Markings- A Study Ian Mcqueen [repack]: Jusqu-a Airmail

In smaller post offices or during periods of sudden route changes, clerks simply wrote the instructions by hand. Phrases like "Par avion jusqu'à [City]" written in fountain pen or colored pencil are highly prized for their regular usage in specific historical windows.

One of the most valuable features of the study is its . The book provides a visual reference that allows collectors to identify the markings on their own covers. As one reviewer noted, while the reproductions are “not very good” in a technical sense, they are “adequate for the purpose” of identification. This practicality was McQueen’s primary goal—to give collectors a working tool.

: By analyzing the designs and colors of these markings, the book helps collectors identify the specific locations and timeframes in which the mail was diverted from air service. Jusqu-a Airmail Markings- A Study Ian McQueen

Decades after its publication, Jusqu’a Airmail Markings remains the standard reference for identifying, dating and understanding these handstamps. Auction houses, postal history dealers and serious collectors still cite McQueen’s listing numbers when describing covers.

In the foreword, McQueen modestly stated that his intention was not to produce a complete or exhaustive catalogue, but rather to and to provide help to collectors who had begun showing interest in this neglected field. He hoped that the study would stimulate further research and that readers would contribute corrections and new discoveries. In smaller post offices or during periods of

Here is why McQueen’s work remains the gold standard:

In the realm of aerophilately, few works are as definitive as Ian McQueen's Originally published in 1993, this ground-breaking text—and its subsequent 1995 supplement—transformed a previously neglected niche of postal history into a structured field of academic and collectible interest. Understanding "Jusqu'à" Markings The book provides a visual reference that allows

Ian McQueen (1919-1999) was not a mere collector; he was a meticulous postal historian. A Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London, McQueen specialized in the complex routes of the French Aéropostale and the early Pan American Airways. His approach was forensic: he did not simply list markings; he reconstructed the flight schedules, surcharge tables, and postal treaties that gave rise to them.