are some stamps I still have my collector's file book.  I've only saved a few stamps in recent years.  I should put them in the file book.  Remember the old stamps you had to moisten to stick on the envelope.  To collect used stamps, you soaked the stamps in warm water until they came off the envelope.  I used King's photo print dryer to flatten out any crinkled stamps.