Our second clue, of Sunday the 22nd of March, was the red herring, for, in America, coffee is often called "a cup of joe". And this German card is certainly an attractive one, by Julius Roever of Braunschweig.
There are many theories as to why coffee is called joe, and I am not sure I believe any of them. The most popular are that it comes from a combination of the two words java and mocha - that it was a drink for the working class, the men of which, in American slang, are known as Joes - or that during the First World War the Secretary of the American Navy banned alcohol but would allow coffee, and his name was Josephus Daniels. The last story seems the most plausible, and it also gives us another variant Josephus, for Joe.
I could have had anything for coffee, and perhaps I ought to have found an American card, but I knew I would have fun with this airship the moment I saw it. I also thought I may be able to tie it to an actual flight and get a date, but so far I have not. The only one that comes close is the 1931 trip to Rome of LZ.127, or the "Graf Zeppelin", however that took off from Friedrichshafen, not London, and landed at Ciampino Airport in Rome. However it did land at the London Air Park in Hanworth, twice, on the 18th of August 1931, and on the 2nd of July 1932. I have not been able yet to find out anything about the first visit, but the second was part of a round - Britain tour, and on both visits there was a chance for any general public in the area to pay and have a joy ride.
These cards just look a bit too early for either of those trips. And perhaps it was more akin to gentle propaganda, dreaming of a trip that would start in London and end in Rome.
The set is usually said to be of twelve cards, and I have to say they are very attractive ones indeed, with lovely colouring. However, it appears, by the wording to the bottom left of the border, to have been issued in two parts, Serie 5547 being cards one to six and Serie 5548 being cards seven to twelve.
The cards in the set, or two sets, are
- Vor der Abfahrt in London
- Abschied von London
- Begegnung uber dem Kanal. Die Kuste von Frankreich in Sicht
- Das Luftschiff in Antwerpen
- Das Luftshiff uber Koln */Rhein
- Das Luftschiff auf der Rheinfahrt bei Caub und der Pfalz
- Das Luftschiff uber dem Rheinfall bei Schaffhausen
- Nachtlicht Begegnung im der Schweiz. Vierwaldstatter See und Seelisburg
- Bei Sonnenaufgang uber dem Luganer See
- Ankunft in Mailand
- Ankunft in Florenz
- Vor der Landung in Rom