1996 32c Riverboats: Far West

# 3093 - 1996 32c Riverboats: Far West

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US #3093
1996 Far West

  • From set of five picturing historic riverboats
  • First US commemorative to bey issued only in self-adhesive format
  • The boats represent all regions of the US

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Riverboats
Value:  32¢, First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  August 22, 1996
First Day City:  Orlando, Florida
Quantity Issued:  32,000,000
Printed by:  Avery Dennison
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Panes of 20 (4 across, 5 down) from printing cylinders of 200 (10 across, 20 down)
Perforations:  Die-cut simulated

Why the stamp was issued:  The Riverboats stamps were issued to commemorate an important form of transportation along America’s inland waterways. 

About the stamp design:  The artwork for the Riverboat stamps was done by Dean Ellis.  His gouache (opaque watercolor) paintings were larger than those usually made for stamps because he wanted to show the details of each ship.  The backgrounds on the stamps reflect the regions of the US where the boats sailed.  Kevin Foster, a maritime historian with the US National Park Service, was consulted to assure the images were historically accurate.

Special design details:  Though the names of each riverboat appears on the boat, it  is difficult to read them because of their small size and because photogravure printed is relatively course.

About the printing process:  The Riverboat stamps were the first to be printed exclusively as self-adhesive stamps.  Previous issues were produced in both self-adhesive and water-activated gum formats.
The die-cut simulated perforations went through the backing paper as well as the stamp.  This allowed postal clerks to divide up the pane for individual sale.  Collectors could also easily save the stamps with the backing paper attached.

First Day City:  The stamps were dedicated at Stampshow 96, which took place in Orlando, Florida.

About the Riverboats set:  Picturing five riverboats from the turn of the century - Robert. E. Lee, Sylvan Dell, Far West, Rebecca Everingham, and Bailey Gatzert - these stamps represent a bygone era.  Chosen for their historical significance as well as their visual appeal, the boats represent five different regions.  All were in service around the turn of the 20th century and were efficient means to transport goods and passengers.
This set is patterned after a 1989 issue of five Steamboats (US #2405-09).

History the stamp represents: 
Far West: The steamboats that navigated the treacherously shallow Missouri River were lovingly called mountain boats.  Their hulls were narrow as well as shallow and their single paddlewheel was located in the back. Rivermen said their boats could travel across a meadow on a heavy dew, and that in low water the captain could travel for miles on the foam from an opened keg of beer.
The first steamboat ventured onto the Missouri in 1819, but for the longest time the only boat traffic on the river’s upper reaches was limited to hunters, trappers, and the US Army.  For this was the land of the Sioux, Crow, and other tribes who did everything they could to keep the white man out. All too frequently, stern-wheelers had to battle Indians who fired at them from the banks, only to have to battle them again around the bend. Consequently, rifles were kept close at hand and iron plating on pilothouses was standard equipment. 
By 1860, traveling the Missouri was almost routine, with boats steaming to Fort Benton in Montana, 2200 miles upriver. Though the Far West was launched in 1870, her claim to fame is that she carried the news and the 52 survivors of Custer’s massacre at Little Bighorn to the rest of the world. In 1883, the Far West hit a snag and sank seven miles from St. Charles, Missouri.

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US #3093
1996 Far West

  • From set of five picturing historic riverboats
  • First US commemorative to bey issued only in self-adhesive format
  • The boats represent all regions of the US

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Riverboats
Value:  32¢, First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  August 22, 1996
First Day City:  Orlando, Florida
Quantity Issued:  32,000,000
Printed by:  Avery Dennison
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Panes of 20 (4 across, 5 down) from printing cylinders of 200 (10 across, 20 down)
Perforations:  Die-cut simulated

Why the stamp was issued:  The Riverboats stamps were issued to commemorate an important form of transportation along America’s inland waterways. 

About the stamp design:  The artwork for the Riverboat stamps was done by Dean Ellis.  His gouache (opaque watercolor) paintings were larger than those usually made for stamps because he wanted to show the details of each ship.  The backgrounds on the stamps reflect the regions of the US where the boats sailed.  Kevin Foster, a maritime historian with the US National Park Service, was consulted to assure the images were historically accurate.

Special design details:  Though the names of each riverboat appears on the boat, it  is difficult to read them because of their small size and because photogravure printed is relatively course.

About the printing process:  The Riverboat stamps were the first to be printed exclusively as self-adhesive stamps.  Previous issues were produced in both self-adhesive and water-activated gum formats.
The die-cut simulated perforations went through the backing paper as well as the stamp.  This allowed postal clerks to divide up the pane for individual sale.  Collectors could also easily save the stamps with the backing paper attached.

First Day City:  The stamps were dedicated at Stampshow 96, which took place in Orlando, Florida.

About the Riverboats set:  Picturing five riverboats from the turn of the century - Robert. E. Lee, Sylvan Dell, Far West, Rebecca Everingham, and Bailey Gatzert - these stamps represent a bygone era.  Chosen for their historical significance as well as their visual appeal, the boats represent five different regions.  All were in service around the turn of the 20th century and were efficient means to transport goods and passengers.
This set is patterned after a 1989 issue of five Steamboats (US #2405-09).

History the stamp represents: 
Far West: The steamboats that navigated the treacherously shallow Missouri River were lovingly called mountain boats.  Their hulls were narrow as well as shallow and their single paddlewheel was located in the back. Rivermen said their boats could travel across a meadow on a heavy dew, and that in low water the captain could travel for miles on the foam from an opened keg of beer.
The first steamboat ventured onto the Missouri in 1819, but for the longest time the only boat traffic on the river’s upper reaches was limited to hunters, trappers, and the US Army.  For this was the land of the Sioux, Crow, and other tribes who did everything they could to keep the white man out. All too frequently, stern-wheelers had to battle Indians who fired at them from the banks, only to have to battle them again around the bend. Consequently, rifles were kept close at hand and iron plating on pilothouses was standard equipment. 
By 1860, traveling the Missouri was almost routine, with boats steaming to Fort Benton in Montana, 2200 miles upriver. Though the Far West was launched in 1870, her claim to fame is that she carried the news and the 52 survivors of Custer’s massacre at Little Bighorn to the rest of the world. In 1883, the Far West hit a snag and sank seven miles from St. Charles, Missouri.