B4904

Garden of Love

Presidential Garden of Love

Dolley and James Madison

Butterfly

Collins Cover Announcement 

Presidental Garden of Love

When the gorgeous Garden of Love flower stamps were issued, I knew I wanted to create a water colored cachet series that would truly be worthy of their beauty. Since I already was embarked on the continuing "Romantic Couples" series for love stamps, it was my hope to somehow connect this set to that theme. It was then that I decided to choose ten popular and historically important United States presidents and feature them along with their wives, many of whom are famous in their own right.

I would like to share my cachet-making thought process with you as related to the artwork and presentation on the envelopes. I decided to use twin ovals to showcase the presidential couples since this is a historic way to highlight portraits. A very essential ingredient contributing to the beauty of this set is that I chose to use ten different pastel shades as the background colors for each pair of ovals. On each cover, the president is to the right and his lady is to the left. Finally, since the lovely, multi-colored stamps have leafy vines in their designs, I decided to use the same concept to entwine the two ovals and the presidential couple they contain. It really looks good.

As to the portrait renditions themselves, I know that when you see them firsthand you will really appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of this cachet art. Every bit of color on each and every cover is individually hand painted. From Martha and George Washington to Jackie and John Kennedy, you will be amazed at how lifelike these presidential pairs appear. And, both individually and as a set, these covers fit nicely into my Romantic Couples Love stamp theme.

In the future, this magnificent set will, of course, be sought by future Collins collectors. In addition, Americana, presidential, and famous women collectors will also look for these hand water-colored cachets. It is with great pleasure that I now announce the ten famous presidential couples in their Garden of Love. The first to be sent will be Martha and George Washington. $13.75 each.