102 years ago, mail delivery by airplane was first carried out. Aerial mail is a form of postal service in which mail is transported by air using aircraft. Today, aerial mail remains one of the most modern and widely used methods of postal communication.2 photos

Mail delivery by air existed long before aerial mail became a regular service available to the general public. In fact, the advent of airplanes in 1903 immediately sparked interest in using them for mail transport. The first official such flight took place on February 18, 1911, in India, from Allahabad to Naini. During this flight, Henri Piquet transported 6,500 letters and 250 special postcards over a distance of 13 kilometers. The letters were stamped with a special seal that read: “First aerial post. U.P. Exhibition. Allahabad. 1911.” This special seal for Allahabad’s aerial mail was printed in red, while some official correspondence was stamped in black. The seal was produced on order of the Indian government by the postal authorities in the city of Aligarh and is unique, as the plate used to print it was destroyed immediately after the flight. The seal features a silhouette of a flying biplane over the mountains of Asia. The design was created by Walter Windham, the owner of an automobile company who also founded an aviation club in 1908. The revenue generated from this aerial mail service was donated to the “Oxford and Cambridge” hotel to support its students.