THE POSTAL HISTORY OF ICAO

 

Errors in the emblem of the Organization

 

 

One of the unofficial emblems

 

First official emblem

 

Second official emblem

Third official emblem

The origin and history of the emblem chosen by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is fully described in special chapters of this postal history of ICAO. The purpose of this chapter is to show how the emblem was misused in the ICAO philatelic collection.

 

Major milestones in this emblem are reminded hereafter for easy reference:

  1. From 1946 until 1956: use of various early and unofficial emblems.
  2. The first official emblem was adopted by the 10th Session of the Assembly, held in Caracas, Venezuela, in June/July 1956.
  3. The second official emblem was adopted by the 21st Session of the Assembly, held in Montreal, Canada, in September/October 1974. This new version incorporated the initials of the Organization in Cyrillic alphabet.
  4. The third official emblem was adopted at the 31st Session of the Assembly held in Montreal, Canada, in September/October 1995. This new version recognized the introduction of Arabic and Chinese as working languages of the Organization.

 

Errors in the ICAO emblem may come from the use of an emblem no longer current at the time of release of stamps or covers, or from a misunderstanding of the design concepts of the emblem. Several examples are provided hereafter.

 

Correct design of the ICAO emblem (without the acronyms)

 

Cameroon – 15 March 1967 - 20th Anniversary of ICAO

The ICAO emblem must include four concentric circles. The design on the stamp and the cover displays only three circles. The outer circle of the emblem is not a perfect circumference. In fact, in the lower part of the emblem, there should be two portions of circle.

             

Turkey - 4 April 1977 - 30th Anniversary of ICAO

Whereas the cancel shows the appropriate emblem for that time, the cachet shows an early-unofficial emblem in use for some time in 1954 and 1955, with longer wings set lower on the globe than on the current emblem.

 

Equatorial Guinea – 24 October 1975 - 30th Anniversary of the United Nations

The ICAO emblem shown on this souvenir sheet is an early unofficial emblem in use for some time in 1954 and 1955, with longer wings set lower on the globe than on the current emblem.

 

     

Belgium (1958), Antigua and Barbuda (1985)

The ICAO emblem shown here above is an early unofficial emblem in use for some time in 1954 and 1955, with longer wings set lower on the globe than on the current emblem.

 

Indonesia - 7 December 1984 - 40th Anniversary of ICAO

The wings on the right-side seem to be longer than on the left-side (difference of approximately 2mm.), resulting from the off-centered position of those wings.

 

Romania - 7 December 1994 - 50th Anniversary of ICAO - Postal Stationery

The wreath of branches of olive-tree is shown over the wings, when, in fact, the ICAO emblem depicts the wings over the branches of olive-tree. Moreover, the olive wreath appears flattened in its lower part. Finally, the eight diagonals should not reach the center of the circle.

 

Bolivia – 4 December 1995 - 50th Anniversary of ICAO

Poor design of the ICAO emblem:

  1. The inner side of the two wings is stopped right at the outer circle, which distorts the horizontal diagonal.
  2. The outer circle is broken down in two places, in its lower part.
  3. The representation of the continents is somewhat simplified.  

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