One of the truly remarkable collections donated to the American Philatelic Research Library is the Daniel Hines Air Mail & Aviation Research Papers.

As a young man, Daniel Hines developed an interest in the US Air Mail Service while watching the planes come and go past his family farm near the Bellefonte Air Mail Field. His older brother, Ellis Hines, worked as a mechanic at the Bellefonte field and both he and Dan had the opportunity to spend time with several of the pilots and personnel assigned to, or passing through that station.

Ellis Hines standing far right

After service in the military, Dan continued to pursue his interests, acquiring his pilot’s license and later, working for the US Postal Service. He became a member of the Air Mail Pioneers, an organization dedicated to the former employees of the US Air Mail Service (AMS) which operated from 1918-1927. In the late 1950’s he began in earnest to gather information about the early days of the AMS. By corresponding with pilots and the relatives as well as various organizations and agencies, he was able to gather a considerable amount of data.

Upon his passing, Daniel Hines bequeathed his research papers to his nephew, Robert Hines of Bellefonte.

Daniel Hines

 At his direction Dan’s materials and manuscripts were archived and donated by Robert to the APRL so that they might be preserved and appreciated by future generations of air mail researchers. We are reminded of this extraordinary collection and donation to the APRL upon the news of Robert Hines’ passing at his home in Bellefonte on Wednesday, August 25, 2021. Robert and the Hines family were instrumental in not only donating the research collection to the library, but also in organizing and processing the collection.

Pilots Log Book from the Hines Collection

Donations such as these are the foundation of the APRL’s archival collection and provide a wealth of information for future researchers.