An envelope, measuring 155x99mm, extremely fine condition with minor scuffing. It was sent from Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance on November 13, 1930 by G. Schlorke from Eisenach (eastern Germany). The recipient is Lewis C. Wilson in Buffalo, New York. It was delivered by the Dornier Do. X boat plane on its first transatlantic flight.
Footnote: Built between 1925 and 1929, the Dornier Do. X was, at the time, the largest and heaviest flying boat in the world, with a maximum flying weight of 56 metric tons. Only three were ever produced. While popular with the public, it fell out of favour with the industry for a lack of commercial interest. 66 passengers could cross the Atlantic on board of the plane in luxurious accommodations comparable to that of the transatlantic liners of the time. However, during a test flight it carried 169 people, a new world record for persons carried on a single flight, and one that stood for the next 20 years. Its first and only flight from Europe to America was not without its problems. Due to accidents and subsequent maintenance, the journey from Lake Constance via Portugal, West Africa, Brazil, and finally to New York took nine months. A later try for a commercial comeback was unsuccessful. Eventually, the plane was turned into a museum exhibit in Berlin, where it was destroyed in late 1943 during an RAF bombing raid.