W501

American Architecture

Fallingwater, Illinois Institute of Technology, Gropius 

House, Dulles Airport

Collins Cover Announcement 

AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE - 1932

This issue of four stamps was the last in -this annual series which dates back to 1979. I was in the official city of Washington, D.C. bright and early on September 30th and shared a counter with AFDCS'ers June Bancroft and Lee Howard. Lee is the newly elected Society President. A pair of the stamps (including Dulles Airport located in DC) is officially hand canceled in Washington. Then, it was off to a flight to Pittsburgh and a race against the clock. At Pittsburgh, I rented a car and headed south toward the village of Mill Run - home of Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater". This area of southwestern Pennsylvania is beautiful with hilly woodlands and forests and picturesque streams which lend themselves to the sport of rafting. Arriving at the village post office (a few miles past "Fallingwater") the remaining pair was serviced with a very nice unofficial.

The hand painted cachet shows this beautiful structure, nestled in its beautiful natural setting of foliaqe and tumbline water. It is a very bright an colorful cachet which contrasts nicely with the subdued colors of ne stamps. The three previous architecture covers of 1979, 1990 and 1981 are still available, and if you don't hava them, you might want to add all four to your collection which will give you all sixteen stamps of the series. 

Item No. W501 - $6.00

Summer 2023 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 16 W501 — American Architecture — 9-30-82

This early Collins is appearing for the first time in one of my mail sales, and it is a personal favorite. The hand painted cachet, four stamps, and two cancels all come together to present a wonderful visual portrayal of this first day cover. Two stamps, including the "Fallingwater" one, have a large, crisp day of issue postmark from Mill Run, Pennsylvania — site of the famous structure. The other two have the first day of issue cancel from the official city of Washington, D.C. The hand painted cachet still brings a feeling of contentment to me as to how well the color combinations work together. Beautiful is the right word, and this is one I highly recommend. It is the total package that you will love to have in your collection.