Books & Journals on Indian Aerophilately


The Aero Field. This was an Aerophilatelic journal published regularly from 1926 until 1983, with a few years of disruption in between. A wonderful source of information on Airmails.


​The Indian Air Mail Society Bulletin, edited by Stephen H Smith. Published first monthly, and later quarterly from 1926 until at least 1936. A contemporaneous account of the growth of Civil Aviation, and Airmails during the period. Unfortunately, no complete set is known to survive.


​Indian Air=Ways, Part I by Stephen H. Smith, published in 1926. Perhaps the first book on the subject and since it was written as history was being made, it no doubt captured information that was the source of rich information for future publications. Part of a 3 volume set which he wrote on the subject.


​Indian Air=Ways, Part II by Stephen H. Smith, published in 1927. Included information on flights that were missed out in the prior book, and added listings on new flights as well. Part of a 3 volume set which he wrote on the subject.


​World Flier's Danger Zone by Stephen H. Smith, published in 1927. A small booklet on the treacherous  journey over Burma during the monsoon. Dedicated to Arthur B. Elliot.


​​Indian Air=Ways, Part III by Stephen H. Smith, published in 1930. This pretty much captured anything he missed out in the earlier two volumes, and also misted flights that took place after the last book came out. Part of a 3 volume set which he wrote on the subject.



​Detective Story: How the mail got from Burma to Athens in October 1932. Donald Malcolm, by 1932.



​​Priced Catalogue of Air Mail Stamps and Airposts of the World by David Field. Second Edition Published in 1934. a very early reference source for mail into and out of India.


​​British External Airmails until 1934 by Alexander S. Newhall. (N.D.) Published around 1935. Mail between Britain and India comprised the vast majority of Indian Airmails at this time. Newall lists these events and also adds detail and comments of his own which help the collector.


​Catalogue des Aerogrammes du Monde Entier by Frank Muller. Published in French in1950, and reprinted much later by Postilion Publications. Muller was the world authority on Airmails, and his book was the definitive reference book for decades.


​​Imperial Airways (and Subsidiary Companies) compiled by N. C. Baldwin and published in 1950. The Aero Field Handbook No. 10. A history and priced check list of the Empire Air Mails.


​All-Up Air Mail by John C. W. Field, published in 1978. A booklet form reproduction from the Aero Field, about this path breaking scheme which changed the way people from different countries communicated. At once the world shrank, and it also served as a model for the All Up scheme introduced in India for domestic Air Mails in 1949.

Air Mail, an illustrated history. 1793-1981 by Donald B. Holmes. Published in 1981 by Clarkson N. Potter Inc., this book is beautifully illustrated, and easy to read. Meant to be more of a coffee table book than a reference manual, the author’s mastery over the topic is clearly visible.


​Courier Recupere, Recovered Mail 1910 - 1936 by Henri L. Nierinck. First published in 1984 as a single volume, this is an expanded version in two parts that followed shortly thereafter. In French and English, this is regarded as the most comprehensive listing of crash mail.



​Courier Recupere, Recovered Mail 1937 - 1988 by Henri L. Nierinck. First published in 1984 as a single volume, this is an expanded version in two parts that followed shortly thereafter. In French and English, this is regarded as the most comprehensive listing of crash mail.


​Movement of Aircraft on Imperial Airways' African Route 1931 - 1939 researched and compiled by Peter Wingent. Published in 1991. Contains listings of all available information on every flight on the Imperial Airways African Route taken from The Times newspapers archives. Very useful for studying Indian airmails to and from Africa.



Jusqu'a Airmail Markings ( A Study) by Ian McQueen, Published in 1993.



Jusqu'a Airmail Markings ( A Study) by Ian McQueen, Published in 1995 Supplement.

​Indian Airmails by Jeffrey Brown. Published first in 1995 and later updated and published digitally. perhaps the most authoritative compilation on Indian Airmails.


​La Service Postal Aerien dans les Pays D'Expression Francais by Pierre Saulgrain. Published in 1996, this catalogue in French records flights 1906 -1986 between French territories. This is the only modern listing I have come across for flights to French Territories in India and complements lists published by Muller almost 50 years before this.


​Imperial Airways' Empire Flying Boat Services 1936 - 1939 researched and compiled by Peter Wingent. Published in 1997. Largely compiled from the Southern Daily Echo, Southampton. All reported information on the service including the Australia route which naturally passed through India, and peppered with maps and philatelic material.


Introducing Combi-Mail, Aerophilately History By Frans J. van Beveren. Published in May 1997. Combi-Mail: Airmail with added postal marking showing special postal service treatment.


Movement of Aircraft on Imperial Airways' Eastern Route, Volume 1, 1927 - 1937 researched and compiled by Peter Wingent. Published in 1999. Contains listings of all available information on every flight on the Imperial Airways Eastern Route taken from The Times newspapers archives. A must for studying Indian airmails of that era.


​Indian Air Mail Postage Rates until 1956 by Jeffrey Brown. Published in 2000 and also available digitally, this sister companion to Indian Airmails complements the study of the subject.

The Royal Air Force Cairo - Baghdad Air Mail Service 1921 - 1929 by William C. Andrews. Published in 2000. The Cairo - Baghdad Air Service was taken over by Imperial Airways in 1927. This book gives the history before this change. The pioneering effort of the RAF and plenty of information on mail carried. of interest to Indian Aerophilatelists because this was the vital air link needed to connect India by air to the west.


