Front:
ATES POSTA
25
U.S.MAIL
USMAR
SHINGTOR
IOR T
USMAL
NOV
19
FIRST MAN ONTHE MOON
1989
489
16
JULY 4S
16
20th Universal Postal Congress
20066
REGISTER
VOTE
Three Generations
of
Letter Carriers
PARCEL POST
STATES MAIL
Fest LernR (AIR
Chui Calle
DC
TRITED STATES
Back:
CLASSIC MAIL TRANSPORTATION
First Day of Issue: November 19, 1989
First Issue Location: Washington, D.C.
When the U.S. Postal Service proudly announced in 1895
that it had commissioned a newfangled auto truck for mail
delivery, more than a few eyebrows were raised. Never-
theless, in December of 1899 a shiny Winton motor
wagon with a “U.S. Mail” sign completed a rattling test
drive through the snow-covered streets of Cleveland,
Ohio. Even following the success of this run, the Postal
Service was hesitant to invest money in a delivery service
it wasn't sure would succeed on a mass scale. Finally,
after two trucks were successfully used to collect mail
from street letter boxes in Baltimore in 1906, the Postal
Service expanded use of the automobile, and by the mid-
1950's the automobile and motor truck had become
America's main form of mail transport. The cachet on this
Maximum Card traces three generations of letter carriers,
from a mailman of the 1890's, through a group with their
trusty mail wagon of the 1920's, to the reflective contem-
porary postal carrier who remembers them all.
No. 89-38
©1989 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation • Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Chris Calle
