COVER N. 300 - PORTUGAL

Postmark: First day of issue : Alberto Santos Dumont 1873/1932 CTT Lisboa 20.07.2023

Posted on the 20th July; Received on the 16th August 2023

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I seldom post the covers I mail to myself using Portuguese issues, since I have a hard time keeping pace with all the covers I get, and the aim of this blog is mainly to show what I get from other fellow collectors and not what I get from my own self....

But every once in a while, there comes an issue that just can't go unmentioned. Such is the case for the very beautiful issue celebrating the memory of flight Pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont, a Brazilian citizen who would raise to fame for his aeronautical exploits in baloonism, airship flight and heavier than air flight, mainly in France.

In fact, Santos-Dumond is strongly advocated as the first aviator to effectively have flown in a self-propelled heavier than air aircraft, without the need for assistance at take off, as happened with the famous Wright Flyer, which took to the air under the impulse generated by a catapult.

The contraption he used to this end was the famous 14-bis aircraft, also known as l'Oiseau de Proie (Bird of Prey). The first time L'Oiseau de Proie took to the air under its own power was on 13 September 1906, but the flights that made it really famous, would take place in October and November, after the introduction of several modifications to the aircraft, the most relevant being the addition of ailerons in the wings to improve control. 

Santos-Dumont was also the winner of the  Deutsch de la Meurthe trophy created by the so named magnate for the first aviator that "leaving the park of Saint Cloud, Longchamps, or any other point situated at an equal distance from the Eiffel Tower, reaches this monument in half an hour, and, surrounding it, returns to the point of departure." This he did with is airship nº 6, on 19 September 1901.

Airship n.6 and Brasil, his first own-designed balloon are the subject of 0,61€ stamp, while Demoiselle, aircraft n.20, and L'Oiseau de Proie, or 14-bis, feature on the 1,15€ stamp, both of them also exhibiting Santos Dumont portrait.

The very nice postmark also features a line drawing of a head-on view of  14 bis

To compose the cover, I chose a picture of the cover of  the 25th November 1906 edition of Le Petit Journal , showing the 14-bis on its flight to fame.