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Collins FDC Catalog

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T5901

T5901 / Scott 5484

Fruits & Vegetables

Plums


Cover Announcement 


FRUTTS AND VEGETABLES


After 43 years, the first set of Collins Still-Lifes


By the late 1700's as America transformed from 13 colonies to a new nation, stiil-lifes evolved mostly into the narural colors and expressive art forms of paintings of every day foods. In Europe it had been a century of exploration, and on the world-wide voyages, exotic fruits, vegetables, and florwers were discovered and collected. Specimens were provided to artists, and new and exciting subjects abounded in their paintings. It was a springboard into the elevation of more common fruits and vegetables into still-life prominence. This new set of ten stamps has provided me the perfect opportunitly to go down a cachet-making avenue I have not yet traveled. That time is now at hand.


A still life is a work of art depicting inanimate subject matter which are typically natural foods, flowers, plants, etc. Another line of subjects can be man-made objects such as books, kitchenware, vases. etc. Often, a man-made object is added to the composition to complement the fruit or vegetable to add to the artistic expression. That is the still-life avenue I have chosen to follow, and I now invite you to take a few quiet moments in a favorite chair with a good light and examine the illustrations of this set of ten individually hand painted first day covers. They are superb! Strawberries including a woven basket filled to overflowing. Three multi-colored grape bunches sharing a tabletop with a bottle of wine. A pair of eggplants with a brass oil lantem. Fresh figs on a linen tablecloth with an ornate pitcher. Recently picked carrots being weighed on an antique scale. A firm head of lettuce with cruet and wooden salad utensils. Perfect lemons nestled in a ceramic bowl. Purple and red plums piled on a serving dish. Red and green tomatoes in front of a waiting saucepan. And, just harvested highbush blueberries tumbling out of their wooden basket. Every single bit of color you see on these illustrations is the result of hand painting of each and every envelope. Brush stroke by careful brush stroke.


In the 1700s, Spanish painter Juan Sanchez Cotan became famous for his tranquil and realistic paintings of vegetables. When exotic produce varieties were being discovered by explorers, the Medici court in Florence, ltaly developed a passion for still-life fruits. Going back to ancient Greece and Rome, this form of painting had its beginning. Still-life paintings then emerged as a distinct genre. In Europe they became a professional specialization for artists by the late 1500's. Today realism continues to be the goal that is sought. For the first time ever, Collins offers a still-life set of hand painted first day covers. I believe they have achieved beautiful natural colors and have been presented in compositions that attain true still-life form and tradition. I hope you will share in this milepost Collins occasion and secure a set for your collection. Thank you.

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