FIRST DAYS - July-August 2022 Digital Edition

FIRST DAYS 

JULY-AUGUST 2022 — NO. 465 

THE “HOUSE OF DREAMS” AND 

MACDOWELL DAY 

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 

Walter Crosby 

the first in a series examining 

Crosby covers 

– starting on page 31. 

1922 

A Banner Year for First Day 

Cover Collecting 

– beginning on page 42. 

the journal of the 

American First Day Cover Society

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FIRST DAYS 

JULY - AUGUST 2022 — VOL. 67, NO. 4 — NO. 465 

PROLOGUE 

The President’s Perspective: Great American Stamp Show............................... 4 

Experiencing First Days: Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It......... 8 

Society News: New Officers & YouTube Advances............................................. 10 

Closed Albums: Doris Gold.........................................................................................14 

Awards & Honors: FDCs Factor into Literature & Exhibits.................................16 

Canadian Cachets: ArtCraft Cachets Exclusively for Canadian Issues...........18 

Covering the Youth Field: Create a Memory Quilt...............................................23 

Books & Literature: Complete Listing of ArtCraft Covers... ..............................24 

Question Box: How Do I Know it is a First Day Cover?......................................26 

FEATURES 

29 

Finland Birth Certificates, 

Part XVII 

by Alan Warren 

42 

1922: A Banner Year for 

First Day Cover Collecting 

by Jerry A. Katz 

31 

Walter Crosby 

- First in a Series 

by Kenneth Stern 

48 

We Will Win - US First Day 

Covers in Support of Norway’s 

WWII Resistance 

by Richard St. Clair 

EPILOGUE 

ArtCraft Variety Spotlight: The “House of Dreams” and MacDowell Day.....54 

Chapter News: Presentations, Patriotics and More............................................ 72 

AFDCS Auction Donors: We Appreciate Those Who Give!................................76 

Membership Report & Donation Honor Roll...........................................................77 

Advertising and Index of Advertisers......................................................................79 

Membership Application........................................................................................... 80 

The American First Day Cover Society publishes First 

Days (ISSN: 0428-4836 • USPS 196460) bimonthly at PO 

Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246. The subscription 

price is included with membership. 

©2022, American First Day Cover Society. All rights 

reserved. No portion of this journal may be reproduced 

without the written permission of the editor. Opinions 

expressed in First Days are those of the authors and not 

necessarily of the society. 

Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy, but validity 

is not guaranteed. Some names may be trademarks or 

registered trademarks, and are used for identification and 

explanation, without intent to infringe. The AFDCS logo 

is a registered trademark of the American First Day Cover 

Society. 

Printed in the United States of America. Periodicals 

postage paid at Madrid, IA, and additional mailing offices. 

Postmaster: Send address changes to AFDCS, PO Box 

246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246. 

2 First Days • July — August 2022

EDITOR 

Martin Kent Miller 

1361 W. Wade Hampton Blvd. 

Suite F-102 

Greer, SC 29650-1146 

editor@afdcs.org 

(864) 322-6847 

CONTRIBUTING 

EDITORS 

Gary Denis 

Michael Litvak 

Ralph Nafziger 

Todd Ronnei 

Alan Warren 

First Days 

ADVERTISING 

MANAGER 

Mark Thompson 

1709 Russell Street 

Nashville, TN 37206 

markrobbin@bellsouth.net 

AFDCS Leadership 

AFDCS CENTRAL OFFICE 

Membership Services 

David Lorms, Executive Secretary 

afdcs@afdcs.org 

American First Day Cover Society 

Post Office Box 246 

Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246 

(540) 940-1629 

AFDCS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

Lloyd de Vries 

President 

president@afdcs.org 

Mark Thompson 

Treasurer 


exec@afdcs.org 

Foster E. Miller 

Membership 

fmillerfdc@gmail.com 


Executive Vice President 

nafziger@peak.org 

James Hogg 

First Vice President 

bosshogg55@yahoo.com 

Mark Gereb 

Recording Secretary 

gereb@aol.com 

Chris L. Lazaroff 

Past President 

clazfdc@yahoo.com 

Tris Fall 

General Counsel 

tfall3@gmail.com 

Michael Lake 

Education 

mlake7@gmail.com 

David Lorms 

Executive Secretary 

afdcs@afdcs.org 

Martin Kent Miller 

Editor 


AFDCS BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

board@afdcs.org 

Cynthia Scott (2024) 

