"Cherry Red Airline, also known as the Cherry Air Service, was the first airline in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. It was founded by Norman Cherry and H. Holroyde in 1928. Cherry noticed an unmet demand for transportation services by mines in Saskatchewan, especially Consolidated Mining and Smelting, and decided to create an airline to meet that need. He hired pilot Alva Malone and partnered with H. Holroyde. The airline had a fleet consisting of two airplanes: a two-seat Pheasant biplane and a six-seat Buhl CA-6 Airsedan (CF-AAY). To earn extra revenue, Cherry decided to issue stamps starting at $0.10 for carrying airmail, making the airline the first airmail provider in Prince Albert. Existing stamps issued by the company are sought after by collectors. The great depression brought about the end of the airline as mine traffic dried up. By 1932, the company had failed. The Buhl Airsedan had previously been lost in an accident with no fatalities. The Pheasant biplane was sold and, in 1932, it crash landed, rendering it inoperable. The plane languished in storage until the Moose Jaw branch of the Western Development Museum acquired it in 1950. Volunteers worked from 1960 to 1964 to restore it, and it has been in the museum's permanent collection ever since. It is the oldest surviving airplane in Saskatchewan."
Thank you, great background information!!!
Tim,
There were several such semi-official airmail stamps issued and used by 10 small Canadian airlines in the 1920s-1930s. The Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps lists 52 basic stamps, and many varieties. Your cover is franked with CL46, with on-cover values ranging from CAN$35 TO CAN$125, depending on the variety of stamp used. Those values are probably higher now — my catalogue is the 2006 edition.
Bob
Those prices are identical in my 2022 edition.
Tad
I really like those Canadian private airmail stamps.
Here is a First Flight Cover that I found interesting. It includes a 10c stamp from a local air service called "Cherry Red Airline". I had not heard of a local air service carrying mail before.
So I looked up "Cherry Red Airline" in Wikipedia and the following is what I found:
"Cherry Red Airline, also known as the Cherry Air Service, was the first airline in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. It was founded by Norman Cherry and H. Holroyde in 1928. Cherry noticed an unmet demand for transportation services by mines in Saskatchewan, especially Consolidated Mining and Smelting, and decided to create an airline to meet that need. He hired pilot Alva Malone and partnered with H. Holroyde. The airline had a fleet consisting of two airplanes: a two-seat Pheasant biplane and a six-seat Buhl CA-6 Airsedan (CF-AAY). To earn extra revenue, Cherry decided to issue stamps starting at $0.10 for carrying airmail, making the airline the first airmail provider in Prince Albert. Existing stamps issued by the company are sought after by collectors. The great depression brought about the end of the airline as mine traffic dried up. By 1932, the company had failed. The Buhl Airsedan had previously been lost in an accident with no fatalities. The Pheasant biplane was sold and, in 1932, it crash landed, rendering it inoperable. The plane languished in storage until the Moose Jaw branch of the Western Development Museum acquired it in 1950. Volunteers worked from 1960 to 1964 to restore it, and it has been in the museum's permanent collection ever since. It is the oldest surviving airplane in Saskatchewan."
re: First Flight Cover from Prince Albert, Sask. to Ile a La Crosse, Sask.
Thank you, great background information!!!
re: First Flight Cover from Prince Albert, Sask. to Ile a La Crosse, Sask.
Tim,
There were several such semi-official airmail stamps issued and used by 10 small Canadian airlines in the 1920s-1930s. The Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps lists 52 basic stamps, and many varieties. Your cover is franked with CL46, with on-cover values ranging from CAN$35 TO CAN$125, depending on the variety of stamp used. Those values are probably higher now — my catalogue is the 2006 edition.
Bob
re: First Flight Cover from Prince Albert, Sask. to Ile a La Crosse, Sask.
Those prices are identical in my 2022 edition.
Tad
re: First Flight Cover from Prince Albert, Sask. to Ile a La Crosse, Sask.
I really like those Canadian private airmail stamps.