THE POSTAL HISTORY OF ICAO

 

The 10th anniversary commemorated by the United Nations

 

Design submitted (non adopted) by Dutch Artist Hubert Levigne, which could illustrate the activities of ICAO (and/or UPU)

 

Design submitted by Hubert Woyty-Wimmer

The idea of the United Nations (UN) for issuing its own stamps was first proposed in 1947 by the Delegation of Argentina to the UN. Additional information on the UNPA can be found at the following link: ICAO and the United Nations Postal Administration.

 

As the UN anticipated issuing postage stamps with designs illustrating or symbolizing the aims or activities of the various Specialized Agencies, Member States of the UN were requested to submit names of outstanding stamp designers and artists who would be willing to participate in a competition for designs. Hence, 185 artists were invited on 10 July 1952 to an international design competition. Among the 67 suggestions received from 32 countries, the design by Artist Levigne (see at the right side; see footnote 5) was not retained; however, the design submitted by Hubert Woyty-Wimmer (see at the left side) of the printer Thomas de la Rue, United Kingdom, was selected and found suitable to depict the International Civil Aviation Organization’s activities through a stamp.

 

United Nations New-York First Day of Issue and its insert providing details. Airmail issue (two stamps) of 9 February 1959.

Overseas Mailers cachet: Pilot flying his plane. Bicolor-printed and hand-painted cachet.

The vertical rose-red airmail stamp depicts the globe-and-wing design by W.W. Wind of USA that won the first prize in the international competition for stamps designs held by the UN Postal Administration in 1952.

 

 

 
Designs submitted by Karl Lohse

On 10 February 1953, ICAO was requested to provide comments on the above Woyty-Wimmer design before the UN would give its final approval. Reservations were expressed by ICAO about the initials of the Organization, which should be displayed in the two forms ICAO/OACI (the latter acronym applying both to French and Spanish, while the first applies in English only); about the condensation trails surrounding the globe; and about the military or rocket-like profile of the aircraft, more suited to illustrate science fiction than portraying civil aviation. At that time, ICAO staff member Karl E. Lohse, Chief, Aeronautical Charts Section, suggested alternative pencil sketches.

 

Details about the 4 designs from K. Lohse: Upper-left design: The ICAO early emblem is the centerpiece with ICAO – OACI placed over the wings. This could be elaborated by the addition of the UN laurel wreath or by a cloud background with a modern aircraft on either side facing the crest. Upper-right design (explanation: the progress of the world in aviation towards greater safety and for peace): A sphere without distinct continental outlines resting on the back of a stylized dove wings spread flying away from the viewer. The background for this design should range from almost solid dark at the bottom edge to full light in the upper right. ICAO and OACI would appear in white letters in the right and left bottom corners respectively. Lower-left design (explanation: the cooperative effort of mankind in aviation): A winged sphere, the wings forming a V upheld or cradled by a number of hands growing out of the words ICAO-OACI near the lower edge. These hands should be etched to convey participation of more than one race in the work of ICAO. Lower-right design (explanation: the achievement of flight by man, Icarus): A winged human figure rising towards light from quadrant of the globe showing water and clouds.

 

When the UN stamp programme for 1955 was established, it was found necessary once again to solicit the artists who had responded to the 1952 invitation. The issuance of stamps honouring the 10th anniversary of ICAO’s activities was suggested by the UNPA for February 1955, as their stamp programme already comprised two issues on fixed dates in the second part of that year, i.e. on UN day (24 October) and Human Rights Day (10 December, which is the anniversary day of the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948).

 
Design submitted

by James Berry

On 9 July 1954, ten designs were submitted to ICAO for a recommendation on the order of preference; among these, the eminent stamp artist James Berry, New Zealand, submitted a hand-drawn design (in black, grey, white and cream); this design was not selected. Although ranked third by ICAO, the design submitted by Angel Medina Medina, Uruguay, was eventually selected by the UN Interdepartmental Policy Committee as the most suitable for the ICAO commemorative stamp issue in two denominations, i.e. three and eight cents, to be issued on 9 February 1955 celebrating the tenth anniversary of the interim Agreement and first PICAO meeting. The two commemorative stamps Scott #31-32 became classic stamps for further featuring of stamps of other countries (stamp-on-stamp).

