Lot 685 Used to Isle of White: 1934, King George V re-engraved ?Seahorse?, 2s6d chocolate brown and 1935, King George V (photogravure), 3d violet tied on flown Registered Clipper envelope

This was flown on the first official New Zealand airmail to the United States. The mail left Auckland for San Francisco on Pan American Airways? Samoan Clipper (a Sikorsky S-42B flying boat commanded by Captain Ed Musick .
The flight crossed the International Date Line and when Musick arrived in Pago Pago, American Samoa, where it was until 1 January before flying to an uninhabited atoll 1700 km south of Hawaii to meet a schooner with supplies. On 3 January, the Samoan Clipper arrived in Honolulu, where the mail was transferred to a Martin 130 flying boat to arrive in San Francisco on 6 January.
On the return trip from Pago Pago on January 11th Musick?s plane reported an oil leak, the plane caught fire and exploded. There were no survivors.
Perhaps a unique use of a Seahorse as a forwarder on a historically significant flight.