LZ 129 Hindenburg

Flight Number H 33 c

In 1936, Hindenburg flew ten round trips to the United States and seven round trips to Brazil in half the time of ship travel. The domestic flights were often for testing, repositioning, charter flights, or political propaganda.

Hindenburg flew passengers, freight, and mail to offset operating expenses. Celebrity passengers included actor Douglas Fairbanks, journalist Lady Grace Drummond Hay, pilot Eddie Rickenbacker, businessman Nelson Rockefeller, boxer Max Schmeling, and explorer Sir George Hubert Wilkins. A variety of freight benefited from the faster crossing, including dogs, queen bees, pronghorn fawns, an Opel automobile, and an airplane. Special stamps, postmarks, and postal cachets attracted stamp collectors and dealers, who prepared mail to and from many countries. Onboard passengers and crew members posted mail on the world’s largest flying post office, and their signatures add to the desirability of their postcards and letters.

Flight Number	H 33 c
Airship Number	LZ 129 Hindenburg
Flight Name	Sixth North America Flight 1936
Departure Date	August 5, 1936
Departure Location	Frankfurt, Germany
Arrival Date	August 8, 1936
Arrival Location	Lakehurst, USA
Dispatch Type	Olympics Village Cancel
Value	$

Notes

The addressee, F.W. von Meister, was the U.S. representative of the Zeppelin Company. Together with Hans Royter, they serviced zeppelin posts for U.S. stamp collectors and stamp dealers. This cover has the complete set of summer Olympics stamps, was postmarked at the Olympics Village and, in transit, received the Frankfurt airport cancel and registration label before the Hindenburg flight. While not a rare cover, this is a very showy and desirable example that appeals to sport collectors as well as zeppelin collectors. See the ephemera advertisement for this cover.