THE CARDS ARE OUT THERE

EVENTS

Events announced between Newsletters will be posted in the News section of  www.aviapc.com as will the corrections that usually seem necessary for this section.

Known collectable shows are:

We do not normally list postcard shows here but please note that the annual Uk Picture Postcard Show ( Alias “Bipex”) will this year NOT be at the end of August but Oct 11/14.

The aviation show circuit seems to be following postcard fairs in one respect, the proliferation of shows. In the past year new shows have appeared and the old ones have been in decline. In the US it seems that the Airliners International show in Washington may be the last in the present form. Also, like the postcard shows, it is now totally unpredictable where good stuff will turn up, - a big show can yield little and gems will be found in obscure places. Gatwick is probably the only truly “big” show in the UK with significant European & US attendance and would be the location of choice for anyone wishing to sell off a collection (or post Ebay residue) by taking a table. It is the, mostly forlorn, hope that someone might nevertheless chose to do so elsewhere that keeps collectors going to the other shows. Increasingly the content of these shows seems to be moving away from paper collectables to models and software. The latter is understandable but the former is strange given the space requirements in a country with supposedly the smallest house sizes in Europe.

What it all means is that to find new stuff off-Internet requires more collecting-miles and no aviation or PC show is a guaranteed source, so attendances fall, the internet gains buyers and therefore also vendors, dealer stocks get more tired, etc etc. But the hunter/gatherer must be perpetually optimistic to the point of self delusion and surprise finds are always better than predictable sources. As an example, there is this card :-

a locally produced real photo of  Yankee Clipper - the first Pan American transatlantic Boeing 314 being maintained at Hythe on Southampton Water (note engineers on platforms by both engines, apparently accessed through the wing and nacelle). This turned up at a 6 table PC show in mid-Wales – probably because that’s where it was posted to in August 1939.

INTERNET REPORT

Internet sales at big prices have been in the usual predictable categories, with real photo USA dominant in both pioneer, 1930’s and later airline/airport categories. Less usual has been that many “best seller” category cards have remained unsold, even at moderate prices. Concorde material, except the rarest, now seems to have supplies well in access of demand as do some other old favourites. One interesting pair of cards that did not sell, probably due to a combination of excess price, inappropriate category and a title that did not have the right “key” words, were the two photographic cards here from Japan.

They show US aviators William & Lillian Atwood who, after taking delivery of a Curtiss amphibian and learning to fly at the Curtiss Flying School, from San Diego, took their craft to Japan (presumably by sea) and flew it from Tokyo to Yokohama in Feb 1912. It could also be a victim of nationalism – the Japanese not being interested in early flights by non-Japanese and the Americans not being interested in anything outside their borders. One oriental card which did sell was this Japanese/Manchurian ? airline issue DC-2

                                         WHAT CARDS ARE OUT THERE ?

The club has obtained a copy of the original publishers listing of cards from Movifoto-Medellin Colombia which have featured in past editions, notably in the issue 50 “favourites” number. Also available is a similar 1985 list for US publisher Aviation World. Please E-mail if you want an electronic copy of either of these.

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