Chairman 

cynscott2011@gmail.com 

Lorraine Bailey (2024) 

alsaceleb@aol.com 

Gary Denis (2023) 

garycdenis@gmail.com 

Lloyd de Vries (2022) 


Tris Fall (General Counsel) 

tfall3@gmail.com 

Michael Lake (2024) 

mlake7@gmail.com 

Kris McIntosh (2023) 

krismc476@gmail.com 

Foster Miller (2023) 


Martin Kent Miller (Editor) 


Ralph Nafziger (2024) 

nafziger@peak.org 

David Peterman (2022) 

petermanart@gmail.com 

James Tatum, Jr. (2022) 

reelonefilms@earthlink.net 

Mark Thompson (2023) 


Time To Renew 

If your journal mailing includes an insert, your membership has expired. Renew by mail or on 

the AFDCS website at: www.afdcs.org/renewal. 

July — August 2022 • First Days 

3

The President’s Perspective by Lloyd A. de Vries 

Great American Stamp Show 

I’m really looking forward to Great American Stamp Show 

2022. It will be the first full-fledged show combining the American 

Philatelic Society, American Topical Association, and us. We were 

supposed to join the party in 2020, but the pandemic quashed that. 

We did join the party last year, but that was a “rush job.” The final 

Lloyd A. de Vries 

decision to hold the show “in person” was not made until May 15, 

again, because of the pandemic. Usually, the APS begins work on a show before the previous 

one is held. 

I’ve previously mentioned that I am checking 

off an item on my bucket list by taking trains across 

the country to reach the show. I am not the only 

one, nor even the only member of the AFDCS 

riding Amtrak to or from the show. Another 

member I know plans a side trip to some of our 

greatest National Parks. The added time and the 

near-certainty the show would be held aided our 

travel planning. 

We are pleased to announce two presentations 

scheduled at GASS by top US Postal Service 

officials: Bill Gicker, head of Stamp Services, 

and Linda Houghtaling of Stamp Fulfillment 

Services, which includes Cancellation Services. 

What these parts of the USPS do significantly affect your first day cover collecting, even if 

you specialize in “classic” issues: Collectors often begin with new issues. Check the show 

schedule either in the printed program or (best) on the APS website, www.stamps.org/ 

great-american-stamp-show/meetings-and-seminars, and click on the link for the latest PDF 

schedule. 

We have other meetings and seminars scheduled; again, check the schedule for the latest 

times and locations. The cachetmakers bourse will be held on the show floor during 

the day on Saturday. The US will issue what should be a popular set of stamps, Pony Cars. 

You should receive this issue well before the show, and there is still time to volunteer to 

help either the AFDCS or the APS. For us, contact Ralph Nafziger, our volunteers coordinator, 

or the Show Committee at showcommittee@afdcs.org. Even if you just find you have 

some time during the show and want to help, stop by our booth and say so. 

I expect we will present several of our major service awards during the show. We don’t 

have a “quota” and have sometimes skipped giving out the awards at our conventions – not 

this time. 


Autographed FDC’s 

and Covers 

The bulk of our stock is FDC’s 

signed by the designers and 

engravers. They have proved to 

be very popular among 

exhibitors of FDC’s and US 

issue collectors! Also included 

on this list are covers signed by 

other notable individuals that are 

associated with issue such as 

Governors, dignitaries, other 

statesmen, Postmasters, heads of 

organizations as well as Artists, 

Athletes, Nobel Prize winners 

and Aviators. 

