Fascinating - such a great variety! I have quite a number of aerographs, and they make interesting reading/ viewing, especially when the author had time on his hands to create amazing illustrations! I've also a blank one, which may be of interest, as attached below, which allows the reverse to be seen. Airgraphs arose because there was always a great demand from troops away from home to send and receive mail. The quantity of conventional mail sent was large and was subject to delays, loss, and restrictions due to more pressing demands on transport available. The need to reduce the volume led to miniaturisation, the system called Airgraphs in Britain, and V-mail in the U.S., being introduced. Standard Airgraph forms were available to troops abroad, and from the Post Office for members of the public in Britain. The form was a sheet of paper approximately 8½” wide by 11” high with a dedicated box for the address at the top, below which was a space for the sender’s name and address. The remainder of the form below was plain, and could be used for a message or illustration. On the reverse of the form there were instructions on how to complete the form and a space for a stamp. Overseas forces were able to use the airgraph free of charge, but those in Britain were required to apply a postage stamp - the one above already seems to have been stamped, so assumed to be purchased in the Britain for sending, but never completed and sent. Some forms could be purchased in standardised designs, such as the Christmas cards with illustrations as posted on this thread. The completed forms were processed at dedicated locations where they were photographed onto 16 mm film. Each film had a capacity of 1,700 airgraph forms, and weighed little more than 150 grams in its container when complete, the equivalent weight of conventional letters being approximately 22 kilos. The processed film was then sent by air to its destination country, where at a dedicated processing location the film was used to generate copies of the original onto sensitised paper, each resultant airgraph measuring approximately 5½” by 4”. The reduction in size compared with the original meant that typewritten text could not be read, so original forms had to be created using large and bold handwriting. The reproduced form was folded after processing and placed in a window envelope specifically produced for airgraphs, the addressee's name and address being displayed in the window. All processed airgraphs were, therefore, folded approximately one third of the way down the page. The airgraph service began in August 1941. By the end of May, 1942 over ten million had been sent between overseas troops and Britain, the saving in weight compared with conventional airmail being in the order of 100 tons, the weight of film used being less than one ton. The service continued until July 1945, when it was estimated that approximately 330 million messages had been sent.
this weekend had the opportunity to look through a box of long lost family stuff which included bits and pieces for my GP's time in India - including some airgraphs .. something I know nothing about
