MONTHLY FEATURES
DECEMBER 2005 NEWSLETTER US DIVISION
Members will have noticed that the US pages sometimes carry an earlier date than the main newsletter. This is because the US page is added to the main paper newsletter when it is circulated in the US in arrear of the UK edition, so it is actually published between UK paper editions.
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THE CARDS ARE IN THERE
FRANKFURT November 2005
This
year marked the 20th annual November Frankfurt
Airline Collectibles Show -
probably now the best single show worldwide for commercial aviation postcards.
The site is the Turnhalle ( = gymnastics hall)
in the village of Schwanheim, a few km drive through woodland (or
subway+tram) ride from Frankfurt Airport. Officially
a two day (Sat/Sun) event, the unofficial Friday swop-meeting in the attached
restaurant (see above) starts earlier every year and it is now really a 2 ½
day event and, unlike many Uk fairs it is not dead by 3 p.m on the first day
but still going strong at 6 p.m Saturday with more to come Sunday.
Each year, like many UK PC show, a show card is produced – this years
featured a Lufthansa Ex A.300 tail with retro publicity micro car.
Although all forms of airline ephemera are available this is THE show
for postcards worldwide and as such attracts collectors/traders transatlantic
as well as from most of Europe. Although
this year the Brazil contingent were defeated by their VARIG flight going “Tech”.
Increasingly the material on offer is recycled but new issues can still
be found from persons with better contacts in the airlines than most – these
can be easily visually detected by the ensuing feeding frenzy.
It is also clearly the place to offer any part of a collection that is
being disposed of, either first hand by the ex-collector taking a table or
second hand after the initial buyer has taken his pick.
There was at least one of each
this time.
He success of the show has had two effects . Firstly table space is
booked up 12 months in advance and secondly it has bred a second
summer-scheduled show. Getting to
Germany for the 2006 one will be
something of an obstacle course as it clashes with World Cup football.
Contact E-mails are given in Cards are Out There for organisers Lothar
Grim and Hector Cabezas.
The nearest UK equivalent , in terms of attracting collectors worldwide
is the April Gatwick show – but this is in many ways an opportunity for
those collectors to meet and trade during the show – almost a show within a
show and has less variety of stock on offer. By
its 2-3 day nature Frankfurt also has a much greater social dimension with
opportunities for collectors to eat and drink together – another link to
the “Bier vom Fass” (= draught beer) card in the editorial.
Finally two more images – the main hall (of two)
shortly after the official opening time (and two hours after the actual)
and members Chris Slimmer (USA) and Dave Prins (Netherlands) still in action
late Saturday.
AN INTERNET CASE STUDY
CHILEAN PIONEER
A
short example of how the Internet has changed both the acquisition and research
elements of the hobby. For more on Figueroa see http://www.earlyaviators.com/efiguero.htm
and onward links.
This
card (with security overprint on the scan)
was offered on Ebay by a Chilean vendor and rapidly rose to $2 00 at time
of writing. His well researched description included was :-
“The 15th of
june of 1913 the first commercial aviator Clodomiro Figueroa jumped into his
plane Bleriot xi “Valparaiso” and headed from the Andean city of Los andes
to Valparaiso. You must consider, that the year before, 1912 Cesar Copetta made
the first flight in Chile and both Copetta and Figueroa worked in a cycling shop
(as did the brothers wright in usa!)
We
are offering an original photo postcard of the aviator Figueroa in pilot-outfit
standing and in the left upper-corner of the card is an scene of the Bleriot
flying over a multitude admiring his braveness. The card itself was signed and
written on plate by Figueroa “viña del mar/junio 15, 1913/raid Los
andes-Valparaiso” on left and on right, at about the same height is the name
and shop of photographer.
Figueroa stand very short
at about 1,55 m but he was really a brave pioneer of the continental aviation,
with inventive he raised funds, through postcards as this one and other
activities to pay the bills of loving flights and planes. It took still more
than 5 years, till he could make his first flight with post to Valparaiso,
beginning with this flight the first airmail from Chile and South-america.
The Pc have on back a nice and big signature of Mr Figueroa in violet”
WHITHER ( or WITHER) THE
HOBBY ?
