1894 ONE OF A KIND 12L2 Fresno San Francisco Bicycle Mail Route BANTA Railroad

Description: Collectors of stamps, covers, railroadiana, bicycle ephemera and US history buffs! Rare, one-of-a-kind, an amazing piece of history. US Scott #12L2 (misspelling of San Fran corrected) the Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail Route 1894 July 10, 1894. Die No. 1 25¢ green with 1890 220 2¢ cancelled stamp. Back stamped with purple Jul. 10, 1894 "victor bicycle messenger service" Fresno and San Francisco with office date stamp with bicycle illustration. Possibly one-of-a-kind hand addressed to Arthur C. Banta the inspiration and owner of bicycle mail. Overall in wonderful condition, some surface creasing (no heavy creases, no folding), envelope is slit open on left side, tape/hinges on back. In July of 1894 the Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail was both a legitimate local service to transport the mail during the Pullman strike, which caused a postal failure. The Pullman strike started in May and escalated into a boycott by the American Railway Union which declared against all Pullman cars on June 26. The strike ended July 15, 1894, train service was quickly restored. Bicycles were all the rage at the time, Arthur Banta the initiator and inspiration behind bicycle mail owned the Victor Bicyclery store in Fresno and was active with the American Wheelman Co. in San Francisco. He set up a mail service between Fresno and San Francisco consisting of 8 bicycle relays to convey the mail over 210 miles. The service ran from July 7 through July 16. During this time, the Bicycle Mail Service reportedly carried 380 letters, 315 of which were stamped and 40 of which were in stamped envelopes, highly likely only 1 hand addresssed to Banta himself. The Fresno and San Francisco bicycle mail was both a legitimate local service to transport the mail during the Pullman strike, which caused a postal failure, in addition to being a philatelic adventure. For history buffs, this eventually led to the establishment of our Labor Day holiday.Please view the photographs in the listing carefully, they are to be considered part of the description. We are available 24/7/365 for questions or offers. We will ship within a few days of purchase and always pack carefully as people that are passionate about collectibles and knowing age and condition rule. We have 100% client satisfaction rating and take this business seriously. Thanks again for visiting and check out our store for other collectibles such as books, glass, trading cards, games, art or anything that strikes our eye while out sourcing for beautiful unique items. North*Star*Collectibles

Price: 2500 USD

Location: Newton Center, Massachusetts

End Time: 2024-05-08T17:52:21.000Z

Shipping Cost: 12.95 USD