air mail

Anything that looked urgent “was telegraphed in cipher to the Pacific Coast. If not of immediate importance it was forwarded by air mail.”

Although no longer designated as “air mail,” most overseas letters travel by air.

A plate block of the 24 cent Inverted Jenny stamp, which was issued in 1918 for the first U.S. air mail letters, sold for $4.9 million.

United and several other U.S. airlines trace their roots to air mail delivery contracts in the early part of the last century, and mail remains a source of revenue for them.

In addition to tournaments, there are air mail competitions.