O2016

Wildflowers

Sessile Bellwort

Collins Cover Announcement 

WILDFLOWERS 

This announcement introduces and offers for your consideration the most beautiful set of COLLINS hand-painted First Day Covers that I've ever done. Each cachet highlights and presents a native wildflower in natural colors that can only be achieved by the individual strokes of a brush. In fact, the detail on many of the delicate flowers in this set is so fine that the smallest of watercolor brushes must be used to achieve that natural look. In essence, what we have in this magnificent issue is an "American garden" with no comparison in size or scope to any previous issue of the United States Postal Service. Fifty lovely blooms with each state represented bring every color of the rainbow to life in these uncomparable COLLINS First Day Covers.

For over a year now I've been working on this set to make it just right. Each week a new wildflower cachet has sprung to life bringing its distinctive appearance, color, and beauty to this breathtaking set. Every week another state contributed its geographic and historic perspective to my "national bouquet". From the beginning I knew that this COLLINS set would be one of the most important works that I would ever produce. I knew that the individual colors, shapes, and growing environments of each plant would, in itself, make this a successful and well received venture. Painstaking, hand-painted renditions of wildflowers from all fifty states would, in itself, ensure that this set would continue the tradition and reputation of COLLINS in the hobby. In the beginning weeks, however, I was grasping for something special that wouuld make this one opportunity of a cachetmaker's lifetime something to remember forever.

Something that would make this beautiful set of fifty stamps into fifty First Day covers that as a whole and individually always be considered by present and future collectors something extra-special. A set that would stand head and shoulders above other covers for the same issue. It turned out to be a rather obvious answer, and I think that over the last year I've transformed the idea into a floral treasure that encompasses the national identity. A set that, with the fragile and picturesque wildflowers as a central theme, is America.

There's a spot I like to go on a country lane that is a place of serenity and natural beauty. A wooden plank bridge about fifteen feet long and about the same height above a swift stream. I love to sit on that bridge listening to the sound of a small waterfall below me and hearing the birds high in the oak, maple and walnut canopies overhead. Across the road and beyond a beige picket fence, brown Jersey milkcows graze in the green fields. It was here that I formulated my plan for the set I am offering today. 

From the coast of Maine to the tropical forests of Hawaii. From the mountains of Alaska to the beaches of Florida. From the shores of the Great Lakes to the deserts of the southwest. From the very heartland of our country I would bring our natural beauty, our history, our people, our wildlife together in a blend of Americana that everyone could enjoy. The idea that grew into a plan which culminated in the First Day Covers offered here is that the "settings" of each individual cachet would bring a uniqueness to this COLLINS wildflower set that no other cachetmaker would match. Although the flowers themselves are the focal point of the lovely hand-painted cachets, the settings in which they are growing bring dramatic impact to the collection. They capture the diversity of our great country. They display the vastness of the land that we call home. By placing these enchanting and varied flora in a variety of interesting scenes, I believe that I have created another standard of excellence within the hobby. Let me share a few examples with you.

