STAMP ISSUES RELATED TO ICAO (1978-1983)

Sao Tome and Principe : History of aviation and 35^th Anniversary of ICAO

Issue date: 21/12/1979
	Wright Brothers and double-decker Flyer I (1903) ‑ ICAO emblem.
	Vought Sikorsky VS300 (1939) ‑ ICAO emblem.
	Spirit of St. Louis (1927) registered in the experimental category under number N-X-211 (officially known as the Ryan NYP for New York to Paris) in the USA ‑ ICAO emblem. An N-number is an aircraft registration number used in the United States; all aircraft registered there have a number starting with N.
	Dornier Do‑X (1929) registered D-1929 in Germany ‑ ICAO emblem.
	Santa Cruz Fairey-17 111D Hydroplane ‑ ICAO emblem. The first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic was made by the Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral in 1922, to mark the centennial of Brazil's independence. Coutinho and Cabral flew in stages from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and covered a distance of 8,383 kilometres between 30 March and 17 June 1922. The third aircraft that replaced two previously lost during this crossing was a Fairey-17 111D christened “Santa Cruz”.
	United States NASA Space Shuttle over earth. Although the ICAO logo appears on the original artwork (see here-below), it was not retained on the stamp (see explanations related to the overlay here-after).
	Imperforate; 200 exist.
				Color Proofs of the Db-1 stamp: Vought Sikorsky VS300.
				Color Proofs of the Db-7 stamp: Dornier Do‑X.
Corner blocks.
Cancelled to Order (CTO). Circular Date Stamps (CDS) indicate: 28 December 1979.
Artworks for the complete series. All acrylic on card with inscription overlay. The original artist’s drawing measures about 150x95 mm each. There is a transparent overlay with the inscriptions (emblem, value, purpose of the emission and country name). Note that the text 75^o ANNIVERSARIO DA OACI was originally printed under the ICAO emblem, but was crossed out in red on all the artworks except on the last one (Space Shuttle). Moreover, as it can be seen here-after, two versions for the last artwork (Space Shuttle) are available, with the emblem shown in different positions; it may be concluded that the emblem might have dropped off the artwork during the handling process; that may explain why the ICAO emblem is not shown on the regular stamp.
Original artist’s drawing.			Transparent overlay.
Artist’s drawing under transparent overlay.			Emblem with text crossed out.
Emblem related to Db17 value.
Printer’s Proofs from Format International, i.e., imperforate single stamps mounted on carton. Only eight exist.
Official first day cover with the Coat of Arms of Sao Tome and Principe.
Official Maximum Cards issued by the Direcção de Correios e Telecomunicações. Back of the above card. Back of the above card. Back of the above card. Back of the above card. Back of the above card. Back of the above card.
Background: The last stamp of this set (value 17db, Space Shuttle) does not show the ICAO logo, as it was dropped off the overlay of the artwork during the handling process. It is interesting to note that the Circular Date Stamp (CDS) indicates: 28 December 1979, whereas the Maximum Cards show: 21 December 1979. Sao Tome and Principe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands: São Tomé and Príncipe. It was named after St. Thomas the Apostle, on whose feast day Portugal discovered the islands on 21 December 1471. The name “Principe” is shortened from the original Portuguese name of Ilha do Principe (Isle of the Prince), in reference to Afonso, Prince of Portugal (1475-1491), to whom duties on the island's sugar crop were paid. Coat of Arms of Sao Tome and Principe. The coat of arms of Sao Tome and Principe consists of a red-footed falcon on the left and a grey parrot on the right holding a coat of arms with a palm in its center. The birds symbolize the local avifauna: the falcon probably is a Lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus - Falconidæ); the parrot is an African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus - Psittaciformes) common in West Africa. The palm tree symbolizes the main trade crop of the republic, copra. The coat of arms is surmounted by a blue star for the republican form of government in Africa. Above, there is a band that states the name of the country (República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe). At the base of the arms, the national motto, "Unity, discipline, work" (Unidade - Disciplina - Trabalho) is inscribed. The current arms were adopted in 1975.