Aviation meet postal card
The Post Office Department authorized mail to be flown from the fair grounds to the post office in Carmi, Illinois, on September 9 and 10, 1913, as Route No. 635,003. According to the Carmi postmaster, aviator Anthony Jannus (1889-1916) flew a sack containing 241 pieces of mail on a single flight. He gave no date for the flight; his report is dated September 12. Unfortunately, no other records are known.
Mail is known with postmarks on September 10 or 11, all with the official one-line "MAILED VIA AIRSHIP" cachet. No mail has been found postmarked September 9. It can only be assumed that the mail-carrying flight took place on September 10 or 11 and that mail prepared on September 9 was not flown due to inclement weather or mechanical issues. Souvenir postcards were sold at the fair grounds postal station.
This postal card, addressed to active collector Karl Koslowski, Detroit, bears the magenta "MAILED VIA AIRSHIP" cachet and a circular postmark that reads, "CARMI / SEP 10 / 3 PM / 1913 / ILL." Straightline killer bars cancel the 1-cent McKinley indicia.