Price list available on request 

FDC’S? We Can Help! 

One of America’s largest and varied FDC’s 

stocks! Almost anything you might want 

• Unusual Printed Cachets 

• Hand Painted and Unusual Cachets 

• Foreign Destinations 

• Material you didn’t even know existed! 

Whether you are a beginner, an advanced collector 

or an exhibitor – contact us first for friendly, 

helpful, prompt service! All inquiries and want 

lists welcomed! 

Thinking of a new Scott number to collect or 

exhibit? We would be happy to guide you! 

Need common FDC’s in quantity for framing or 

gifts? Try us! 

We Buy! We buy all better FDC’s, Aerophilately 

and Postal History of the U.S. and the World. 

US Issue Collectors! 

Cachet Artwork 

Artmaster Archives: Amazing stock from 1948-2001 that has 

both the original Artwork used for the cachets and the metal 

plates. 

Art Craft Archives: The artwork and plates being sold are from 

the period between 1939 and 2002. 

Colorano Silk Cachets: The Artwork is absolutely stunning! A 

price list is underway! 

Jack Davis: Original Artwork from the 1970’s and 1980’s. 

Kolor Kover: These cachets are on colored envelopes, and the 

artwork is lovely. Ask for your free price list! 

Ralph Dyer: One of the early cachet makers, we offer the 

original artwork used as a template for his hand painted cachets. 

Please inquire about your area of interest! 

Photo Essays and 

Autographed PB’s 

A significant portion of this material is 

from the estate of Sol Glass. Most of his 

material is extremely scarce. 

Photo Essays - Photo essays were 

photographed proposed designs of stamps 

that were never issued and often contain 

topical elements not found in the issued 

stamp. Approved photo designs are also 

listed and some are signed by the designer. 

Autographed Plate Blocks - These are mint 

plate blocks generally autographed by the 

designer, lettering and frame engravers. 

Also there are plate blocks that are signed 

by the famous individuals who inspired the 

issue. 

Price list available on request! 

And Much More! 

Including: Photographs used for design, 

Souvenir Programs, Press Releases, Letters 

relating to the issue, USPS sheet pad and box 

issue labels, 20th century Fancy Cancels, 

Postal History, Errors and the unusual! 

Now Available! Enormous stock of better and unusual FDC’s organized by Scott # Want lists 

invited! Let us know what interests you! 

U.S. Dignitary Presentation Albums 

These specially prepared albums were given to dignitaries, prominent legislators, and high postal 

officials and were produced in very small quantities. Presented by postal authorities, each contains a 

sheet of the newly released stamps or postal stationery. Earlier issues (the 1950’s into the 1960’s) were 

autographed by the PMG. In addition, the name of the recipient is inscribed in gold or silver on the 

cover. Many contain an accompanying letter specially related to the issue which will be noted. Most for 

1988-2009 were presented to (Ret) Congressman, Gary Ackerman 

Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc. Philately - The Quiet Excitement! 

53 Highland Ave., P.O. Box 3077, Middletown, NY 10940Toll-Free: 1-800-947-8267) • 

Tel: 845-343-5151 • Fax: 845-343-0068 

E-mail: hgitner@hgitner.com • http://www.hgitner.com 

May / June 2020 • First Days 27

We did run into one major problem with GASS 2022, 

however; the Americover exhibition, which is a World Series 

of Philately event, was short of entries at the deadline. 

AFDCS exhibiting chair Todd Ronnei called upon several 

experienced exhibitors (including himself) to submit their 

exhibits, and we did make the minimum, with room to spare. 

Had we not, the exhibits entered in the Americover section 

would have been lumped in and in competition with 

the general StampShow exhibits. Worse, it would have been 

a black eye for first day cover collecting. 

