On 12 June 1971, the U S Post Office issued an 8¢ first class postage stamp with an image of a California condor. The stamp, created by Stanley Galli, was part of a set titled “Wildlife Conservation”.
The stamp’s excellent image of a soaring condor packs a remarkable amount of detail into a small space:
Below are 14 first day covers, or cachets, commemorating the release of this new stamp.
It is entirely appropriate that President Theodore Roosevelt be honored along with the California condor, as is explained in a previous post: Presidents Roosevelt.
This 2-sided cachet produced by the US Post Office includes substantial information about the condor:
Another cover, below, was postmarked later in 1971. This nicely draws attention to the habitat and imperiled state of the condor, and marks a meeting of the Ventura County Philatelic Society. Ventura County, California is home to one of the 2 designated condor sanctuaries.
The philatelic art on these cachets ranges from excellent and detailed to a simple cartoon. But it all reflects the considerable popular interest in the California condor more than 4 decades ago.
Pseudogryps 