V302

American Wildlife

Harbor Seal and Polar Bear

Summer 2020 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 5 V302 — Wildlife Pane: Polar Bear and Seal 5-14-81

This Collins was produced just three years after I began doing my hand painted covers from the big game set often. The cachet has an attractive multi-blue background to represent the watery depths of the seal's habitat and a white circular stripe to signify the polar bear's domain of snow. The official city of Boise, Idaho, cancels the new seal stamp, and the unofficial first day postmark from Mountain Home, Idaho, ties the polar bear stamp to the cover. A lovely "early" Collins Wildlife first day cover.

Winter 2025 Mail Sale Commentary  

Lot 4 V301 to V305 — American Wildlife Pane Booklet — (5 cover set) — 5-14-81

Wildlife is a favorite subject of mine, and I enjoyed creating the covers for this issue very much. There are ten small, subtle wildlife stamps for this issue, and I decided to put two close-up big game animals on each one along with the corresponding stamps. One is canceled First Day of Issue in Boise, Idaho, and the other is canceled unofficially in Mountain Home, Idaho. You will note that there is no zip code on the Mountain Home, Idaho cancels, so the device used on this cover must have been around for a long time, which I think adds interest and character to the covers. The animals are done in natural tones with circular backdrops in various colors. This unique set of five sold out quickly.

The wildlife represented include: Mountain Lion and Bighorn Sheep (V301); Polar Bear and Seal (V302); Grizzly Bear and Elk (V303); Moose and Deer (V304); and Pronghorn and Buffalo (V305)