Thanks
to those who sent me their thoughts on this or were prepared to spend time in E-
or direct conversation on the issue. I
have taken influence from all of these but the opinions are my own.
ANALYSIS
There
are basically three questions.
1)
Will people pursue collecting
hobbies ?
2)
Will they collect postcards ?
3)
Will they collect aviation
postcards ?
The
answer to (1) is almost certainly “Yes” and, if anything, even more people
will collect something – the collecting gene goes right back to our hunter/gatherer
ancestors and more will indulge it as incomes rise worldwide.
(2) is
more problematical. OLD postcards will certainly be collected and increasingly so
outside Europe/North America as incomes rise and these items record a
dramatically changed landscape. The use
of postcards as such will be increasingly vulnerable to electronic alternatives
and rising cost/falling service of traditional mail. Paper is however still the best understood media for long term
preservation of images.
3) is
the difficult one. Aviation postcard collecting is a subset of some form of enthusiasm
for aviation generally. This has probably passed its peak as a percentage of the
population in Europe/North America although may still be rising elsewhere.
Many enthusiasts became hooked in the days of rapid technological
progress which produced a steady and widespread flow of new designs from many
manufacturers. This was coupled with ready access at airports and airshows. Both are now history. Also
aviation was a spectator sport – few actually used it. Now air travel is
commonplace and most people see the downside rather than marvel in the fact that
it has been achieved at all.
CONCLUSIONS
1)
Future collecting will largely
be of past cards and thus a subset of “antiques and collectibles” markets.
2)
The demand for pictures on
paper of current aircraft may not be enough to sustain commercial production. A
combination of digital camera, website and download will be the primary
collecting tools for current images – though collectors may still choose print
as the most secure storage media.
3)
Aviation postcard collecting
in Europe and North America is probably past its peak but will still grow
elsewhere.
This
may be offset by aviation cards being recognised as part of local and social
history by those not considering themselves “aviation enthusiasts”
4)
Following patterns of any
collectable whose market is not expanding, values will polarise with the most
sought after items rising dramatically while the majority are near worthless.
The problem is predicting the winners and losers.
PREDICTIONS
- Not to be given any more weight than those of tipsters in the
horse-racing or stock market fields.
WINNERS
-pre-1940
airline except the most common
-Interiors
, cabin and flight crews, all periods
-Cards
used as postcards with flown messages – all periods
-Cards
that have a postal history link
-World
War 2 – even extending to such as Valentine recognition cards
-Airports
– part of local history , following the example of railway stations
-One-off
Mass appeal – Lindburgh, Zeppelins, Concorde etc. Similar to Titanic extending beyond shipping enthusiasts.
-Photographic
quality – all subjects
-Anything
Far East and possibly Latin america
-Recently
deceased airlines (SABENA has had this effect)
Here
are a few examples.
High
quality photographic, pre 1940, flying boat with people. All plus points for
this Kodak back Pan American Sikorsky S.42 at Miami.
WW2
now more history than memory. “Passed
by censor” card by Photochrom of navy Seafires and Sea Hurricane . Churchill
quotation on back
Your
local airport has changed beyond all recognition since the days when it used to
welcome visitors – Liverpool.. Photochrom –also in sepia. This building is
now a Marriott Hotel.
The
collecting gene is alive, well and well provided with cash
in overseas Chinese so why not the mainland.
CAAC Trident at Guangzhou (Canton)
NEUTRAL
Mass
produced collector cards 1960s / 70s. Possibly
short term demand for transfer to digital
LOSERS
Mass
produced collector cards up to 30 years old
Pioneers
except identified person and place
, photographic
All
North America except as mentioned above
Most
UK and Europe except as mentioned above
All
military except WW2
Again
some possible examples. Great view, popular subject but fading from memory and
far more cards out there than likely demand. Pan American issue Stratocruiser
over San Francisco – original issue later edited for new colours.
Pioneer
but nothing else to commend it by way of message, local placement,
named aviator or photographic quality. Just “Bleriot Monoplane”
the Advance series.
