ROUGH AND READY PROVISIONAL POSTAGE STAMPS
fantasy issues
by Eric Whollem
2016
cyber edition
copyright by the artist
A SHORT HISTORY OF ROUGH AND READY
Rough and Ready is a small community in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. The first post office was established there in 1851. This community never issued any real provisional postage stamps. What you see above are fantasy issues, created by myself, somewhat after the style found in early local posts of the 19th century.
In the margins of this stamp I inscribed the text: 'Nisenan Provisional Post.' The Nisenan Maidu are the Native Americans who live in that area. I conceived this issue as a correlative to my Concow Maidu fantasy issues for the Butte County area to the north.
The stamp is initialed by 'H.W.' This is a reference to my imaginary grandfather 'Herkimer Whollem.'
I style him as an early stamp designer.
When Rough and Ready was first created, the folk of the town decided to establish an independent state. This happened for real. They called themselves 'The Great Republic of Rough and Ready.' This independence was short lived, as soon the community assimilated into the new State of California.
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Take a look at my Concow Maidu fantasy stamps:
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