India Aerophilately Collection of Lady Rachel (Sassoon) Ezra of Calcutta

Airplanes, Flying Boats, Crashes, Earthquakes, Monsoons, Pigeons, Air Taxis and Rockets

Flying Boats

Crashes

Earthquakes

Pigeons

Air Taxis

Rockets

Airplanes

This is an overview of a remarkable collection of India Aerophilately assembled in India between 1930 and 1945. The collector was Lady Ezra of Calcutta and she seemed to enjoy all things air mail related sent to, from and through India. The collection is being sold at our Sale #30 at www.romanoauctions.com . This section of the auction is about 120 lots comprising over 250 pieces from this collecting area. As I was initially examining the collection I noticed that not only were almost all the covers signed by noted aerophilatelist Stephen Smith, they were also almost all addressed to Sir David Ezra or Lady Rachel Ezra. I am grateful for the internet at times like these, and was able to piece together a brief biography of the collector.

Sir David Ezra (1874-1952) was born into a leading Jewish family in Calcutta. His parents and grandparents had prospered in their business in India. The family owned a large amount of real estate and they established a tradition of philanthropy by building hospitals, synagogues, etc. He married Rachel Sassoon of the Bombay Sassoon dynasty and the couple stepped into a leadership role in Calcutta. Sir David was named the Sheriff of Calcutta and both of them received various honors and titles from Great Britain and the Indian government. 

At some point the couple became acquainted with Stephen Smith. Smith was an early experimental Rocketeer (his second rocket was named The David Ezra). Smith was also the secretary of the Indian Airmail Society on Elliot Road in Calcutta and it was through him, I believe, that Lady Ezra became a collector. She was meticulous about clipping from newspapers regarding whatever cover she received and wrote them up on pre-printed pages designed for flight covers. She used her connections around the world to have covers addressed to herself or her husband (c/o whoever she knew at a given destination) and must have talked about the collection in her circle of acquaintances. The enclosure with one crash cover from an officer stationed at the Viceroy Camp said that he hoped the envelope would fit into her collection. It also had some newspaper clippings. For the auction we put 3 ' "Cygnus' crash covers together with the additional material.

Here is everything that is included in (lot 866)

For me it is always a pleasure when research material is included with a collection. It made this one quite interesting to break down. There was also some things which I found quite amusing. Stephen Smith seems to have had quite a good sense of humor. He named one of his Rockets "Miss Fortune" and had covers which had a number of clever markings. Here are a few of these from Lady Ezra's collection:

 

 

 

Nice Elephant

Lot 841

 

 

 

 

 

Cargo of fish

Lot 842

 

 

 

 

 

"The one armed Parachutist"

Lot 852

 

 

 

 

 

 

"MISS CREEPY" My favorite

Lot 908

 

 

As you have probably guessed, I very much enjoyed working on this collection. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions or would like more information.

 

George Bailey

gbailey15@gmail.com

www.romanoauctions.com