Michael Garland: Rural Free Delivery - Horse-drawn Mail Wagon

Artist: Michael Garland
1952 -
Nationality: American
Artwork Year: 1996
Image Size: 12 by 14 inches
Overall Size: 15 by 17.75 inches
Medium: Oil on Cold Press Illustration Board

Rural Free Delivery began in 1896 when rural residents in three small West Virginia towns first began receiving home mail delivery. According to the U.S. Postal Service, RFD is "a cornerstone of today's Postal Service, and a fixture of American life. Along the way it's opened up new avenues of commerce and communication, stimulated the development of the great American system of roads and highways, and established a vital link between industrial and rural America." Americans are familiar with the legendary 'service with a smile' that rural carriers render daily as 'post offices on wheels' to more than 24 million customers over 54,000 rural routes across the nation. But it wasn't always that way. Pioneer America had little in the way of postal service due to the isolation of communities and lack of developed roads. Much of the early mail was from settlers to relatives in Europe or elsewhere. Letters destined for overseas were often entrusted to captains of merchant ships. What little domestic mail there was, was hand-carried by whoever happened to be heading in the right direction and agreed to take it. Regardless of how it was moved, final delivery to the addressee depended largely on luck and chance.

This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the U.S. 32¢ Rural Free Delivery stamp issued August 7, 1996.

Artwork Copyright © 1996 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): XB15535

US$ Price: $2,000.00

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