E1701

Beach Umbrella

Collins Cover Announcement 

BEACH UMBRELLA

THE ARTISTIC REALISM OF THIS CACHET IS BEAUTIFUL.

If you have any recollections of building sandcastles at the seashore in your childhood, this cover will recall those happy and carefree moments. The gentle waves generated by the rising tide lap at the outer walls of a meticulously constructed castle. At this instant, its entirety with numerous parapets and four towers can still be seen and enjoyed but in the next few moments the relentless ocean will prevail and the walls will crumble. A colorful pail and shovel (such as we all used in our youth) rests on the beach behind the castle and it, too, may be swept away unless its young owner quickly comes to the rescue. Behind a near-by dune, a red and yellow beach umbrella provides a sanctuary from the summer sun. This will be one of my finest cachets for 1990 -- the design is superb (it ranks right up there with the R1601 Eagle) and the painting in terms of both technique and coloring will be truly appreciated by anyone who sees it.

But this COLLINS does not stand on the cachet alone. The cancel is a great Florida pictorial showing two royal palm trees. It was only available for those covers actually serviced on the First Day of Issue so once again you can add to your collection a "real" FDC. You might observe the space that I left for the stamps and cancel and then note how snugly it fits. Talk about planning. The palm tree First Day cancel ties a pair of the Beach Umbrella stamps to the cover. You'll love this item -- it's a beauty.

The trip for me was also a wonderful experience. I visited with my close and long-time friends Judy and Gene, and he went to the show with me. (Gene is a COLLINS collector and enjoys looking for my older ones in the dealer boxes.) I met long-time "corresponding friends" Liz Loreth and Bob Hausin -- both Florida dealers. Also renewed my friendship with South Carolina dealer Harold Babb. And I met several current COLLINS collectors and even obtained a couple of new ones.

Autum 2019 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 17 E1701 — Beach Umbrella — 2/3/90

This is the first time I've offered this long sold out cover, and it has the two elements of an excellent first day cover. The hand painted cachet (which extends across the whole face of the envelope) is beautiful, showing a well-designed but fragile sandcastle being threatened by the waves of a gentle surf. A colorful beach umbrella peeks over a small, nearby dune. The pictorial first day of issue postmark was only available to those of us who were there in person that day. It shows two royal palm trees and an alligator which is most appropriate for the first day city of Sarasota, Florida on the Gulf Coast.