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| EDITION 606 - 02/03/2026 |
| This Saturday we will have the monthly board meeting at the library. |
| I hope to post the program at the library for this month soon. |
| Today's cover is an early Catapult, (Katapultflug) Mail cover. The first trip was from Germany to New York on July 22, 1929. This letter was sent on the return trip back to Germany. (France did have earlier catapult service on a smaller scale.) The service was to speed up Trans-Atlantic mail. Catapult mail was replaced by the Zeppelin airmail service which in turn ended after the crash of the Hindenburg and the fact that other reliable aircraft had been developed capable of crossing the Atlantic. This letter started in New York on July 26, 1929, and was sent on the ship the S/S Bremen, one of two ships that were utilized for catapult mail. The other ship was the S/S Europa. The mail spent the majority of its trip at sea on the ship. When within a few hundred miles of shore it was sent by plane launched or catapulted from the ship for the remainder of the journey. The flight of that plane for this trip was 4-1/2 hours. The plane landed in Bremerhaven. All 18,000 pieces of letter express mail cargo were then loaded onto another plane for delivery in Berlin that afternoon. The trip from New York to Berlin took 5-1/2 days, which was about two days less than delivery by ship alone. The mail was then distributed to their final destinations which in this case was Oldenburg. That part of the trip was likely by train. The seller that sold me this claimed it was a registered cover, but registered service was not offered on catapult mail until 1931. All mail from the first two catapult flights received control numbers. The number 6591 on the front is that control number for this letter, not a registration number. The rate was twenty cents. |
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| If you have anything that you want shared let me know at pjflaherty58@gmail.com |
| Upcoming Events: |
| Date and Time | Fourth Saturday of the Month- February 28, 2026 at 11:00AM |
| Event | Upcoming Library Programs TBD |
| Location | Northern Philatelic Center, 1110 Lowry Ave No. Minneapolis, MN
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| Date and Time | Tuesday 3, February 2026 at 11:00 a.m. |
| Sponsor | Twin Cities Philatelic Society |
| Event | Monthly First Meeting |
| Location | LaBelle Condominiums II
1011 41st Ave. NE
Columbia Heights, MN
|
| Coffee and soft drinks are available. And cookies! And Sales Circuit books. |
| Date and Time | Tuesday 3, February 2026 at 7:00 PM |
| Sponsor | Saint Cloud Area Stamp Club |
| Event | Monthly Meeting |
| Location | Atonement Lutheran Church 1144 29th Ave. N St. Cloud Please use South entrance |
| Regular meeting, Show and Tell, Identification and Circuit Books. |
| Date and Time | Tuesday 3, February 2026 at 6:00 PM |
| Sponsor | First Tuesday Stamp Club |
| Event | Monthly Meeting |
| Location | Zumbro Lutheran Church 624 3rd Ave. SW Rochester, MN |
| Socializing, Trading and Identification |
| Date and Time | Wednesday 4, February 2026 10:00 a.m. to Noon |
| Event | Stamp Academy |
| Location | Northern Philatelic Center, 1110 Lowry Ave No. Minneapolis, MN If you want to know anything about stamps, this is the place. There is an expert on staff every Wednesday between 10:00 a.m. and noon with over 30 years of experience cataloging stamps for some of the largest dealers in the country. For those people that have a collection that was handed down and are looking for what to do with the collection, this is a great opportunity to learn about your options. |
| Date and Time | Saturday 7, February 2026, 11:00 AM |
| Event | Library Board Meeting |
| Location | Northern Philatelic Center, 1110 Lowry Ave. No. Minneapolis, MN |
| Date and Time | Sunday 8, February 2026 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM |
| Sponsor | Minnesota Stamp Events, LLC |
| Event | Second Sunday Show |
| Location | Maplewood Community Center 2100 White Bear Ave. Maplewood, MN 55109 |
| Date and Time | Monday 9, February 2026 at 6:00 PM |
| Sponsor | Lyon County Stamp Club |
| Event | Monthly Meeting |
| Location | Adult Community Center Marshall, Minnesota |
| Socializing, Trading and Identification |
| Date and Time | Tuesday 10, February 2026 at 7:00 p.m. |
| Sponsor | Lake Minnetonka Stamp Club |
| Event | Monthly Meeting |
| Location | All Saints Lutheran Church 15915 Excelsior Blvd. Minnetonka, MN 55345 |