 

In its early days, the UNPA awarded stamp-printing contracts for an entire year. For the year 1955, Waterlow & Sons, United Kingdom, was awarded the contract. When the company withdrew from the stamp-printing business in the 1960s, it started selling its archives. Specimens of the eight-cent ICAO issue appeared on the market; these specimens (approximately 400 pairs) are in green (whereas the regular issue was deep carmine), have a small punch hole and are overprinted in black WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED SPECIMEN. Because of their rarity, the retail price of these specimens rose quickly.

 

United Nations New York – Set of 2 stamps with margins, and green specimen

 

Over fifty different first day covers were issued with the UN stamps, either officially by the UN or by private designers. Several of those covers are shown hereafter; the cachet makers are provided whenever identified.

 

UNPA cachet – First type of cancel

(see footnote 1)

 

UNPA cachet – Second type of cancel

(see footnote 1)

 

UN New York Headquarters Official cachet

 

UN New York service cover

First Day Cover with Blocks of four.

Velvatone flocked cachet;

Designed by A.W. Dargis; Burgundy and Green

(See footnote 3)

 

Velvatone flocked cachet;

Designed by A.W. Dargis; Dark-Blue and Green

(See footnote 3)

 

Velvatone flocked cachet;

Designed by A.W. Dargis; Grey and Green

(See footnote 3)

 

Velvatone flocked cachet;

Designed by A.W. Dargis; Red and Green

(See footnote 3)

C. Stephen Anderson clear-grey 3-cent cachet (the word Organization is missing)

 

C. Stephen Anderson dark-grey 3-cent cachet (the word Organization is missing)

 

C. Stephen Anderson black 3-cent cachet

(the word Organization is missing)

C. Stephen Anderson red 8-cent cachet

(the word Organization is missing)

C. Stephen Anderson black 8-cent cachet

(the word Organization is missing)

 

Basilisk blue cachet

(see footnote 2)

Basilisk red cachet

(see footnote 2)

ArtCraft cachet; Pictures of meteorological station and communications service; Convair CV-240

ArtCraft cachet; Pictures of meteorological station and communications service; Convair CV-240; Larger hand-stamped postmark

 

ArtCraft cachet; ICAO Council in Session, on 10th floor of the International Aviation Building, 1080 University Street

(see footnotes 1 and 6)

 

ArtCraft cachet; ICAO Council in Session, on 10th floor of the International Aviation Building, 1080 University Street;

Larger hand-stamped postmark

 

Kolor Kover cachet (3-cent blue)

Kolor Kover cachet (8-cent red)

 

Van Dahl General Purpose cachet (Type 3); Crown of covers surrounding the earth centered on North America; Blue and Gold

 

Hand-stamped FIRST DAY COVER

Zenith light-grey cachet; Designed by C. George Junior III

Zenith dark-grey cachet; Designed by C. George Junior III

Zenith red cachet; Designed by C. George Junior III

 

C. George cachet (3-cent); Douglas DC-6; raised print

 

C. George cachet (8-cent); Douglas DC-6; raised print

 

C. George cachet; Douglas DC-6; raised print

Red and grey cachet

C. George cachet; Douglas DC-6; raised print

Grey and red cachet

Day Lowry/Artistocrats cachet; First non-stop transatlantic flight by Charles Lindbergh; Spirit of St. Louis Ryan monoplane

 

Day Lowry/Artistocrats cachet

Fleetwood raised cachet; Douglas DC-4

Pent Arts blue cachet – Convair CV-240

Pent Arts red cachet – Convair CV-240

 

Artmaster embossed blue cachet

(See footnote 4)

Artmaster embossed red cachet

(See footnote 4)

Artmaster embossed red cachet

Autographed by Reivar Tvedt, UNPA Chief from 1952 to 1960 (See footnote 4)

 

Artmaster embossed red cachet – With Air Mail sticker. (See footnote 4)

 

Sanders cachet: earth, plane. Douglas DC-3 aircraft

 

Sanders cachet: earth, plane. Douglas DC-3 aircraft

 

Sanders cachet: earth, plane. Douglas DC-3 aircraft

 

Souvenir card; Sanders cachet: earth, plane. Douglas DC-3 aircraft

 

 

Souvenir card; Sanders cachet: earth, plane. Douglas DC-3 aircraft

 

First Day Cover. Sanders cachet: earth, plane. Douglas DC-3 aircraft

 

 

Maximum card (Dark carmine) - Velvetone by Edwin P. Haworth

 

Back of the 2 Velvetone maximum cards by Edwin P. Haworth

 

Maximum card (Blue-grey) - Velvetone by Edwin P. Haworth

 

Maximum card; Painting by Vernon Ward, England; Floating Foam. Recto.

