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Air Mail Begins
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Souvenir envelope mailed by John A. Lester on the flight that inaugurated air mail service between Madison and Minneapolis in 1927. Madison's first incoming airmail consignment from Chicago and Milwaukee was delivered to Pennco Field (Royal Airport) by Charles "Speed" Holman, the chief pilot of Northwest Airways. The outgoing flight carried over 3,500 pieces of mail. Airmail contracts such as the one Northwest Airways had to deliver mail to several Wisconsin cities often meant the difference between success and failure for many early airlines. The 10-cent airmail stamp honoring Charles A. Lindbergh and the "Spirit of St. Louis" was particularly appropriate because he had been an airmail pilot for several years before his trans-Atlantic flight. As a national hero, he used his prestige to improve conditions for transport pilots.
November 22, 1927
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Collection Information
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W0133BU
WHi 10216
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Northwest Airways Air Mail Delivery
July 1, 1933
A Northwest Airways crew delivers a bag of airmail to Madison postmaster W.A. Devine. With him, posed in front of the Ford TriMotor, are pilots Elmer Wahl (left) and Lee Smith. A passenger can be s...
Royal Airport
May 5, 1932
Two airplane pilots and a third man are standing in front of a Northwest Airways air mail plane at Madison's Royal Airport. There are automobiles parked near a hangar in the background.
Northwest Airways Special Delivery
April 7, 1933
In an obvious publicity stunt, a Northwest Airways pilot delivers the first case of post-Prohibition Atlas Beer to Madison distributor Ira Chambers. The shipments from Atlas Brewing Co. in Chicago ...
Maitland of Milwaukee
circa 1920-1929
Head and shoulders portrait of Lester Maitland, who was a U.S. Army Air Service pilot from Milwaukee who served as aide to General Billy Mitchell during the 1920s. In 1927 Maitland and Lt. Albert H...
Lindbergh Returns, Madison
August 22, 1927
Crowd greeting the "Spirit of St. Louis" when Charles Lindbergh flew to Madison on August 22, 1927. The crowd at Pennco Field (Royal Airport)was so large that Lindbergh himself cannot be seen here...
Pesticide Spraying
1925
Loading an airplane with calcium arsenate in order to spray for the hemlock looper pest in Peninsula State Park. This is believed to be the first such use of aviation. Little is known about pilot L...
