The United States Postal Service is adding to their library of automotive-related stamps with the Lowriders Forever and Route 66 collections.
Established on November 11, 1926, Route 66 stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles, roughly 2,400 miles and was a major component in fueling the fire of America’s romance with the automobile, the open road, freedom, and adventure. Turning 100 years old this year, it made sense to commemorate The Mother Road, as author John Steinbeck coined it, with a set of stamps. According to the project art director, Greg Breeding, the scope of the project was initially “daunting.” But, researchers located David Schwartz, a Route 66 photographer with over 20 years of experience photographing the Route, which made things a lot easier.
“I personally liked what some call the editorial feel of his work,” said Greg in a USPS statement. “It does not appear commercial or slick, but has almost a photojournalistic quality.”
David became interested in Route 66 upon hearing Depeche Mode’s cover song, “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.” The song inspired him to travel the Route more than 40 times, collecting images along the way.
“Only once did I make the full trip from Chicago to Los Angeles,” David said. “As a photographer, I found it’s far more meaningful, rewarding, and enjoyable to focus on smaller sections, allowing for deeper dives into the towns, the people, and the landscapes along the way.
When taking pictures on the road, he says he looks for moments that feel real and tell a story, qualities that Greg said he liked about David’s work. David says he’s drawn to how places change over time and he pays close attention to lighting.
“It can completely transform a scene,” he said.
Each stamp pane consists of eight images by David repeated twice for a total of 16 stamps. Another exciting offering from the USPS is the Lowriders Forever series of stamps with photography by Philip Gordon and Humberto “Beto” Mendoza. Phil contributed the image of both the 1946 Chevrolet Fleetline known as “Let the Good Times Roll,” and the 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass known as “Pocket Change,” while Beto submitted his images of three Chevrolet Impalas: a 1958 known as “Eight Figures,” a 1963 known as “El Rey,” and a 1964 known as “The Golden Rose.” Beto, who served as the last head photographer for Lowrider magazine, began photographing the specialty custom cars around 2004 when he had the idea of creating a lowrider calendar.
“I had a ton of photographs, I love cars, but I especially love lowriders,” he said. “They are such involved customs with their highly-detailed paint, the chrome, the interiors. They are absolutely cultural, but they are truly rolling one-of-a-kind pieces of art that anyone can appreciate.”
Beto’s father, a self-taught photographer, taught him how to capture a good photograph.
“My dad was always using a camcorder, if you remember those from the 1990s,” he said. “He loved taping everything and creating a final product. I caught the bug and when I really started getting into cars, I went to lots of shows and photographed them. In the end, I wanted to be like my dad.”
In a very forward-thinking twist, in order for Beto to begin capturing people’s stories about their cars, instead of interviewing them and writing down their comments, Beto would use a camcorder and make videos with his dad’s help.
“It was a lot easier for me that way, I didn’t have to take notes, and whatever the person had to say they could say,” he said. “There wasn’t a chance of me misquoting someone. But also, this gave me a unique hook, people got to know me for my pictures and my video work.”
With a growing stockpile of photos, videos, and experience, Beto thought it would be fun to assemble and sell a calendar of lowriders.
“At the time, a lowrider calendar was unheard of,” he said. “No one was making them, so I started asking people if we could meet after a show and take some pictures for a new calendar. No one wanted to meet me, they all thought I was going to steal their car or something.”
With that, Beto turned to a friend who had a large tire shop and asked if he could use the shop to set up a studio for Sunday shoots.
“He was fine with the idea, so I went in and repainted and set up lighting and backdrops and used various materials to get different looks,” he said. “I finally started setting up appointments, and the day everyone was supposed to arrive, the day I was going to shoot the cars, no one came. One person called and said they couldn’t make it, and another owner called and said she’d come late. That was Lucinda Keohl, and she had a 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham that had been on the cover of Lowrider, so that was really amazing to have her show up. She modeled with her car, it was great, she was fun to work with.”
Beto’s reputation grew, and in 2009 Lowrider magazine called him and asked if he’d serve as their freelancer in Northern California, ultimately hiring him fulltime as a photographer-writer in 2011. With this, he uprooted himself from Turlock, California and moved to Orange County, California where Lowrider was based and worked for them through 2020 when the magazine ceased print operations.
“Without hesitation, I moved from Northern California to Orange County for the job,” he said. “It was a dream come true.”
With the closure of the magazine, in 2021 Beto took his materials, contacts, and reputation and launched his own title dedicated to lowriders. But, fate had other things in mind and dealt Beto a stroke in late 2022.
“After a few years of running around the country to various car shows, and working feverishly to meet deadlines, and eating poorly and gaining weight, and adding stress, my health stopped me in my tracks,” he said. “I was completely disabled, unable to move, talk, nothing. But, looking back, it was a bit of a blessing.”
Three-months after his stroke, USPS contacted him for pictures of lowriders for a new stamp series – which gives an idea of how long it really takes to bring a stamp to the public.
“An opportunity to work with the post office was amazing, and the stamps using lowrider cars is historic for the lowrider community as it recognizes us at a federal level as part of American history,” he said. “I was shocked how long it took to make a stamp; I had no idea the various levels of approvals and clearances the postal service had to go through. I really am impressed and admire those people who make it all come together.”
Recently, Beto has been enjoying more time with his own lowrider, a 1964 Cadillac DeVille convertible that’s lowered with hydraulics, fuel injected, and rolls on undersized chrome Dayton wire wheels.
“It’s clean, I didn’t name it, but it’s functional, I love cruising in it,” he said.
See the stamps here U.S. Postal Service Provides Sneak Peek at 2026 Stamps
