Basil Smith: Mail Wagon 1880s

Artist: Basil Smith
1925 -
Nationality: British
Artwork Year: 1981
Image Size: 6 by 7 inches
Overall Size: 9 by 10 inches
Medium: Mixed Media on Hot Press Illustration Board

During the first half of the 19th century, a period of great metropolitan growth, the United States Post Office encountered many new and often unique problems in mail handling. For example, the growth of the cities and suburban areas rendered the traditional method of dispersing the mail through railroad terminals inadequate. Thus, a new and more efficient system of distributing mail was desperately needed. The answer was the mail wagon. While mail wagons existed in small numbers before 1863, that year marked the beginning of free delivery to many homes and businesses -- a service that required a large number of mail wagons. Mail wagons served the Postal Service well and for a very long time. Many continued in use on rural routes well into the twentieth century. The mail wagon depicted in this artwork is a typical mail wagon of the 1880's. By the early decades of the twentieth century, motorized vehicles replaced the mail wagons in larger communities. Still, this wagon strikes a nostalgic chord for the U.S. Post Office for it recalls a simpler time before transporting the mail became the complicated business it is today.

This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover of the U.S. 9.3¢ Mail Wagon 1880s stamp issued December 15, 1981.

Artwork Copyright © 1981 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB07194

US$ Price: $1,025.00

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