 

Maximum card; Painting by Vernon Ward, England; Floating Foam. Verso.

 

Maximum card “Flight”; Dove painted by Col Casie. Tulaine Book Company. Recto.

Maximum card “Flight”; Dove painted by Col Casie. Tulaine Book Company. Verso.

 

Maximum card – Design by K.E. Olszewski; Swans before the Storm. Printed in Germany. Recto.

 

Maximum card – Design by K.E. Olszewski; Swans before the Storm. Printed in Germany. Verso.

 

Post Card (front) showing the Economic and Social Council Chamber in New York.

Post Card (back) of the Economic and Social Council Chamber in New York.

Postcard; United Nations design.

 

First Day Cover - Cancel on Air Mail cover

 

First Day Cover - Club Filatélico Juvenil de la A.C.N.U. (ACNU stands for Asociación Cubana de las Naciones Unidas)

 

Postcard; United Nations design. Other type of cancel.

 

Cachet Craft cachet (Ken Boll design); Douglas DC-3; Magenta and Blue; Initial UN emblem as used for the lapel pin designed for the United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO) held in San Francisco in 1945. See footnote 7.

 

3-Cent stamp on United Nations cover.

Unknown cachet – Reproduction of the 4 designs by Ernest Cornier, Canada made for the exterior doors of the UN General Assembly Building in New York: Allegorical figures of Veritas, Fraternitas, Justitia and Pax.

More information on this cover can be obtained by clicking on the following link: United Nations – Ernest Cormier.

 

Hand-Painted Overseas Mailers Cachet; Aircraft over UN Building in New York and New York city.

 

Hand-Painted Overseas Mailers Cachet; Airport, Patrol activity and Control Tower services at work; Early ICAO emblem.

 

Special insert of the above two covers.

 

In addition to the above covers with cachets printed in large runs, some designers made their own hand-drawn and painted covers, which are scarce pieces:

 

 

Ralph Dyer add-on hand-painted cachet. The second cover is autographed.

Ralph Dyer was the first well-known cachet maker to produce hand-painted or hand-drawn cachets during the period of issue beginning in 1923.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Ross M. Knoble cachets – Great variety in the colors (the last one without colors)

 

Herman Maul cachet

 

 

Postcard (recto and verso) - Balloon flight, October 1955

Originally cancelled in New York for the 10th anniversary of ICAO. This card received a special balloon postage hand-stamp dated 29 October 1955; it was flown in free balloon from Salzburg, Austria to an expected landing site, where it was stamped with the local postmark (STEYR, Austria) and then forwarded to the recipient. The net income of this event was given to the family orphanage in Rottenmann, Austria.

Note that the Swiss flag is hanging outside the balloon on the lower picture.

 

(1) Below is a copy of the notice found in the ICAO Bulletin, January/February 1955, showing the First Day Cover.

 

(2) Note on BASILISK.

 

The Basilisk Cooperative was formed in the late 1940's in response to the increasing monopoly of the Post Offices of some countries regarding the production of FDCs, i.e. which was the only way to obtain a first day cancel was on an official envelope. The group set up a cooperative network for obtaining the stamps on penciled addressed plain envelopes, and then adding artwork of their own.

The Basilisk emblem

Initially simple rubber stamps, but later they began to print copies of the stamps as a cachet. This considerably upset the authorities, being both an infringement of copyright, and most seriously in direct breach of criminal law in most countries; several warnings of the danger of the practice were issued via the philatelic press and through the dealers' association. Only 100 covers are produced for each stamp, 00 to 99, and, by implication, there are 100 members to the cooperative. Because of the nature of the cachet, the cachets are always printed after cancellation, usually by offset in one, two, or three colors. The Basilisk logo is normally done using a letterpress block for fine detail.

 

 

Austria Scott #1867

Before overprint

Austria Scott #1969

After overprint

The Austrian Legend: The Basilisk House is located on Schönlaterngasse 7, in Vienna, Austria, a small winding alleyway in central Vienna. The so-called beautiful lantern (Schönlatern) is located at Schönlaterngasse 6; the original lantern is currently in Vienna’s City Museum, but a replica was installed in its original location in 1971.