Schweizereisches Luftpost - Handbuch Ausgabe 2000, published by Verlag Multipress in 2000 in German, this catalogues all Swiss airmails. Many Swiss destinations are of importance to Indian aerophilatelists for mail to India, and this comprehensively lists them out.


Indian Airmails, Development and Operations (1911 - 1942) by Pradeep Jain. Published in 2002, this book is beautifully illustrated with very rare Indian Airmails from the authors prize winning collection.


​Air Crash Mail of Imperial Airways and Predecessor Airlines by Kendall C. Sanford. Published in 2003, the books complements Nierinck and contains plenty of photographs, press clippings and covers form the authors collection.


​Movement of Aircraft on Imperial Airways' Eastern Route, Volume 2, 1937 - 1939 researched and compiled by Peter Wingent. Published in 2005. Contains listings of all available information on every flight on the Imperial Airways Eastern Route taken from The Times newspapers archives. A must for studying Indian airmails of that era.


Indian Airmails 1947 - 2003 by Vijay Seth. (N.D.) An illustrated listing of stamps, flight covers, air letters, etc., related to Indian Airmails.


​O.A.T. and A.V.2 Markings - Third Edition. This 167 page book is the third edition, which provides comprehensive coverage of the O.A.T. and A.V.2 markings. A.V.2 & OAT markings related exclusively to airmail items and are known recorded between 1938 and 1974. By Murray Heifetz, Published in 2007, by American Air Mail Society.



The Australian Air Mail Catalogue by Nelson Eustis & Tom Frommer. Last published in 2008, this is the definitive source for listing of significant and collectable mail between India and Australia.


​India Post, The Journal of the India Study Circle for Philately 1950 - 2007. CD ROM published c. 2008 contains all back issues of the stated period. Unfortunately a little difficult to search, but literally a treasure trove of information.


​India Post, The Journal of the India Study Circle for Philately 2008 - 2012. CD ROM published c. 2013 contains all back issues of the stated period. Unfortunately a little difficult to search, but literally a treasure trove of information


Intercontinental Airmails, Volume Two, Asia and Australasia by Edward B. Proud. Published in 2009, this is Vol II which is the one relevant to Intercontinental Indian Airmail, of a three volume set he wrote with amazing detail about airmails; flights, schedules, postal rates, ship connections etc. From the start of airmails, and all the way through the war. Lots of information on wartime routes and rates as well.

​The Ross Smith Stamp & its Postal History by Tom Frommer. Published in 2011, this book has everything you want to about the stamp and mail on that flight. The author has tracked down and listed and illustrated to the extent possible every known mail article carried, including the very rarely seen mail to and from India.


​The Flight of the 'Old Carthusian' by Ed Wolf. Published in August 2012. The story of Handley Page V/1500, serial no.J1936. The First 'Through Flight' fron England to India, flwon by Major Archibald Stuart-MacLaren and Catain Robert Halley with Brigadier-General Norman MacEwen as passenger. 13 December 1918 to 23 January 1919. (Includes a summary of all known philatelic facts to date)


​Centenary of Indian Airmails 1911 - 2014 by Vijay Seth & J. R. Nanda. Published in 2014. This time with more text and many more images, going back to the pioneer flight era.


​Airmails across the Middle East 1918 - 1930 by Laurence Kimpton. The definitive study on the subject, listing all known mail and flights. The opening of this difficult route was a critical hurdle to be overcome before airmail to India could begin.


​Australasian Crash Mail and Other Incidents Volume One 1917 – 1930, by Brian R Peace FRPSL. Published March 2015


​The 1929 Airmail Stamps of India by Dipak, Priti and Markand Dave. Published in 2015, this is study of over 200 errors and varieties in this particular issue of airmail stamps in six values with over a decade of effort invested.


​India 1929 Air Mail Stamps by Rohit Prasad. Published in 2015, this is a very well presented book on the same subject. Many examples on cover make it all the more interesting.


​UK Taxe Marks for International Mail, 1875-2000. Usage and Listing by Ken Snelson. Published in 2007 with an update published in 2018. Very useful for Indian Airmails collectors.


​India 1935 Silver Jubilee Stamps by Nick Levinge and Rohit Prasad, published in 2018. This book deals with all aspects of this stamp set issue including very interesting Air Mail covers and Rocket Mail covers. Well illustrated and written-up.




​Jusqu'a Hand Stamps and Other Route Indications (2nd Edition) by Jan C. ter Welle, published in 2018.


​Airmails From, Through and to Singapore and Malaya - Vol.1. This book is a major contribution to the research on this very specialised aspect of the postal history of Singapore and Malaya. By Dr. Chua Eu Tiong, Published in July 2019, Produced by Prestige Label Pte Ltd.


​​Australasian Crash Mail and Other Incidents Volume Two 1931 – 1935, by Brian R Peace FRPSL. Published in September 2019


The Borton and Smith 1919 Aerodrome Survey and other Ross Smith related items of interest by Ed. Wolf. Published in 2019.


Indian Air Mail Postage Rates until 1956. By Jeffrey Brown, India Study Circle for Philately. 



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British West Africa and the French Air Mail Services to June 1940 by Barbara Priddy