Nice mint hinged stamp, original gum.

It is estimated that only 1000 of these stamps were issued.

Even more scarce is to have one signed by the man who created them, Arthur C. Banta.

The Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail was both a legitimate local service to transport the mail during the Pullman strike, which caused a postal failure, in addition to being a philatelic adventure. The Pullman strike started May 11, 1894 and spread to the American Railway Union which declared a boycott of all Pullman cars on June 26. The strike was violent and interrupted much railroad activity, especially the mail West of Chicago. The strike ended July 15, 1894, train service was quickly restored. Bicycles were all the rage at the time, Arthur Banta the initiator of the Bicycle Mail owned the Victor Cyclery store in Fresno and was active with the American Wheelman Co. in San Francisco. He set up a mail service between Fresno and San Francisco consisting of 8 bicycle relays to convey the mail over 210 miles. The service ran from July 7 through July 17