A lovely piece of airline ephemera today. An Australian National Airways (ANA) Douglas DC-3 fold-out paper promotional item, offered by the Josef Lebovic Gallery here as part of a set.

It consist of a perspective painting of a DC-3 airliner in blue, with a red overprint featuring the Royal Mail cipher and the ANA tail marking. The reverse shows the route with a couple of tags encouraging use of the service … but then it opens to reveal even more offers of facilities aboard the flight.

From the internal evidence, I’d guess the flyer was offered to passengers before boarding, but I’d be interested if anyone knows more. It’s catalogued as: “In-flight card in the shape of a Douglas DC-3 plane, c1938. Letterpress and screenprint, 6 x 23.5cm. Text includes ‘It pays to fly. Your business trips take less time, your holidays are made longer.’ Douglas DC-3 aircraft were originally built for ANA in 1938.” A lovely little item, and like any such from the 1930s, potentially treasured at the time, but vulnerable to loss, making it rare.

James Kightly, Vintage Aero Writer.