W601

George Herman Ruth

The Bambino

Collins Cover Announcement 

BABE RUTH

There was a great deal of collector excitement generated by this issue of the Great American Sports Hero Babe Ruth. If you want one or more of these covers, I sincerely suggest that you order as soon as possible to avoid being shut out at original price as I'm sure they will increase in value as a "sold out" COLLINS. As with all my covers, I must reserve the right to limit the number ordered by any individual collector. It is estimated that over 700 cachets were produced for this issue and that ensures that it will be of prime collector interest forever in our hobby. Of all the FDCs produced for this issue, COLLINS certainly has a chance to be the most sought after of all and I'm sure that you will be very happy down the road if you decide to add the pair to your collection now at issue price. Baseball covers always seem to be among the most popular of any topic.

I arrived in Chicago the night before and stayed out by O'Hare Airport. In the early morning I picked up the stamps at the Post Office and affixed them to the covers. Because of my desire to get the best (in my opinion) unofficial at Cooperstown, N.Y. (site of Baseball Hall of Fame) I did not have time to get them canceled in Chicago. It was on to the Airport, a flight against the clock (west to east) and a mid-afternoon arrival in Syracuse, N.Y. There, with a rental car, it was a 2-hour plus drive to Cooperstown arriving in late afternoon. To be sure, I was not the only one to get to Cooperstown in time for unofficial cancels, but there will be very few as compared to the Chicago machine cancel. It is a very nice clear large bullseye on a single stamp on each of the covers. As with my St. Francis FDC, the single cancel in this case adds to the covers rather than detract. I did two distinct cachet varieties as explained below. They are different from each other and were done in same numbers so one will not be more scarce than the other.

W601 cachet- variety - This cachet has a boy and his dog on a sidewalk looking across the street in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame. His mind is surely caught up with yesteryear's heroes for in the clouds above the Hall of Fame appears an image of the Babe as visualized by the boy's baseball fantasy. As was my concept for the St. Francis design so overwhelmingly accepted by you, I feel that this cachet captures exactly my intention for this design ...American youth caught up in the childhood dreams of "America's favorite oast-time" - baseball. You will like this cover.

W602 cachet variety - This cover adheres to the "overall" effect that so many of you commented about in covers such as Bobby Jones, stagecoach and St. Francis. To the left is the Babe in his classic home run swing. He has made contact with the ball and the cachet depicts the flight of the ball...all the way over the fence and into the center field bleachers located to the upper right of the cover. The flight of the ball is over the Cooperstown unofficial cancel and the stamp.

W601 - Hall of Fame variety   $6.00 

W602 - Hitting Home Run variety - $6.00