1936 Hindenburg Zeppelin LZ129 First Flight Cover NY Frankfurt Block of 14 For Sale

1936 Hindenburg Zeppelin LZ129
First Flight Cover NY Frankfurt Block of 14
Block of 14 RI Stamps, Genuine Frankfurt BackstampDESCRIPTIONA 1936 Hindenburg zeppelin cover flown on the return leg of LZ 129\'s first flight to North America, the airship\'s inaugural transatlantic passenger crossing. Postmarked New York, NY, May 11, 1936, with a genuine Frankfurt am Main receiving datestamp on the reverse dated May 14, 1936. The front carries the purple pictorial \"Lakehurst Trans Atlantic First Flight\" cachet, showing the Hindenburg above a globe spanning North America and Europe, and the reverse carries the black \"Mit Luftschiff Hindenburg Befordert\" flight confirmation marking along with the airship\'s registration, D LZ 129. Franked with a full corner block of fourteen 3 cent Rhode Island Tercentenary stamps, a large and visually striking multiple well beyond the roughly 40 cent zeppelin letter rate then in effect, similar to the decorative over franking philatelic mailers of the era sometimes used on flown zeppelin covers to create a more eye catching souvenir. A typed shipping label instructs the cover to travel \"Via Hindenburg to Friedrichshafen,\" the town where the Hindenburg was built and where earlier Zeppelins were based, though the flight actually terminated at Frankfurt am Main, which became the Hindenburg\'s regular transatlantic terminus starting with this very flight because its lower elevation let the airship lift several more tons of weight at takeoff than it could from higher-altitude Friedrichshafen. It is an interesting mismatch between the sender\'s routing note and the ship\'s real, and newly established, home port. Addressed to a named collector, Master Raymond A. Philibert of New Orleans, Louisiana. This cover flew during Hindenburg\'s very first season of transatlantic service, more than a year before the airship\'s final flight and destruction at Lakehurst in May 1937. Every effort is made toward fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you\'re unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I\'ll make it right. Orders placed before Noon CDT ship same day with tracking. Returns accepted on all items exceeding $25 in cost. All shipments receive rigid, professional packaging, sealed and protected in acid free sleeves. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONSound overall with light, even toning consistent with age and a small area of darker staining near the lower left corner and beside the address label, not affecting the stamps or the markings. A few ink loops in what appears to be a later hand are visible across several stamps in the lower row, unrelated to the original mailing and not postal cancellations. The New York duplex postmark and wavy line cancels are clear and fully legible, correctly tying the block of fourteen stamps to the cover. The purple Lakehurst Trans Atlantic First Flight cachet on front and the black Hindenburg flight confirmation marking on the reverse are both bold and complete, with a sharp Frankfurt am Main receiving datestamp beside them. Corners and edges are intact with no tears or losses. Very Fine for the type.