V801s

Family Unity

Man, Woman & Child

Collins Family 

Signatures

Collins Cover Announcement 

FAMILY UNITY/PUBLIC EDUCATION

 

This is a curious item and much will be written about it in future years as collectors unfamiliar with COLLINS history try to figure it out. I sugaest that you keep this write-up with the cover so that the explanation is always on hand.

First, let me tell you about the cachet. Not being overly enthused with the stick-figure family design of the stamp, I decided to show a real flesh-and-blood American family on the cover -- mine. To do this, I decided on using my second photo cachet (Vietnam was my first) and my first full-color photo (the Vietnams were black and white). The end result is a good representation of the COLLINS clan -- Christina Dawn, Ryan Jonathan, Amanda Beth, Timothy Patrick, Rebecca Lynn, Linda and myself. It is a good period portrait for COLLINS collections and a nice tie-in cachet for the Family Unity theme.

Now for the tale. The studio we chose for the portrait ran into nroblem after problem in getting our proofs. Then, after we chose the desired portrait, it was more delays in getting the negatives and prints to us. Our troubles were just beginning. Color photos require a more intricate printing process and our steady, reliable printer experienced severe delays in getting our FDCs printed. The bottom line was that when I finally received the covers, it was a couple of months after issue date (October 1, 1984). A fine kettle of fish!

As we got into the 1985 program, an interesting possibility popped up. On October 1, 1985 (exactly one year later) an Education stamp would be issued and, with five children in the photo cachet, this topic was an appropriate one. It was a little crazy, but I decided it was a way to go, and it turned out to be a most attractive -- and unusual -- First Day Cover.

The two stamps (Family Unity and Public Education) look nice side by side, and they were tied by the October 1, 1985 First Day of Issue cancel. The neat, precise text under the stamps is for Family Unity, October 1, 1984. And, to the left, is my first color photo cachet showing my family and the names of each. This photo will add a nice, personal historic reference to any collection of COLLINS FDCs and, as such, I would recommend that you acquire at least one and perhaps, because of its uniqueness, a duplicate. The COLLINS number will reflect the Family Unity issue with a footnote referring to Public Education. This is bound to become a widely known FDC both because of the color COLLINS photo and the unusual and unorthodox October One connection. Item #V801 - $4.50