DRAWINGS AND STAMPS

I did a charcoal sketch of the Cumbres & Toltec's K36 locomotive number 484 some time ago, and in due course it was selected by the National Rocky Mountain Narrow Gauge Museum for a promotion during the release of five stamps issued by the US Post Office, featuring old-time steam locomotives. The drawing ended up as a cachet on an envelope created for the "first-day of release" event in Chama.

Chama is the New Mexico home base of operations for the C&TS RR, so the local post office became the center of action on that day, July 28, 1994.
Left click on the drawing for a larger view.


Here's what an envelope -- with all five stamps -- looked like:


My wife had convinced to have some prints made of the sketch, so I had 250 prints done by a local print shop, and I took them to Chama with me on the big day. In order to legally sell the prints, I had to join the Chama Chamber of commerce and get a one-day peddlers license. Here's my certificate:


Armed with this enabling piece of paper, I set up a folding table out in the weeds and trees -- along with a bunch of other peddlers -- and ended up selling signed and numbered prints all day long. Didn't sell them all though, the remainders are stored away in a closet someplace. The below shot shows Mr. bigshot artist/businessman during his one day of glory.



The prints came with a Certificate of Authenticity, a letter from the Narrow Gauge Museum and a copy -- clearly labeled "copy" -- of an envelope with the cachet and stamp.











If you want to read what they say, you're going to have to buy a print.

I also peddled a few of my 1/4" scale drawings of the Rio Grande Southern's 10 wheeler. These were 11 x 15 and totally encased in plastic, so a modeler, using it as a bench reference, wouldn't ruin the drawing (accidentally) with spills of glue, or paint, or coffee, or beer.


Turned out to be a fun day. Weather was fabulous, met lots of new friends and ran into a few old ones. Well worth posting about.