Fire & Ice: Zeppelins, Aerophilately and the Titanic #643

Germany, Hindenburg, 1936 (1-3 Oct), 9th North America Flight, Return Lakehurst-Frankfurt. Cover franked 1.50m + U.S. 6¢ tied by onboard cancels 2 Oct; carried and signed by H.R. Ekins of the New York World-Telegram on the first leg of his record-setting race around the world by commercial airliner, Very Fine, a unique piece of passenger aviation history.
Michel 43 c; €125 ++ ($170). Sieger 425.
Estimate $300 - 400

Ekins' race was against two other reporters, Dorothy Kilgallen of the New York Journal and Leo Kieran of the New York Times. His total time from Lakehurst to Lakehurst, via Frankfurt, Athens, Baghdad, Bangkok, Batavia, Guam, Hawaii, Manila, San Francisco and Los Angeles, was 18 days, 14 hours and 56 minutes, beating his competitors by six days and 10,000 miles.

The cover was serviced by and addressed to pioneer Event & FDC maker, Harry Truby. It includes Truby's original letter to Ekins .