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  Collecting legal size envelope space covers

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Author Topic:   Collecting legal size envelope space covers
Ken Havekotte
Member

Posts: 3391
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 02-08-2022 02:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Are there any cS'ers who collect space envelope-covers of legal or #10 sizes? We don't often hear or see too many covers in this category, however, I've been collecting them of all types for decades now.

Depicted below are just a few assortment selections of the larger envelope-covers, even with two going back to the 1940's and 50's. They represent a variety of different aerospace and company letterhead-envelopes, cachet types, printed issues, and various postal cancellations (many with dual or multiple cancels).

I just thought it might be a fun topic to share with other space cover/stamp collectors and enthusiasts in this forum. If there is any further interest, I'll be happy to post other covers in this unusual space collecting category (I've got many more) and please feel free to share any of your own legal-size envelopes here.

micropooz
Member

Posts: 1621
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 02-08-2022 07:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for micropooz   Click Here to Email micropooz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hey great topic Ken! I'm especially jealous of your SA-10, Gemini 5, and Apollo 4 KSC officials on the second row!

I generally avoid legal sized covers unless they bring something to the table that I can't get in a regular size cover. Here are a few of mine that made that cut:

cosmos-walter
Member

Posts: 746
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 02-09-2022 12:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for cosmos-walter   Click Here to Email cosmos-walter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In the past I did not like this size of envelopes since they are too large to be shown on A4 pages properly. In the meantime FIP exhibitions like Liberec 2022 and IBRA 2023 allow sheets measuring 297mm x 245 mm. Therefore I liberaly can show legal size covers.

thisismills
Member

Posts: 471
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012

posted 02-10-2022 02:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for thisismills   Click Here to Email thisismills     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A well deserved topic Ken!

Legal sized envelopes hold a special place in my collection. They are honestly my favorite size to acquire as they often tell an interesting story. Plus there is plenty of room for a design, when I go about making covers I typically use this size so that the cachet has room to breathe.

At shows they are often astray or jammed into the sides and bottoms of dealer boxes. They rest waiting to be discovered in heaps of unsorted commercial mail. Over the years, many a treasure has been found and rescued this way. I make time to search and sort these as you never know what can be found.

I really enjoy seeing what others have found so I'll share a few of my favorite covers below. From FDCs, to recovery ships, to space dealer commercial mail, what's not to love!

Ken Havekotte
Member

Posts: 3391
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 02-10-2022 02:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by micropooz:
Here are a few of mine that made that cut
I really do admire your Apollo 4 (AS-501) launch company envelope-cover from AC Electronics. That is quite a find in itself as I don't recall or seeing hardly anything like this for the first Apollo/Saturn V launch vehicle flight test. And not to mention, of course, would be your depicted legal size printed envelopes for a few of the hard-to-find Apollo Prime Recovery Ship issues that have ship captain's and recovery team cachets.

Your Apollo 11 cachet from NASA's Launch Vehicle Operations directorate (LVO) should have a letter inside signed by long-time LVO Director Hans Gruene. He was an original Dornberger/von Braun team leader from the German V-2 war years that came with Debus to the U.S. in 1945, later, he became the second NASA employee assigned to work at the newly established Kennedy Space Center.

I also like your Reaction Motors, Inc. company letterhead- envelope, of which, I have two of' them in mint or unused condition. Mine came from the personal collection of U.S. rocket pioneer Lovell Lawrence, the key founder of Reaction Motors as president and chairman of the board. As you know, he developed the Bell X-1 4-nozzle engine series that Yeager flew in breaking the sound barrier in 1947. I'll soon have a display artifact presentation project pertaining to his original or vintage papers of notes, calculations, and schematics all done in his own hand.

My thanks to those cS readers that have emailed me asking to see more space-related legal size envelopes, so here are a few more. This one will focus mostly on U.S. human spaceflights of the X-15 (one issue), Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab all with #10 size envelope material. May do a shuttle theme along with rockets, satellites, and deep space probes if there is interest. Thanks for looking.

micropooz
Member

Posts: 1621
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 02-10-2022 03:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for micropooz   Click Here to Email micropooz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks for the kind words, Ken! And yes, my Apollo 11 LVO cover has the letter from Gruene.

I like your X-15 40th anniversary cover (top row, blue)! That was another of Philip Dockter's cachet creations, flown by Engle, signed by four of the pilots, and funds from the sale went to the Flight Test Historical Foundation. A great cover!

Ken Havekotte
Member

Posts: 3391
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 02-10-2022 10:15 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
By the way, Jeff, I like your idea of showing space collector/dealer letterhead-envelopes like you did for Robert Rank's Space Voyage Covers and Carl Swanson's Space Craft Covers.

I've got a couple of boxed saved envelopes like this myself going back decades, most of which, was mail that I have received throughout all of those years while mainly operating SpaceCoast Cover Service.

This includes probably a few hundred aerospace company, contractor, NASA centers, space firms of many areas, military, and other space-related letterhead envelopes as well, many with interesting printed designs, company logos, and more. Some are not in the best condition, though, after keeping them for so long going back to the late 1960's onwards.

fimych
Member

Posts: 241
From: Boston MA, USA
Registered: Jun 2015

posted 02-11-2022 05:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for fimych   Click Here to Email fimych     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Never thought of it. But eventually I have plenty on my website - fimych.com

rvk
Member

Posts: 28
From: Highlands Ranch, CO USA
Registered: Jul 2020

posted 02-12-2022 03:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for rvk   Click Here to Email rvk     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have used number 10 envelopes many times when there was not enough room on the number 6 envelopes for all the stamps and cancellations applied.

This is one of the covers that I sent to the post office at Mojave, CA for the flight aboard the XCOR Aerospace EZ Rocket Plane flight on December 3, 2005. It was postmarked again on arrival at California City, CA. The rubber stamp cachet was applied after the envelopes were returned back to me.

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