F5004

Bonsai Trees

Black Pine

Collins Cover Announcement 

Bonsai

Black Pine with Red Lory

The crimson red lory with royal blue tipped wing feathers now joins the other dramatic and colorful birds in this gem of a set of individually hand painted First Day Covers. Previously offered were the proud and elegant peacock; the scarlet macaw with its multi-colored rainbow feathers; the sun conure with its plumage of golds and yellows with highlights of green, orange, and raspberry red; and the fairy bluebird with its vibrant blue bordered magnificently by feathers of midnight black. Now — all five will make a dynamic presentation in any First Day Cover collection.

Bonsai is the art of cultivating plants in trays, pots, or other containers. In this case, the black pine is presented in a porcelain pot with blue oriental designs. The bright red bird and the manicured black pine are a nice contrast in the foreground of a setting-that -includes -a-wooden footpath-over a tranquil-pond; a traditional stone sculpture, and a backdrop of dense greenery.

When this stamp issue was first announced I wasn't sure which artistic direction I would take. Now, with the set complete, the result has exceeded my expectations with beautiful bonsai plants presented in lovely natural settings. And, most importantly, each has an exquisite bird with multi-colored plumage that will set these delicate watercolored Collins cachets apart from all others. And it is highly unlikely that a sun conure, a fairy bluebird or a red lory has ever before appeared on a United States First Day Cover, making this set highly collectible for bird and nature topicalists as well as present and future Collins collectors.

The final bonsai in the set is now ready — Black Pine with Red Lory. Item #F5004 at $14.00.