This is an unaddressed souvenir card commemorating the 50th anniversary of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin Pan-American Flight, featuring a special pictorial postmark from Essen, West Germany.
Event Commemorated: 50th Anniversary of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin America Flight (Amerika-Rundfahrt).
Postmarks: Cancelled in Essen 1 on November 19, 1980, with a pictorial postmark showing a Zeppelin flying over a city skyline. The cancel was applied for the 3rd International USA Stamp Exhibition.
Cachet Design: Features a photograph of the LZ 127 moored in Pernambuco, Brazil. Below it is a purple reproduction of the historic May 28, 1930 "Syndicato Condor Ltda / Recife" Zeppelin airmail flight cachet (marked as an "Erinnerungsstempel" or commemorative stamp).
Postage: Franked with a 5-pfennig Deutsche Bundespost satellite stamp.
Publisher: Philatelistisches Büro Rau, Friedrichshafen.
In May 1930, the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin undertook its famous Pan-American flight (also known as the South American Flight). Departing Germany, the airship stopped in Seville, Spain, before crossing the Atlantic to Recife (Pernambuco) and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It then flew north to Lakehurst, New Jersey, before returning to Seville and finally its home base in Friedrichshafen. This historic triangular voyage demonstrated the feasibility of regular transatlantic passenger and mail airship service, firmly establishing the LZ 127 as a global aviation icon.
This is a clean, highly visual piece for collectors of Zeppelin postal history, aerophilately, and aviation topicals.