G4902

Owney - The Postal Dog

Owney's Medals & Tags - Owney Visits Yellowstone cachet

Owney was a scruffy mutt who became a regular fixture at the Albany, New York, post office in 1888. The Railway Mail Service clerks adopted Owney as their unofficial mascot.

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Owney Visits Yellowstone

In the 1890s and early 1900s, Owney was the most famous dog in America as he traveled far and wide from his home base of the Albany, New York Post Office. Not only did he ride in mail cars across the United States, but he also took a trip around the world as a canine good-will ambassador. The lovable

post office pooch became known as "Owney the Globe Trotter."

Since Owney owed his fame to his love of riding the rails, I wanted to show him in a setting that would be symbolic of his travel that would resonate with both Americans and citizens of foreign lands. Inspired by one of the actual metallic tags that he collected on his journeys, I chose to depict Owney in world-famous Yellowstone Park.

The individually hand painted cachets show the globe trotter sitting on the grass as the well-known "Old Faithful" geyser spouts its steamy spray in the background. At the right, a golden-mantled ground squirrel is shown with Owney's Yellowstone hotel tag which was the inspiration for the symbolic national park setting. Another nice touch for this watercolored cachet is that the "0" in his name is another of the metallic tags that he collected on his far-ranging trips.

I am very happy to offer this light-hearted and beautiful First Day Cover as a remembrance of this famous mascot of the United States Railroad Mail Service. Last month I actually visited him in his preserved state at his new permanent home in the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum. Now ready is Owney Visits Yellowstone. Collins #G4902 — $14.00.