U.S. #Q8

1912 20¢ Airplane Carrying Mail

Parcel Post

Issue Date: 1913
City: Washington, DC
Quantity: 17,142,393
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Perforations: 12
Color: Carmine rose

In 1912, the U.S. Postal Department introduced parcel post service for sending items...  more

U.S. #Q8

1912 20¢ Airplane Carrying Mail

Parcel Post

Issue Date: 1913
City: Washington, DC
Quantity: 17,142,393
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Perforations: 12
Color: Carmine rose

In 1912, the U.S. Postal Department introduced parcel post service for sending items weighing 16 ounces or more through the mail.  The mail is divided into four classes, with parcel post making up the fourth class. Almost any type of merchandise can be mailed parcel post, including day – old chicks, baby alligators, and honeybees.  Only items that could be dangerous to handle cannot be sent through Parcel Post. Rural Americans used the new mail class to access goods and merchandise they could not have gotten before, giving rise to mail order giants like Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Montgomery Ward and Co.

Twelve stamps with various denominations were issued in 1912-13 to prepay the fourth-class rate.  The four Parcel Post stamps with denominations of 5¢ through 20¢ feature transportation of the mail.  Although different vignette designs were featured, all twelve stamps used the same border and color, which caused a great deal of confusion for postal workers.

The 20¢ Parcel Post Stamp

The airplane pictured on this 20¢ stamp is from a photo taken at College Park, near Washington. The landscape that forms the background was drawn in later. This was the first stamp in the world that pictured an airplane. The stamps were issued on December 16, 1912 and over 17 million of them were printed.

Less than a year later, the Postmaster General authorized ordinary postage for use on parcel post.   Parcel post stamps were then made valid for all classes of mail and were used as regular postage until the supply was depleted. 

First Stamp To Picture An Airplane

On December 16, 1912, the United States issued the world’s first stamp to picture an airplane – a 20¢ Parcel Post issue.

The US Postal Department had introduced Parcel Post service that year for items that weighed 16 ounces or more.  Rural Americans used the new mail class to access goods and merchandise they could not have gotten before, giving rise to mail order giants like Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Montgomery Ward and Co.

Twelve stamps with various denominations were issued in 1912-13 to prepay the fourth-class rate.  The four Parcel Post stamps with denominations of 5¢ through 20¢ feature transportation of the mail.  Although different vignette designs were featured, all twelve stamps used the same border and color, which caused a great deal of confusion for postal workers.

The airplane pictured on this 20¢ stamp is from a photo taken at College Park, near Washington. The landscape that forms the background was drawn in later. Interestingly, the stamp pictures an “Aeroplane carrying mail.”  While experiments to deliver mail by air had been staged as early as 1911, regular airmail service would not begin until 1918.  This was the first stamp in the world that pictured an airplane. It was issued on December 16, 1912, and over 17 million were printed.

Less than a year later, the Postmaster General authorized ordinary postage for use on parcel post.   Parcel post stamps were then made valid for all classes of mail and were used as regular postage until the supply was depleted.

The next US stamps to picture airplanes would be the 1918 airmails.  Most of the airmail stamps issued over the next 94 years would picture airplanes, aviators, or space exploration.

Click here for more aviation stamps.