Arago: Pioneer Period (1783-1918)

The Pacific Aero Club sponsored this meet, which was held at the Emeryville Race Track February 17, 18, 22-25, 1912. Farnum T. Fish, at that time one of America’s youngest pilots, flew the mail each day. He carried about 750 pieces of mail over the meet’s six days. Mail from the first day is, by far, most plentiful. The most difficult to obtain is that of February 23.

Fish carried the postal card shown here on February 24. Its circular, purple-colored postmark reads, “AEROPLANE STATION / FEB 24 1912 / 3 P.M. / OAKLAND, CAL.” Four straightline killer bars incorporate “AVIATION FIELD” and cancel the 1-cent McKinley indicia. Mr. C. Bangs, Savannah, Georgia, received the card.