Vintage Pickups Haul the Mail

The U.S. Postal Service acknowledges America’s enduring love of trucks.

byDavid Traver Adolphus|
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They’re our workhorses and utility knives, our instigators and off-road accomplices, a national automotive identity: Nobody loves pickup trucks like we love pickup trucks. To celebrate, the United States Postal Service has commissioned illustrator Chris Lyons (whose work has appeared in Road & Track, among other places) to produce four stamps commemorating what’s been the first Century of the Truck.

Lyons hit icons from four decades, the Thirties through the Sixties, an era when designs changed yearly. His selections? The 1938 International Harvester D-2; the 1948 Ford F-1; the 1953 Chevrolet 3100; and the 1965 Ford F-100. Both Fords and an I-H made our list of the 10 best vintage pickup trucks under $12k. The illustrations are really well done, crisp and in Lyons’ and distinctive style.

Our only gripe with the new USPS stamps is a conspicuous lack of Dodge, Plymouth, Studebaker, Reo and Jeep. That’s leaving out a huge slice of history. Still, there’s no reason there couldn’t be another series (there’s no release date for these yet, beyond “2016”). We’d add a Dodge Power Wagon, Studebaker half-ton, GMC Caballero and something a little more off the beaten track, like a Hudson.

If you’re too young to have seen a “stamp” in use, here’s a good opportunity to pick up two pieces of history in one.

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