This book is a must-have for anyone interested in airmail markings, postal history, or philately. I strongly recommend it to collectors, researchers, and institutions seeking to add a valuable resource to their library.

The study also aids in detecting forgeries, as McQueen includes detailed measurements and ink analyses.

McQueen’s central thesis is compelling: the Jusqu’à marking is not merely a technical annotation but a “diplomatic gesture in ink.” It emerged from a fundamental logistical problem in the 1920s and 1930s: how to integrate new, faster air routes with existing, slower surface mail networks. When a letter traveled from, say, London to Sydney, it might go by train to Marseille, then by air to Cairo, then by ship to Bombay, then by air again to Singapore. The Jusqu’à marking indicated the specific point up to which air conveyance was paid for or authorized. Beyond that point, the mail reverted to surface transport unless further paid. McQueen masterfully demonstrates that these markings are therefore a cartography of limitations—showing exactly where the sky ended and the sea began.

While not a price list, McQueen’s scarcity ratings (Rare, Very Scarce, Common) are the basis for all modern pricing. A cover with a Jusqu’à Saigon marking (rated ‘Extremely Rare’ by McQueen) recently sold at a David Feldman auction for over €4,000. A common Jusqu’à Natal on a late 1930s cover might bring $150-$300.

McQueen divided these markings into specific types, such as "mute" parallel bars, crosses, and explicit text-based stamps like "Jusqu’à Londres" (As far as London).

Forgeries of Jusqu’à markings exist. Unscrupulous sellers have added fake handstamps to common surface mail to inflate value. McQueen’s study includes detailed diagrams of genuine lettering, spacing, and ink colors. For example, he noted that genuine “Jusqu’à Casablanca” handstamps from 1929 have a distinctive broken ‘A’ in Casablanca —a die flaw that forgers miss.

Books by Ian McQueen (Author of Telling Tales About Dementia)