The Space Age: In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. This momentous venture into space began a heated rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States. The rivalry was fueled by a mixture of pride and fear which resulted in the extraordinary growth, development and technology of space exploration, culminating at the end of the next decade when 100 million TV viewers worldwide watched as an American astronaut, Neil A. Armstrong, stepped out of his module and walked on the powdery surface of the moon. Space technology affected many aspects of modern life. In fact, the Post Office was as much a part of this space-age thinking as any business. With "Missile Mail," a submarine launched a missile loaded with mail for mainland Florida - certainly the fastest way that mail had ever been delivered. Another innovation that made mail delivery speedier and more efficient was the institution of Zip Codes. By July of 1963, a five-digit code had been assigned to every address in the country, with each digit further narrowing the location of the delivery spot. By 1965, optical scanners were being developed which would mechanically sort the mail by their codes. Once again, the Post Office had found an efficient way to improve the delivery of America's ever-growing amount of mail.

Now, those heady days are recaptured in an authentically detailed die-cast model. Marked with Mr. Zip Code - the symbol of the Post Office's new method for speedier delivery - your 1961 International Scout Postal Truck is produced by - and available only from - Matchbox Collectibles.

(1999)

Scale: 1:43