A delicate flower blooms in peaceful tranquility on the prairie but nearby a roaring twister swirls by. In New England, a traditional covered bridge in Vermont is the nostalgic backdrop. An Arizona rainbow provides a multi-colored archway over southwest plants. An owl is lord of the early evening in a southeast meadow of wildflowers as a full moon begins to rise. A youngster has lost his pouch of turn-of-the-century marbles, and colored petals now appear among the colored glass spheres. The space shuttle roars from its Cape Kennedy launching pad as it is viewed from a distant patch of wildflowers. Natural wonders abound in this set from the mountainous peaks of Alaska and Wyoming to the tropical interior of Hawaii. From the uncomparable coastline of California to a raging woodland stream in Massachusetts. A stern-wheeled riverboat plies a wide river and an early locomotive crosses the plains on a railed track. A classic car sits in a Michigan glen and an early sailing ship sits at anchor on the Rhode Island coast. A boy harvests pumpkins from his family's patch and two small children frolic in a shaded country lane. An old weathered baseball, lost during a long forgotten game lies among summer wildflowers. An old totem pole looms above the vegetation in the lush northwest. For lovers of wildlife you will find the majestic mountain lion, the familiar chipmunk, the swift jack rabbit, and the sinister rattlesnake plus others. A sunset on the Great Lakes concludes another day and a great white swan greets the morning sun on a Georgia lily pond. A blazing forest fire threatens the unspoiled wilderness in its path and an abandoned and dilapidated desert service station marks man's temporary intrusion into a land of harsh solitude. An Indian chief in full headdress sits astride his pony on the South Dakota grasslands and ponders the natural beauty. A New Jersey father and grandfather -- Fred Collins, Sr. -- tends his day lily garden and ponders the natural beauty of near-by wildflowers. Cute little kittens explore a Maine clearing and a collie reminiscent of Lassie hurdles the fence of a Virginia horse farm. A quiet and secluded country mill with picturesque waterwheel presents a reminder of yesterday with today's glorious patches of multi-colored flowers growing now as they always have year after year after year.

The set is more, of course, than just those brief glimpses outlined above. It is bluebells and red maids. It is honeysuckle and meadow beauties. It is Indian paintbrush and Dutchman's breeches. It is the Jack-in-the-pulpit and the sunflower. It is the primrose and the shooting star. It is fifty magnificent wildflowers which I've interwoven into the settings touched on above. As is fitting, some of the cachets will feature just the flower itself and these are presented in bouquets or against black backgrounds or as solo featured subjects. These tend to reinforce the "wildflower theme" and I want to stress that the beauty and diversity of the blooms themselves are richly enhanced by the variety of ways in which they are presented. This issue was surely destined to be best depicted on First'Day Covers via hand-painted cachets because only they can achieve the subtle and important differences in tones and shades and colors.

I am very proud to offer this set that has already been a year in cachet design. It will indeed hold a special place in your collection and you will enjoy watching it grow as I ship each cover as the hand painting is completed. By acquiring this set now, you are in fact investing in the on-going fun of watching your own "wildflower garden" grow in size as each of the fifty states is completed. This set will not be available on my future price lists, so this is your only opportunity to acquire it at the original offering price. This set combines broad based Americana with a central theme of universal appeal. The covers in this set, both individually and as a whole collection, will be sought after by near-term future collectors and by all those long-term individuals who follow us in the hobby.

It is a fact that some of you waited too long to order the World War II set or the Columbus set. I now have waiting lists for both and collectors are hoping for sets to open up. Don't let this happen to you on the wildflowers. I expect to sell out of available sets in fairly short order and that will be that. My subscribers are protected for their usual order but all other collectors and "extras" for subscribers will be on a

first come, first served basis.

In recognitiion of the many stamps and sets being issued this year, I am offering a special financial arrangement for your consideration. If you want one or more sets of this truly beautiful COLLINS collection, I am only requesting a deposit of $25 per set at this time. I need this to offset stamp and Day of Issue traveling costs. Then, I will extend to October first the due day for your per cover monthly payment. With low monthly payments I hope to give each and every collector a chance to obtain this set but please remember that it will be on a first come, first served basis so get your deposit in right away for at least one set. I've got a hunch on this one that if you delay you may miss out.

That's it. I plan on an excellent First Day postmark that will only be obtainable on Issue Date. COLLINS will probably be the only one to obtain it. The cachet design portion over the last year has been time consuming but fun. Next comes the "licking and sticking" plus all of that exacting hand painting. If you love the hobby, please do not miss this set. In a hobby, as well as a lifetime, certain opportunities only come along once. This COLLINS wildflower 50-cover set is such a time. Almost every American child at one time or another has come to a parent with a small wildflower bouquet clutched in a small hand as a gift of love. I've sowed the seeds for a First Day Cover bouquet and I hope you'll be one of the collectors to reach out for it. An American garden.