Although the alley takes its name from the Beautiful Lantern, which is depicted hanging on the house opposite the Basilisk House, it is the basilisk house itself, which is the best-known sight in the charming little old-Viennese alleyway. The house reportedly received its name in 1212 when workers digging a well came across the creature, which was formed by an egg laid by a hen and hatched by a toad. Two workers were killed by the basilisk’s poisonous breath. According to the legend, the creature’s glare also was deadly, turning the victim to stone. A third worker took a mirror into the well, forced the basilisk to look at its own reflection, and the beast was turned to stone. The workers then raised the Basilisk from the depths of the well and placed him into a niche on the facade of the house where he has sat more or less undisturbed ever since. On 13 October 2004, Austria surcharged Scott #1867 to become Scott #1969; it was also overprinted with the word BASILISK in the centre of the house and a basilisk, the alleyway’s emblem, just over the old value (see stamp pictures).

An old blacksmith's smithy can be viewed at Schönlaterngasse 9, and serves as home to an art association. The street is also home to several eating and drinking establishments today, which are open nights and evenings.

 

(3) Note on the Velvatone covers:

Velvatone cachets were produced by August W. Dargis. The design is applied by a silk-screen printing process. Before the ink dries, a "flocking" material is added, which gives the design a "fuzzy" look and feel. It creates a fabric-like texture on the surface designed to explore our sense of touch! Dargis produced his first Velvatone cachet in 1951, and continued to make them until shortly before his death in 2001 at age 87. Since 2003, several Postal Administrations have issued stamps printed on flocked paper.

 

(4) Note on the Artmaster’s cachets

The base design (i.e. the world map) of the cachets shown on the two Artmaster’s first day covers was later reutilized by the designer to produce a first day cover to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the United Nations on 24 October 1955 (see here-below). The 10th anniversary logo shown in the cancel comes from the souvenir sheet issued on the same occasion by the United Nations Postal Administration, UNPA (see here-below).

 

 

 

(5) Note on Hubert Levigne

Nicolaas Jozef Hubertus (Hubert) Levigne (1905-1989) was a Dutch graphic Artist. He performed commissions for stamps, occasional graphics, libraries and ecclesiastical art. Levigne worked with copper engravings, etchings, woodcuts and with a combination of etchings and aquatint. He also painted and made monumental work, such as tile panels and stained glass. In 1952, he submitted seven different large-sized drawings for United Nations stamps (United Nations, Human Rights, FAO, ICAO), among which was the one related to ICAO/UPU shown at the top of this page. None was adopted by the United Nations Postal Administration.

 

 

 

(6) Note on Lieutenant Colonel Jean Verhaegen

Major Jean Verhaegen (1898-1968) of the Belgian Air Force was part of the Belgian Delegation to the Chicago Conference in 1944. Viscount Alain du Parc, Minister Plenipotentiary, Belgian Embassy, New York was Chairman of this Delegation.

Jean Verhaegen was promoted to the grade of Lieutenant Colonel of aviation on 20 August 1945. When PICAO came into being in 1945, he became the first Delegate of Belgium to the Council of the Provisional Organization (and later ICAO from 4 April 1947) until 1954. His detailed biography is available here-after.

 

 

 

First Day Cover addressed to the Lieutenant Colonel Jean Verhaegen with signed card by Edward Pearson Warner, President of the ICAO Council.

 

 

Biography of Jean Verhaegen.

 

The Breguet 19 “Reine Élisabeth” of Georges Médaets,

Jean Verhaegen and Jean Coppens.

 

(7) Note on Ken Boll

In years past, companies such as Cachet Craft were producing some of the most beautiful and sought-after cachets available.  One of the favourite cachet makers for Cachet Craft was Kenneth (Ken) Boll.  It is that straightforward visual appeal that draws the attention to Boll’s designs for his cachets, all of which have such a classic look and feel. Ken Boll was by far the most prolific designer of Cachet Craft Covers with 500 or so covers signed by him.

Boll has been a favourite cachet maker to collectors for many years, particularly during the long working relationship with Cachet Craft in coordinating his artistic skills for their covers. Boll’s first cachet in the USA was created before the end of WW II, i.e., for the 3-cent Roosevelt stamp issued on 27 June 1945. At that time, he was in uniform and was known as Sgt. Ken Boll.

Boll’s last first day cover for the USA was cancelled on 16 April 1966, i.e., for the Indiana Statehood issue.

On 3 March 1947, Boll designed the first cachet for a Canadian stamp, i.e., the Alexander Graham Bell issue.

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