Hindenburg disaster recalled at Australian postal auction

Although the Hindenburg disaster occurred more than 87 years ago, it is still often referred to as one of aviation’s greatest tragedies.

Another reminder of the German airship’s demise on May 6, 1937 – in which 35 of the 97 passengers and crew perished in a flaming inferno as the craft was about to moor at Lakehurst in the United States township of Manchester, New Jersey after a trans-Atlantic crossing – will be placed before auction goers at Melbourne-based Leski Auctions forthcoming sale of stamps, coins and postcards from 10am Tuesday September 17 at 727-729 High Street, Armadale.

Lot 716, which contains a superb collection of flown aerial covers and postcards carried by German airships between 1924 and the 1937 tragedy – particularly the Graff Zeppelin and the Hindenburg – also features the burnt remnants of some of the postal items salvaged from the wreckage.

Leski Auctions has placed a $30,000-$40,000 catalogue estimate on the Hindenburg postal history. The lot comprises 108 flown covers and cards, 20 reference books, four complete books of cigarette cards, a rare prospectus and a range of photographs, postcards and associated items.

Director Charles Leski believes the Hindenburg items are a collector’s dream – given that so much of the mail carried by the airship was destroyed in the fire.

“The collection and its library of reference material has ended up in Australia because the collector moved here,” he said.

“His intention was always to exhibit and there is certainly enough material for that. However, circumstances have changed and the task of telling the story will pass to the next owner.”

Auction highlights include the two 1987 $100 one-ounce gold proofs from the famous “Welcome Stranger” nugget series (lots 56 and 57).

The Welcome Stranger was the biggest alluvial gold nugget ever discovered and was unearthed on February 5, 1869 by Cornish miners John Deason and Richard Oates near Dunolly, Victoria.

The two miners were paid more than 9000 pounds at the time for the nugget, reported to have weighed over 70 kilograms, which today would be worth US$3.4 million.

Two aerial flight covers (lots 429 and 430), carried by Australian aviators Ross and Keith Smith on their record-breaking pioneering journey from England to Australia November 1919 to February 1920 – one picked up in India and the other in Ramadi, Mesopotamia, have respective catalogue estimates of $8000-$10,000 and $6000-$8000.

Another (lot 434), dated 2 November 1922 and carried from Charleville to Longreach, is addressed to Dr F.A. Hope Michod Deputy Chairman of Directors (and later chairman) of the newly formed Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd and was part of the QANTAS first airmail delivery.

An unusual lot is 660 from the People’s Republic of China 1967-68 comprising a complete set of the Poems of Chairman Mao stamps (14) with a $3000-$4000 catalogue estimate.