1993 Co-Winner Category 2 - 1

Oregon Trail

The Pioneers

Co-Winner Hand Painted/Printed

Collins Cover Announcement 

OREGON TRAIL

The Pioneers

A sturdy group of pioneers challenge the snowy slopes of the Rockies as they follow the Oregon Trail westward, This handpainted COLLINS First Day Cover captures the spirit of adventure, the element of danger and the rugged self-reliance that molded those stalwart travelers into the strong-willed Americans that settled the West.

In this superb hand-painted cachet, a covered wagon inches its way along the treacherous mountain trail as the team of oxen struggle upward. Trudging through the snow, the pioneers endure their historic trek one step at a time. One urges the ox team onward. Two more labor to help push the wheels through the snowy ruts formed by the preceding wagons in the train. In the rear, two brazen and ferocious wolves menace the cold and weary travelers who have invaded their wilderness domain, Soon the beasts of the forest will learn to fear the scent of man but, for today, the wolves choose to challenge, if only from a distance, the newcomers. As a precaution to guard the small children and livestock, an armed guard protects the rear to make sure that the snarling wolves do not venture too close.

To present this hand-painted adventure scene in a manner fitting of the frontier, I used as a frame and background a parchment-type effect. It looks really good. The snowblanketed trail with icy peaks looming ahead. The ox-drawn covered wagon inching up the mountainous slope. The fierce wolves challenging the intrusion into their wilderness. The sturdy pioneers -- men, women, and children -- enduring the chilling cold and the dangers and hardships of the trail as they push on toward the promised land and a new and better life. This cover is a beauty!

When the Oregon Trail stamp was announced I had a difficult time deciding which way to go with my cachet design. A collector from Portland, Oregon sent me a wealth of information in terms of volume and content for which I was most grateful. In the end, I decided that my own personal interest in this era of our national history was too important to me to do just one cachet. So. .soon I'll be letting you know about my very limited other cachets for this issue -- The People of the Oregon Trail.

I am glad that the time has arrived for me to make available an outstanding effort for the Oregon Trail stamp, The Pioneers. Item #H2101, $10.75.