John Ernst Steinbeck

Novelist

Fred Collins Signature

Spring 2017 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 3 V101 — John Steinbeck

My 1979 trip to California for this first day of issue is chronicled on pages 27 to 29 of my 1999 book about my first twenty years as a cachetmaker. The hand painted cachet features a portrait of Steinbeck and the buildings along the street known as Cannery Row. From 1921 to 1946 Monterey was known as the "Sardine Capital of the World" and numerous sardine processing plants lined the street. In 1946 the small fish mysteriously left Monterey waters and have never returned. After Steinbeck published his novel, the "Row" became one of the most famous streets in the world. A single has the Salinas, CA first day of issue cancel, and a second stamp has the beautiful magenta first day postmark I obtained in Monterey — Home of Cannery Row.