Y4903

Weather Vanes

Rooster

Collins Cover Announcement 

Weather Vanes

 

Old MacDonald's Farm

ChiekRns and Turkey

A proud rooster is the final stamp in this wonderful Americana series of early weather vanes which is now housed at the extensive Shelburne Museum just south of Burlington, Vermont on the shores of Lake Champlain. When trying to decide what artistic theme would be best to present these stamps on Collins covers, I concluded that for hundreds of years the family farm was an agricultural and livestock mainstay for individuals, communities and, in fact, the nation itself. Since weather vanes were most often found on family barns, my fivecover mini-series featuring the animals on Old MacDonald's Farm came into existence. If you like animals and/or Americana, make sure you have all the covers in this set as they are sure to be actively hunted by collectors once I'm sold out.

For this final individually hand painted cachet, several chickens and a big tom turkey are the animals featured. In front of the chicken coop, a hen has just descended the wooded plank from the coop's door. Another hen watches over her small brood of chicks while a large, colorful rooster (like the one on the stamp) struts through his domain. In the background, the big tom indifferently strolls by the other fowl in the poultry yard.

Across this great country, many small family farms carry on. For others, this way of life exists only in their distant memories of ancestors. For all, however, the weather vane stamps gave me the opportunity to preserve through cachet art the familiar animals on the American countryside farm. The horse, cow, and pig. The sheep and goat. The chickens, ducks, and turkey. And the family cat and dog. While growing up at Collins Ponds, we always had a number of chickens and sold farm-fresh eggs. My final cover in this set, which takes me back to those bygone days, is now ready. Old MacDonald's chickens and turkey. Collins #Y4903 — $14.00.