US Stamps

Reader comes across California mural with a stamp connection: Morning Report

May 3, 2021, 1 AM

Linn's Stamp News gives you a quick look at what's going on in the world of stamp-collecting.

1. Air Mail mural

Reader Ken Dobbe pointed us in the direction of a stamp-related mural in Tehachapi, Calif. Here's the mural's description on MainStreetTehachapi.org:

The Air Mail mural was designed and painted by Mark Pestana, noted test pilot and Tehachapi artist. On May 15, 1938, The U.S. Postal Service issued a new Air Mail stamp as part of a national celebration for the 20th anniversary of the first U.S. Air Mail. Tehachapi marked the occasion with its inaugural Air Mail flight to Bakersfield. Harry Beauford, Jr., a Tehachapi resident and pilot, is shown standing next to his plane at Tehachapi Airport, then known as Kern County Airport #4. The side of the plane is painted to commemorate the first Air Mail flight from Tehachapi to Bakersfield. Tehachapi Peak is in the background.

Many cities joined in the celebration with special events and by issuing specially designed envelopes with the new stamp. This mural depicts the artist’s conception of one of those envelopes, postmarked at Tehachapi and addressed to the local pilot. The airplane used for this flight is a Porterfield CP-40 Zephyr. This particular airplane’s civil registry number was NC18088, as seen, on the plane’s tail, along with the name, Zephyr. The mural also commemorates the building’s site as the location of Tehachapi’s U. S. Post Office, built after the 1952 earthquake. An original architectural feature of the wall is the inset relief of an eagle, a sculptural element that is incorporated into the envelope.     

This mural was completed in 2007 and is located on the exterior of the Hitching Post Theater in downtown Tehachapi, California. The stamp on the letter is a six-cent Air Mail (Scott C23), issued May 14, 1938.

2. Looking for a challenge?

Try collecting Great Americans on certificates of mailing, writes Tony Wawrukiewicz.

3. Blockade covers on display

"Members of The Royal Philatelic Society London viewed a rare display of material from the North American blockade of mail from 1775 to 1815 during its Feb. 26 meeting."

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