| Date and Time | Wednesday 11, February 2026 10:00 a.m. to Noon |
| Event | Stamp Academy |
| Location | Northern Philatelic Center, 1110 Lowry Ave No. Minneapolis, MN If you want to know anything about stamps, this is the place. There is an expert on staff every Wednesday between 10:00 a.m. and noon with over 30 years of experience cataloging stamps for some of the largest dealers in the country. For those people that have a collection that was handed down and are looking for what to do with the collection, this is a great opportunity to learn about your options. |
| Date and Time | Thursday 12, February 2026 at 6:30 PM |
| Sponsor | Scandinavian Club - Chapter 14 Meeting |
| Event | Monthly meeting |
| Location | Danish American Center 3030 West River Pkwy S Minneapolis, MN 55406 |
| Date and Time | Saturday 14, February 2026, 10:00 AM |
| Event | Work Day |
| Location | Northern Philatelic Center, 1110 Lowry Ave. No. Minneapolis, MN |
| Date and Time | Saturday 14, February 2026 at 2:00 PM |
| Sponsor | GPS - German Philatelic Society |
| Event | Monthly meeting. |
| Location | Episcopal Homes
502 Lynhurst Ave. East
St. Paul, MN
|
| The GPS meets the second Saturday of each month. |
| Date and Time | Saturday 14, February 2026, 1:00 PM |
| Sponsor | Twin City Postcard Club |
| Event | Monthly Meeting |
| Location | Windom South Recreation Center 5843 Wentworth Avenue South Minneapolis, MN |
| Date and Time | Tuesday 17, February 2026 at 7:00 PM |
| Sponsor | Saint Cloud Area Stamp Club |
| Event | Monthly Meeting |
| Location | Atonement Lutheran Church 1144 29th Ave. N St. Cloud Please use South entrance |
| Date and Time | Wednesday 18, February 2026 at 10:00 a.m. to Noon |
| Event | Stamp Academy |
| Location | Northern Philatelic Center, 1110 Lowry Ave No. Minneapolis, MN If you want to know anything about stamps, this is the place. There is an expert on staff every Wednesday between 10:00 a.m. and noon with over 30 years of experience cataloging stamps for some of the largest dealers in the country. For those people that have a collection that was handed down and are looking for what to do with the collection, this is a great opportunity to learn about your options. |
| Date and Time | Wednesday 18, February 2026 at 7:00 PM |
| Sponsor | Golden Valley Internet Stamp Auctions |
| Event | Auction #408 |
| Location | http://www.gvstampauctions.com
Soft close
|
| 2800 lots |
| Date and Time | Thursday 19, February 2026 at 6:00 PM |
| Sponsor | Twin City Philatelic Society |
| Event | Monthly Second Meeting |
| Location | LaBelle Condominiums II 1011 41st Ave. NE Columbia Heights, MN |
| Coffee and cookies are available. Circuits books and general meeting and discussion. |
| Date and Time | Saturday 21, February 2026 at 11:00 a.m. |
| Event | Library Bourse |
| Location | Northern Philatelic Center, 1110 Lowry Ave No. Minneapolis, MN Every stamp club member and all collectors are invited to participate in this free monthly event. We started this as a monthly event, and it has continued to grow and expand. Just bring your stamps, covers, stories and any other philatelic items to sell, trade and buy. There will be refreshments available, so come and participate. It's like a garage sale for stamp collectors. Come a little early to get the best spot and set up your stuff. |
| Date and Time | Tuesday 24, February 2026 at 5:00 Social Hour, 6:00 Meeting |
| Sponsor | Minnesota Postal History Society |
| Event | Monthly Meeting |
| Location | Pax Christi Catholic Community 12100 Pioneer Trail, Room 211 Eden Prairie, MN 55347 |
| Program |
| Date and Time | Wednesday 25, February 2026 at 10:00 a.m. to Noon |
| Event | Stamp Academy |
| Location | Northern Philatelic Center, 1110 Lowry Ave No. Minneapolis, MN If you want to know anything about stamps, this is the place. There is an expert on staff every Wednesday between 10:00 a.m. and noon with over 30 years of experience cataloging stamps for some of the largest dealers in the country. For those people that have a collection that was handed down and are looking for what to do with the collection, this is a great opportunity to learn about your options. |
| Date and Time | Thursday 26, February 2026 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Sponsor | Maplewood Stamp Club |
| Location | Community of Grace Lutheran Church 4000 Linden St White Bear Lake, MN |
| Event | Monthly Meeting |
| Auction |
| Date and Time | Saturday 28, February 2026, 11:00 a.m. |
| Event | Program TBD
|
| Location | Northern Philatelic Center, 1110 Lowry Ave. No. Minneapolis, MN |