‘Lightweight Paper Letter’

it’s an aerogramme or air letter - a letter form on lightweight paper, with an imprinted stamp and gummed flaps, that was used for airmail correspondence to other countries all over the world.

Aerogrammes used to be very common, and I remember seeing a lot of them as a child as my parents had many friends in the USA dating from the time they had lived there. 

They were particularly popular in the years after the war.  By far the cheapest way to send an international letter, people often went to extreme lengths to make best use of airmail correspondence space available including writing in different colours, in different directions, and printing on the sheets  minimising font size and margins. 

However, with the decline in postal services generally, their use gradually declined and - if you’ve been wondering why you haven’t seen any recently - they were discontinued over 10 years ago.

This one was sent to me in 1968 and weighs less than 2.5 grams.