V901

Great Americans

John J. Audubon Ornithologist

Collins Cover Announcement 

John J. Audubon Ornithologist

America's birds have always been a favorite topic of wildlife artists from the days of Audubon to the present. It was truly a tough decision as to which ones I would include in my cachet for this issue. Not wanting to miss this golden opportunity, I finally narrowed (with difficulty) my list to six. The noble wild turkey, the crimson-crested Pileated Woodpecker, the gaudily colored Painted Bunting songbird, the spirited Kingfisher, the rotund Bobwhite and the majestic Osprey.

Treating each bird as an individually framed cachet, the result was a splendid pair of FDCs that will be an added asset to any COLLINS or wildlife collection. The hand painting is in the delicate, subtle and natural tones of traditional watercoloring. Cover number one (V901) features a large, vertical cachet of the elusive Wild Turkey and two horizontal cachets of the Pileated Woodpecker and the Kingfisher. Cover number two (V902) has a large, vertical cachet of a soaring osprey and two horizontal cachets of the multi-colored Painted Bunting and a Bobwhite family.

I picked the stamps up in the official city -- New York -- on First Day and then headed for the perfect unofficial cancel -- Audubon, New Jersey. The stamp placement is to the upper left, the text to the lower left and the cachets consuming the extensive remaining area. With absolutely beautiful cachets and the "true" First Day cancel at Audubon, these covers are destined to become a sought after pair. You can bank on it. Although you may purchase either separately, I strongly urge that you acquire them as a set as they "go together" and future collectors will be more inclined to seek out the pair as a unit. They are worthy of any PDC collection. I sincerely recommend that you obtain the set. ITem *V901 - $7.50. Item *V902 - $7.50