Mcqueen [best] | Jusqu-a Airmail Markings- A Study Ian

The Jusqu’à marking is one of the most intriguing and often misunderstood features of early international airmail. Derived from the French "Jusqu’à" meaning "as far as" or "up to," these handstamps or labels indicated the point up to which surface postage had been prepaid, after which airmail surcharges applied.

McQueen identifies two common forgery types:

Text enclosed in rectangular frames, common in European transit offices like Paris, Zurich, and Amsterdam.

For those interested in adding these volumes to their library, specialist dealers like Phila Art or HH Sales often stock copies, though they are increasingly rare and valued by researchers. Legacy in Philately Jusqu-a Airmail Markings- A Study Ian McQueen

: Does the marking align with known air service suspensions, line interruptions, or historical events (such as route changes during World War II)?

The book is frequently cited in auction descriptions and philatelic literature. For example, a cover from Kuwait to Switzerland in 1945 bears red bars that Ian McQueen’s study identifies as a London roller cancel used from 1945 to 1947. Without McQueen’s meticulous documentation, such a marking might remain a mystery.

To understand the value of Ian McQueen’s study, one must understand why "Jusqu'à" markings existed in the first place. During the 1920s through the 1950s, global air routes were expanding rapidly but were far from comprehensive. Airmail required a premium fee (an air surcharge) paid via stamps. The Jusqu’à marking is one of the most

Upon its publication, the study was hailed as “a ground‑breaking study on this previously neglected field of aerophilately”. It was, in the words of one reviewer, “the first book I am aware of that shows all known air mail markings from various countries, to indicate that a letter was to be carried part way or to a particular point by air”. By bringing together scattered information from numerous sources and presenting it in a coherent, country‑by‑country format, McQueen effectively created a new sub‑specialty within aerophilately.

Ian McQueen’s study provides the first comprehensive taxonomy of Jusqu’à markings used between 1928 and 1945, focusing on their application, formats, and routes.

Certain geographic bottlenecks generated a massive volume of jusqu'à mail. Understanding these hubs is critical for any collector analyzing a cover. For those interested in adding these volumes to

During the early decades of flight (roughly 1919 to the mid-1950s), air routes were not always comprehensive. A sender might pay for airmail to a final destination, but the plane might only fly half the way.

Only two years after the original study appeared, McQueen published a Supplement that was, remarkably, longer than the main book. The supplement runs to iii + 163 pages, compared to the original’s iii + 109 pages. According to one specialist bookseller, the supplement contained “such a wealth of new information that it actually has more pages than the original study”. The supplement is comb‑bound like the main volume, and some copies show “a few amendments pasted to pages”, suggesting that McQueen continued to update his findings even after publication. Together, the two volumes represent the most comprehensive reference work on Jusqu’à markings ever compiled.

: The destination country or city lacked a functioning airfield or an active airmail agreement with the originating nation.