J2604

Folk Heroes

Paul Bunyan

Collins Cover Announcement 

AMERICAN FOLK HEROES

PAUL BUNYAN

This offering of the fourth and final COLLINS in the "Folk Hero" series brings my mini-set to its conclusion. Paul Bunyan, the giant lumberjack, joins Casey at the Bat, Pecos Bill, and John Henry. Those three are still available (but in very low supply) at $11.75 each. I know that this set is destined to become a "must" for future COLLINS collectors, so it's a great foursome to own. The Bunyan saga got its start in the logging camps of Minnesota. A fellow named William Laughead heard the tall tales in the various camps and used the huge lumberman's image in advertising booklets for the Red River Lumber Company of Minneapolis. Newsman James McGillivray reported the adventures of Big Paul in a Detroit paper and a national folk hero was born.

Paul Bunyan and his mighty blue ox Babe journeyed from the Great Lakes to Canada and from Maine to Washington State. Legend has it that it was he who scooped out the Great Lakes as a place to drink and that he dug Puget Sound so logs could be floated to a sawmill. Babe, it is said, pulled Paul's entire logging camp, buildings and all, from state to state so Bunyan and his crew could cut timber and shape the undeveloped country.

My hand-painted cachet shows a tall timber forest but the big trees are dwarfed by lumberjack Bunyan. Wielding a giant ax, he cuts his way through the northwoods. Nearby, his blue ox Babe helps him haul the downed logs. As with my other cachets in this series, I am very pleased with it, and I know that you will enjoy having this eye-catching item in your collection.

The hard-working woodsman is a symbol of the American work ethic. He demonstrated constant ambition and much fortitude and determination. In this COLLINS hand-painted cachet he will forever stand in a snow-covered forest with his beloved Babe and swing his ax as the loud call of "Timber" echoes through the hobby. American Folk Hero Paul Bunyan. Item #J2604. $11.75.