O901s

Transportation

 Iceboat

Signature

Collins Cover Announcement 

ICEBOAT - 1880's

This Transportation Series cover is one that I recommend highly. Do add one to your collection as it has to be the best over-all FDC produced for this issue. Both the cachet and the Unofficial First Day cancel are super.

The hand-painted "entire" cachet spans the whole envelope, and it shows an early iceboat skimming along over the glistening ice. The vivid sail colors are vibrant against the winter starkness, and they are reflected in softer tones on the icy surface. The shoreline backdrop adds the perfect contrast that projects the cold, wintery day.

The cachet alone makes this a most worthy cover, but the unofficial cancel is the crowning touch that makes this COLLINS a must. I was in Rochester, N.Y. on March 22nd. The next morning I was first in line at the post office. ("You're the first one to buy these stamps" exclaimed the postal clerk), and then it was a taxi dash back to the airport and a flight to Cleveland. (A mechanical problem in Detroit delayed the flight, and I became a little nervous, but a substitute plane took us to Cleveland only a bit late.) At Cleveland, I obtained the PERFECT unofficial for this issue -- an ice-related cancel for ice-related stamps. What are the odds of getting that? It's a great pictorial showing the U.S. Coast Guard cutter "Mackinaw" and commemorating 40 years of Great Lakes icebreaking. It fits onto the cover perfectly and ties a pair of the stamps to the envelope.

It's a really good Transportation Series cover -- the iceboat and the icebreaker -- two boats with ice connections. The unofficial pictorial First Day cancel is of excellent quality, and the full face hand-painted cachet is top notch. This will be an excellent addition to any cover collection, and I wouldn't be surprised by an early sell out. Item #0901 - $7.50