All
these broad categories are subject to the “Donaldson effect” ( see Worth a
second Glance) on individual items. What
can be said is that the Internet is
globalising the market and making rare cards less rare by discovering new
sources. On balance it so far is doing
this better than discovering new collectors although that is happening too.
There are also some predictions on how collecting will operate in future
and lastly what all this means for collectors clubs and ours in particular .
The
internet will soon become the primary retail market place for collectors
involving auctions, sales lists and inter-collector trading with the great
advantage of being a global marketplace. Fairs
and shows will polarise between very large shows and small local shows with a
strong social element. The large shows will become primarily wholesaling events
where the majority of trade is inter-dealer – as such they can be held
anywhere with good communications, not necessarily major population centres. The
Yeovil PC show seems to be proving this.
In the
short term fairs will decline as stocks are more and more limited to what does
not sell on-line, either from the original owner or from “wholesale” dealers.
But people are social creatures and people will want to meet others of
like interest even if the primary purpose is no longer to buy and sell.
Clubs and societies may lose passive members but may those that stay may
become more active. More collector groups
will decide to meet to view and share research on their chosen subject, as is
already the case with longer established collectibles.
Such research will in turn be made much easier through Internet sources.
Our
club should seek to move in this direction. Those
wishing to join us may be a declining percentage of the population due to
aviation having lost its position as the most exciting technology which it held
throughout the last century. It may even have been the last sensually exciting
technology with visual and audio appeal as well as
emotional.
______________________________________________________________
A
few extracts from contributing members ……..
“
I believe that as long as people are excited by flight in all its forms then
those of use lucky enough to possess the the defective gene i.e the urge to
collect will find ways of satisfying the need” Tony Edwards
“it
is the immediacy and origin of the card and message written at that time perhaps
with …stamps, damage even dirt that contribute to a “must have”
requirement” Ray Billings
“
I disagree with the 'images are readily available' reducing demand - I do
not collect photographs BECAUSE they are readily availble and cards are
collected BECAUSE they are difficult
to find. The internet has helped me increase my collection much more easily than
if I had to travel the country/world visiting fairs “
Simon Penn
“
I have seen the same issues in my philatelic connections”
Roy Mills
“
while philately is in serious decline postal history is booming” John Oliver
“The top 10% of everyone's collection is going to increase in price dramatically. Cards from emerging markets are especially a buy, cards from the West are not. The bottom 90% (sadly includes almost all of what I can't help buying) are worthless” Eugene Siklos
DOUBLE DECK DEJA VU
Bill
Baird’s US piece features the latest pre-delivery card of an Airbus double
deck A.380. Previous newsletter items have stressed the similarity between the
pre-publicity for this and that on postcards for the 1940s Pan American double
deck “Future Clipper” based on the Convair XC-99. This in turn was a double
deck derivative of the 6 engined B-36 bomber, but was built in military
prototype form only. So double-deck
travel comparisons haves focussed on the
downstairs lounge of the Startocruiser and the upper deck of the 747.
Which is to ignore the fact that the A380 is not the first French
double-decker, indeed the previous one was named just that, the Breguet 763 Deux
Ponts, later also named Provence.
The Deux
Ponts first flew in 1946 but did not enter service with Air
France until 1951 by when Pratt and Whitneys had replaced the original
French engines. Air France also introduced the name “Provence” for their
fleet of 12. They were used primarily to North Africa but also appeared at
Heathrow when extra capacity was required – usually Rugby related. It was a
genuine double-decker with 59 seats on top and 48 below. It also had a large
double freight door at the back which enabled them to be used by the military,
with the name Sahara, after withdrawal from passenger service. Although some
were retained by Air France and given another name change to Universal. As such
they were the Beluga of there day, being used to carry Olympus engines from
Bristol to Toulouse for Concorde production.
Air
France did the card of the Provence below and some feature on B&W edition PI
and airport cards.
PI 47 is
at unidentified site – possibly Marseille- Marignane
Enlarged
from a 2 view, F-BASS as a restaurant complete with swimming pool.
Aero Club de Chaubuisson, Fontenay-Tresigny. Apparently aero clubs at
Evreux, Tarbes and Toussus le Noble
also had one each. No doubt all long gone.
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