Germany, 1959–1963 – Early DRG Rocket Mail, LUPOSTA and Special Airmail Services A collection presented on nine complete album pages, combining early Deutsche Raketen-Gesellschaft (DRG) experimental rocket-mail material with balloon mail, exhibition covers and special airmail services. The lot contains 12 covers/postcards, three private rocket-mail vignette souvenir sheets and two additional loose postage stamps, together with explanatory material and press cuttings. DETAILED CONTENTS - LUPOSTA Köln 1959 – SABENA Düsseldorf–Brussels special-flight cover Illustrated LUPOSTA envelope with aircraft and Cologne Cathedral design, mixed German and Berlin franking and Köln LUPOSTA cancellations dated 20 August 1959. Red SABENA cachet identifies the Düsseldorf–Brussels special flight of 21 August 1959. Addressed poste restante to Brussels, with a “T” marking, manuscript annotations and a bilingual “Retour à l’envoyeur / Terug aan afzender” label. - LUPOSTA Köln 1959 – Balloon-mail cover Matching illustrated LUPOSTA envelope, franked with two 10 Pfennig Evangelischer Kirchentag stamps. Bears a pictorial “LUPOSTA BALLON – 25. AUG. 1959” cachet and a Bad Godesberg postal cancellation. Addressed to Grünstadt/Pfalz. - Forty years of German airmail – 1959 commemorative cover Cover franked with a Berlin Theodor Mommsen stamp and bearing the commemorative machine-cancellation slogan “40 Jahre Deutsche Luftpost – 6.2.1919–6.2.1959”, with an aircraft illustration. Accompanied by a typed explanation on the album page. - Sahlenburg, May 1959 – DRG vignette souvenir sheet Yellow souvenir sheet bearing two printed rocket-mail vignettes, numbered 1 and 2, in blue and red. Inscribed “POSTRAKETEN-VERSUCHSSTART”, “SAHLENBURG”, “MAI 1959” and “DEUTSCHE RAKETEN-GESELLSCHAFT”. Mounted above a press cutting illustrating the rocket launch and parachute recovery. - DRG first experimental series – Projectiles 1–5 Specially printed rocket-mail cover with a blue May 1959 DRG vignette, a blue circular Sahlenburg rocket-carriage cachet and Cuxhaven postal cancellation. The envelope identifies the first experimental series and is addressed to the Interposta 1959 youth committee in Hamburg. - DRG second experimental series – Projectiles 6–10 Companion cover with a red May 1959 DRG vignette, red “BEFÖRDERT MIT POSTRAKETE – DRG – MAI 1959” cachet and Cuxhaven cancellation. The printed heading identifies the second experimental series. A press illustration showing rocket heads being filled with postcards is mounted between the two covers. - DRG third experimental series – 1 November 1959 Cover headed “POST-RAKETENVERSUCHSSTART DER PROJEKTILE 11–15”, with a horizontal rocket vignette numbered 1, Berlin 20 Pfennig franking, Cuxhaven DRG cancellation dated 1 November 1959 and a red rocket-carriage cachet. Addressed to the Ring Hamburger Philatelisten-Jugend. - An accompanying DRG explanatory notice, also dated 1 November 1959, is mounted above the cover. DRG fourth experimental series – Landing-damage cachet Companion cover for projectiles 16–20, with a vertical rocket vignette numbered 2, 10 Pfennig Europa franking and Cuxhaven DRG cancellation dated 1 November 1959. Bears a red rocket-carriage cachet and the blue-green marking “Bei der Landung Versuchs-Rakete beschädigt”, recording damage to the experimental rocket during landing. - November 1959 – DRG four-vignette souvenir sheet Souvenir sheet containing four rocket vignettes in an alternating arrangement of designs numbered 1 and 2. Inscribed “POSTRAKETEN-START”, “NOVEMBER 1959” and “DEUTSCHE RAKETEN-GESELLSCHAFT”. - Rocket mail and Boeing 707 flight to New York – 17 March 1960 Cover addressed to the Hobbies Committee, People to People Program, New York, with two Berlin 15 Pfennig stamps and a DRG rocket-mail vignette. Markings include: “GEFLOGEN MIT RAKETE / FLOWN BY ROCKET”. “MIT FLUG LH 420 A ‘BOEING 707’ – Hamburg–Frankfurt–New York”. A red first-flight cachet dated 17 March 1960. “Fallschirmversager, bei Landung beschädigt”, indicating parachute failure and damage on landing. - Hamburg–New York, March 1960 – Four-vignette souvenir sheet Yellow-brown sheet containing four matching DRG vignettes combining rocket, aircraft and city motifs. Marginal inscriptions refer to the experimental postal rocket and the Boeing 707 service LH 420 A, Hamburg–New York, on 17 March 1960. - Hannover-Linden – Hermann Oberth commemorative postcard Postcard addressed to Kurt Dahmann in Berlin, with 15 Pfennig Theodor Heuss franking and two clear Hannover-Linden DRG cancellations dated 19 September 1963, inscribed “STIFTUNG HERMANN OBERTH PREIS”. - SAS Hamburg–Copenhagen special-service cover Airmail cover franked with 15 and 20 Pfennig Theodor Heuss stamps. Bears Hamburg “1. TAG DER ASTROPHILATELIE” cancellations and a “SAS SPECIAL SERVICE SK 622 – HAMBURG–COPENHAGEN” cachet dated 22 September 1963. Addressed poste restante to the DRG at Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup. - First Day of Astrophilately – Hamburg, September 1963 Illustrated cover with an orange rocket-launch panel, DRG congress cachet and Hamburg cancellations dated 22 September 1963. The printed design refers to the First Day of Astrophilately and the meeting held at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce on 20–22 September 1963. - Lufthansa Hamburg–Paris flight LH 144 – 21 September 1963 Illustrated airmail cover featuring the Eiffel Tower, with floral and bird charity stamps. Bears the blue-green cachet “BEFÖRDERT MIT FLUG LH 144 – HAMBURG–PARIS – 21.9.1963” and a Hamburg rocket-and-spaceflight meeting cancellation. Addressed to the DRG care of the Fédération Internationale d’Astronautique in Paris. ADDITIONAL MATERIAL One loose 15 Pfennig Theodor Heuss stamp, mounted on page 0031. One loose 20 Pfennig Theodor Heuss stamp, mounted alongside it. The nine album pages retain their explanatory texts, the mounted DRG notice and press cuttings shown in the photographs. IMPORTANT COLLECTING DETAILS The rocket-mail souvenir sheets and supplementary rocket labels are private DRG vignettes, distinct from the official postage stamps used for postal franking. The landing-failure markings described above are inscriptions visible on the items. They should be distinguished from the present physical condition of each cover. CONDITION AND PRESENTATION Mixed condition, with age-related paper toning, creases, handling marks and other imperfections visible in the photographs. Some items bear return labels or manuscript postal annotations. The yellow May 1959 souvenir sheet has a visible horizontal fold. The material remains mounted on nine complete album pages. Nothing needs to be cut from the pages. Please examine both the overview and the individual page photographs carefully. The photographs form an integral part of the description. All material on the nine pages described above is included. Carefully packed for safe shipment. I can combine the shippings strictly following the Catawiki rules. IMPORTANT INFO: Following a recent change in international sector regulations, specifically Articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Postal Convention, starting from January 1, 2026, it will no longer be possible to send items (goods with or without commercial value) using International Registered and International Insured services, which will continue to be used exclusively for sending documents. It means that starting from January 1st, 2026, I will ship abroad only by "POSTE DELIVERY INTERNATIONAL