Tow truck

Front:
BREAKDOWN Service PHONE HAM S0051 TUGSON AZ JAN 24 1987 Tow Trugk 192Os Tow Truck 1920s 8.5USA 5785SA Benil

Back:
TOW TRUCK First Day of Issue: January 24, 1987 First Issue Location: Tucson, Arizona During the early part of the twentieth century, the intro- duction of the “Tin Lizzie" made automobiles accessible to nearly everyone. With this new freedom on the road came the tribulations of maintenance, plus the threat of emergency repairs. Thus, garages and service stations were quick to dot the roadsides. At first, garages used ordinary cars to tow stricken vehicles back to their shops. But, as cars became heavier, the need arose for more specialized equipment. Initially, light pick-up trucks carrying a length of rope were used. This naturally led to the mounting of a light crane on the rear bed of the truck. Ernst Holmes of Chattanooga, Tennessee, pioneered the recovery tow truck in 1914. He placed a twin boom unit mounted on a “Liberty" chassis which could recover a car from the front, side, or rear. By 1915, an improved and much simpler design appeared, and toward the end of World War I, the tow truck was put to use by the U.S. Army. And by 1920, the first commer- cially produced models were sold to private operators. No. 87-1 ©1987 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by Basil Smith.