HSR

 

2015 was the 75st year that the "grandfather off all rallys", the Black Hills Classics, better known as The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, was held.

 

In these 75 years the event has developed into the largest motorcycle feast in the world, with not less than 739.000 registered guests (counted in hotels and campings) and an estimated number of visitors of more than a million. Most times these people come by motorcycle, and already for years the USPS offers them the possibility to send their camping gear and other stuff per post to Sturgis (the local post office offers a special pick up point for this), or to sent their bought souvenirs home at the end of the happening.
Especially for this jubilee year USPS has made special boxes for these home shipments, provided with the 75 years jubilee logo. Here the "medium flat rate" box is shown:


Special postmark for 75 years Sturgis


Nowadays several postal services reward their regular buyers of stamps and the like for being a customer. Sometimes this works with a savings sytem, like in New Zealand and Australia, and sometimes by an invitation that allows to buy special editions.
The last holds for the Czech Republic. They offer regular customers the so-called "část roku" (year items) of the elected most beautiful stamp of the respective year. For 2015 the Harley-Davidson stamp from the series "They brought us freedom", with the army vehicles as we know them from the stamp booklet with the same name, was the chosen one.

The year item is a print of the stamp, designed by Václav Zapidlíc, on A4 format in limited edition (2000 pieces).


In Newsletter 112 some pictures of stamps with quadricycles were included in the article "Motorcycle or not?". From several people I heard that these for sure do not belong to the motorcycles. Unfortunately there are no stamps with images that can elucidate my point of view (possibly they will come in the future), but here some examples that, if they ever appear on a stamp or postal stationary, to my opinion should really be regarded as motorcycle philately.


Bruneau 1899


Ariel with De Dion-Bouton engine 1899


Phebus 1901


Clement Tricycle 1902

 

Hans de Kloet

 

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