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1950 Japanese Airmail Cover from Otaru to San Francisco for
Captain of American President Line's S/S "President Pierce," then
Numerous forwarding details applied to cover in U.S. . . .

Japan Scott #477 & #C11 (x2). The total franking postage is 144 Yen.

1950 Japanese Airmail Cover from Otaru, Japan to Ship Captain in San Francisco, California. The Yuasa Company (TYC) of Otaru, Japan sent its airmail envelope to Capt. F.P. Willarts, c/o American President Lines, San Francisco, California with 144 Yen postage affixed [two 59 Yen airmail stamps (Scott #C11) and one 24 Yen 1949 UPU 75th Anniversary commemorative stamp (Scott 477)]. Reasonable offers will be considererd.

On the back of the envelope, Yuasa has rubber-stamped its company seal [“YUASA LUMBER INDUSTRIES CO. LTD. / TYC (in a rhombus) / OTARU, JAPAN”], along with an internal mailing date of “JUN -8 1950.” On mailing in Japan, the cover was canceled twice with “Otaru 小樽 / 25 6 8” [Otaru June 8, 1950 (Showa year 25, 6th month, 8th day]. Also stamped on front of the envelope in a black rectangle is "AIR MAIL / PAR AVION."

The cover was received in San Francisco by the American President Lines (APL) and back-stamped: “MAIL ROOM / A.P.L. REC / 1950 JUN 17 AM / TO / MR ________ / DEPT. __ .” There, S/S “Pres. Pierce” was written in black ink on the front of the envelope, and the cover was internally forwarded by APL to its ship, the S/S "President Pierce", now in Port in San Francisco.

On delivery to the S/S “President Pierce,” an officer or crew member wrote on the cover in black ink: “On vacation” and "6018 Burlingame Ave." / "Richmond, Calif." where the addressee Capt. Willarts would be found. [While the “ship name” written in A.P.L.'s mailed room and the “on vacation” information written at the ship are both in black ink, they were written by different persons. The most obvious differences in handwriting can be seen by comparing the “e” ending the word “Pierce” with the two “e's” ending the words “Burlingame” and “Ave.”]

The envelope would then go back through internal processes to APL's mail room, which then crossed out the original APL address to avoid any future confusion and typed three times in red on the front: “FORWARD TO:” to emphasize the new Richmond, California vacation for the post office to further postal delivery.

APL then placed the cover back in the U.S. mail stream, with the Post Office acknowledging its receipt by canceling the back of the envelope with “SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. 2 / JUN 23 / 2 PM / 1950” as part of its slogan cancel: “HIRE THE HANDICAPPED / IT'S GOOD BUSINESS.”

The S/S. "President Pierce" was built by Western Pipe & Steel in San Francisco, California and delivered post-war on September 18, 1945, originally as a C3-S-A2 design cargo ship and named the “Sea Jumper,” but modified to the A4 standard for the demands of the American President Lines (APL) which purchased it in 1947 and named the cargo liner the “President Pierce.” Western Pipe built five others of these A4 design cargo ships in San Francisco, the President Taft, President Grant, President Madison, President McKinley, and President Jefferson. We have provided a scan of the A4 design cargo ships.

On February 14, 1953, the Commander Naval Forces, Far East, released a photograph (see scan) and caption: “Navy Battles to Save U.S. Merchantman / The American President Line freighter President Pierce lists precariously in Yokohama Harbor, Japan, after Navy firemen had pumped tons of water into her burning holds. Alongside the President Pierce are commercial and Navy tugs and, in the background, other Navy ships stand by for possible need.” While en route to Japan with military cargo, the S/S “President Pierce” caught fire when acetylene tanks exploded in one of her holds. Note fire damage to her midships superstructure. Forwardmost ship alongside the President Pierce's starboard side is the U.S. Army tug LT-356. Also present are a U.S. Navy harbor tug and several small craft. A Japanese Maritime Safety Agency patrol vessel is in the distant right. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the All Hands collection at the Naval History and Heritage Command and not part of this lot. The S/S "President Pierce" was in active service until 1973 when she was scrapped as APL moved on into container cargo ships.

Free local pickup at a mutually agreeable time, or we ship by U.S. Postal Service with USPS Tracking by close of the next postal business day from payment. Shipping includes full value insurance. We can often consolidate other items purchased from us the same day into the same package with this cover to save you shipping costs.

NOTICE: Since insurance covers only the goods but not the costs of shipping them, the buyer agrees that once we have proof of delivery of the package to the post office (which is usually the postal receipt we receive from the postal window clerk at the time of mailing), that if the package or its contents is lost in the mails and not delivered or is damaged in shipping that any refund is limited to the purchase price and any sales tax (if applicable) and does not include a refund of the shipping or insurance. For international buyers, we label our customs tags as "merchandise" and you are responsible for all customs, duties or other import fees into your country.