Aerophilately and the Famous Graf Zeppelin Stamps

Aerophilately is the study of airmail stamps - stamps specifically designed to pay postage for the transport of mail by airborne mail carriers. Some early airmail was carried by balloons, while other airmail was carried by zeppelins, rockets, and later by fixed-wing aircraft, both propeller planes and jet aircraft. These different modes of air transportation result in different sub-specialties of aerophilately: balloon mail, zeppelin mail, rocket mail and so on.

Zeppelin mail, carried by lighter-than-air German airships similar to dirigibles, is a fascinating and popular division of aerophilately. Zeppelins were first used to carry mail in 1908. Most carried mail on every flight, and the covers received special postmarks applied on board the zeppelins in their own small post office areas. Many countries, including the US, issued airmail stamps to be specifically used for zeppelin mail. The US zeppelin stamps feature the famous Graf Zeppelin airship, named after its designer.

Zeppelins captured the public's imagination with their successful trans-Atlantic flights, at least until the tragic explosion of the Hindenburg in 1937. Some flew for a few more years, but not long after the Hindenburg disaster they fell into disuse.

The relatively short window of their use, together with the popularity and mystique of the zeppelins and the relatively small quantities of zeppelin stamps that were issued, makes zeppelin covers and the stamps themselves popular with collectors.

The US Graf Zeppelin stamp set is one of those magical stamp sets that fetch very high prices when they're sold.