The Postal Service issued a new 7.6-cent Transportation Series coil stamp featuring the carreta wagon on August 30, 1988, in San Jose, California.
The springless carreta wagon was useful to missions and residents in early California. The primitive wagon served as a tool for hauling firewood and barrels of water. On Sundays, it operated as a cart for bringing women and children to church.
The carreta had wheels made from the transverse sections of a log, usually about thirty inches in diameter and varying in thickness from the center to the rim. They were held together by an axletree with wood pegs to keep the wheels from falling off. Another pole attached to the axle became the tongue on which a wickerwork frame tied with strips of hide was built. Slow oxen, yoked by the horns and prodded with a sharp stick by Indian drivers running alongside, pulled the cart.
Designed by Richard Schlecht, the stamps were engraved through the intaglio process (Press B) by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The stamps were issued in coils of 500 and 3,000 (pre-canceled only).
Reference:
Postal Bulletin (July 28, 1988).
