Putney Memorial Hospital Exhibition Flights postal card
On December 28, 1911, pilot Thornwall Andrews flew mail in a standard Curtiss aeroplane from the League Park Station in Albany, Georgia, a distance of ten miles out over the city and then dropped a locked pouch to postal officials on the return flight. After dropping the mail, Andrews crashed into a fence while attempting to land, totally destroying the plane. He escaped with minor injuries.
Mail had been prepared for a second flight, but, given the crash, no other flight occurred. There is no way to distinguish mail that was flown from mail that was not flown. The postmark was applied in black or magenta ink to approximately 1,000 pieces of mail.
This item, a postal card addressed to Mr. P. C. Bangs, Savannah, Georgia, bears a magenta postmark dated December 28, 1911, that was applied at the exhibition's aerial substation in Albany, Georgia.
Glossary
