Q4101

Distinguished American Diplomats

Frances E. Willis - Ambassador to Switzerland, Norway and Sri Lanka

Collins Cover Announcement 

Distinguished American Diplomates

Frances E. Wills

This cover begins the American Diplomat mini-series and I must tell you that the finished cachets exceeded my expectations. I like the designs and coloration of the new stamps very much, and the individual watercolor painting of each cachet has really resulted in a wonderful set of Collins First Day Covers.

Throughout her lifetime, Frances E. Willis brought honor and accomplishment to herself as an individual and to her gender. She was the first woman to ascend through the ranks of the Foreign Service to become an ambassador. She also was the first female to make the Foreign Service a career and, as such, became the first woman and only the fifteenth individual ever to be honored with the title Career Ambassador.

My hand painted cachet shows an oval portrait of Frances and the flag that she served. These will be two design elements that the other upcoming covers in the set will share. Also pictured is a Swiss chalet with the Alps in the background as Willis was the very first United States Ambassador to Switzerland.

In 1953 she received the Woman of the Year Award from the Los Angeles Times, and in 1955 she was honored with the Eminent Achievement Award from the American Woman's Association. I'm pleased to offer my First Day Cover for this amazing woman and distinguished American diplomat. Frances E. Willis — Collins #Q4101 — $13.25.