Presented here is a summary of ongoing research into the origin of air mail envelope border design.

Question: When was the first envelope with an air mail border used?

Answer: At least by April 1928, however new discoveries are made as items are sold at public auction.

Scope of Research:

   > Air mail envelopes with a border design of alternating red-blue parallelograms (lozenges, blocks, etc.).
   > Envelopes mailed no later than the year 1928.
   > AND primarily those mailed before the air mail rate change of August 1st (from 10c to 5c).
   > AND especially those mailed before June 1st (date of first significant usage via CAM 20 flights).


Summary of Earliest Observed Usages (MM/DD/YYYY):

   > Cover - 4/19/1928
   > Postal Card - 5/26/1928
   > Etiquette Label - 2/6/1928
   > Address Label - 5/1/1928

   > Dahlke Patent - 10/24/1927 (Filed), 5/21/1929 (Issued)
   > Formal Announcement - July 1928 in US Post Office Department Official Postal Guide


These photos and tables are intended to document a small portion of the covers seen and encourge further discussion with periodic site updates as new information is discovered and reviewed.

No attempt will be made to show each and every cover here. On several occasions, only one or two covers were created for a specific event; collectors should be aware that a "complete set" is not always an attainable goal. The focus of the community has been to document and educate each other by sharing and presenting the covers they have collected in an effort to better tell the story of airmail. Comparing details between covers from the same time period has given a unique insight into these emvelopes.

Please feel free to send in photos of covers you've seen online or from your personal collection that are not currently represented here for inclusion in the archive. Images are credited to owners who have sent in covers or posted them publicly.

To supplement the covers, several articles from newspapers are included below. Click images to enlarge.