The Garay stamps were issued for the purpose of creating an insurance fund for the aviator Garay who was planning a non-stop flight from New York to Tegucigalpa. They never became popular in Honduras for two reasons. The proposed flight never took place. The face value of the stamp is too great for ordinary postal use. Thus mailed covers are very scarce. Most in the market are canceled to order and never passed through the mail.
The Garay issue is not an airmail issue. It is perhaps a semi-postal. Its purpose was to raise money for a Garay flight and had no legitimate value as postage.
1929 Airmails
FIRST FLIGHT TO MIAMI SURCHARGE - Type A
Intended for use for the first airmail flight between Tela on the north coast and Miami, Florida. It was first used on the first such flight, September 27, 1929. Flight was delayed a week from the cancellation date on covers (September 21) because of weather.
Issued September 15, 1929
The 1924 regular issue was surcharged in very very dark blueish black.
FIRST FLIGHT TO TELA SURCHARGE - Type B
Issued on October 6, 1929. Intended for the first flight from Tegucigalpa to Tela. The flight was planned for October 7, 1929 and first flight covers bear that date. However, the flight was delayed until October 15. Surcharged in sheets of 50. There are no legitimate varieties.
The three surcharges mailed in January of the next year. The BH50 bar cancel and D cancel were very common.
LAST 1929 SURCHARGE - Types C and D
Find out more about the Type C surcharge and pricing.
Find out more about the Type D surcharge and pricing.
Issued December 10, 1929, they were surcharged in black or red. There are no legitimate varieties.
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Anderson Collection
David Field's Priced Catalogue of Air Mail Stamps of the World 1932. London 1932.
The Garay Issue of Honduras by John Myer in The American Philatelist February, 1944 pps 359-361.
The Legitimacy of the Central American Airlines Service by Carlos Rosa in the The Oxcart, December, 2000.
Borcsok collection of Honduran Provisionals.
3/2022