We believe there are two contributing factors stemming from the fact that many FDC 

An award-winning FDC exhibit 

by Ralph Nafziger. 

exhibitors do not want to mail their collections to a show. (They are too big in dimensions 

and weight.) The first was the pandemic, with many collectors still cautious about going to 

a major event of any sort. The second was the location on the West Coast, involving longer 

and more expensive travel. 

The AFDCS can’t do anything about the former, nor really about the show’s location. 

APS is committed to holding shows every so often in the western US, and I think that is a 

good policy. We can look into ways to facilitate exhibitors getting their entries to shows, 

and I have asked Todd and his committee to look into that. 

This problem did get me off my backside, and my “Weird Stuff First Day Covers” should 

be one of the exhibits. (In typical de Vries fashion, I wrote the synopsis before putting the 

revised and expanded exhibit together, the equivalent of the cart before the horse. I hope 

I can find the FDCs I promised!) 

You who don’t exhibit or don’t look at exhibits at a stamp show may wonder why I keep 

talking about exhibiting FDCs. I do so because it is a way of showing the importance, the 

value, and the fun in our specialty to other stamp collectors — showing off, if you will. It 

wasn’t that long ago that FDCs were a stepchild of philately. We are gaining in acceptance, 

and I think exhibiting supports that. 

I also like to tell people that just because you don’t see something happening 

doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Much is happening behind the scenes in the Education 

Department. We haven’t had a new AFDCS publication in a while, but Department Chair 

Michael Lake and Publications Chair Gary Denis report three are imminent. The old slide 

programs were converted to DVDs, at his own expense, by Thomas Lane, and you may 

soon see them available on our website. Our youth and classroom efforts also are not only 

continuing but expanding. 

We are in good financial shape. Our membership numbers are fairly steady. The most 

common reason we lose members is death, for which we do not yet have a solution. 

Since last year’s convention (GASS 2021), the executive committee has met three 

times via Zoom. That is the most Exec meetings in many years, perhaps ever. 

As we head into our annual convention (GASS 2022), I think the AFDCS overall is in 

good shape. The only real problem I see right now is that our leadership is aging, and we 

need to be introducing newer, younger members into our ranks. If you’re still a “philatelic 

kid,” please think about stepping forward. q 



Experiencing First Days by Martin Kent Miller 

Your Mission, Should You 

ChOose to Accept it... 

...is to discover a new first day cover, research it and the country 

that issued it and prepare an article about your discovery. As always, 

should you or any member of your FDC team be discovered, the editor 

will not necessarily disavow all knowledge of your actions. 

By the time you read this, the Great American Stamp Show (I like to just call it “GASS”) 

will be less than two months away and a host of other philatelic events will either have concluded 

or be happening soon. So, let’s have some fun with this flurry of activity. 

For the truly adventurous,* find a globe, spin the globe and put your finger on a spot 

without looking at it. Be careful – no broken globes or fingers, please. Write down the 

country where your finger landed. Now, take the name of that randomly selected nation to 

the next stamp show you visit (hopefully GASS is in your plans). I suspect there will be a 

dealer or two at the show that can point you to a box of covers where you can find either 

FDCs or event covers from that country. Select and purchase a cover (or two) about which 

you are willing to research and write. 

Once you are back (I certainly don’t want to take up too much of your time at show), 

spend some time researching the country and the stamp(s) on your cover. I suspect you 

may find the cachets interesting enough to dig into the 

history of the cover art too. Naturally, you’ll want to 

take some notes and then you’ll need to organize your 

findings to tell the cover’s story. Scan the cover (or take 

a well-centered photograph), write it all up, and send 

me the results. I'll go through every one that I receive 

and will work toward publishing the results here in First 

Days. If for any reason you can’t make it to a show to 

pickup a cover, I suspect some of our sponsors (see the 

list on pgae 79) could help you uncover something interesting. 

If all else fails, email me and I will try to find 

something to send you. 

The fate of the world doesn’t depend on your successful 

completion of this mission, but I thought it might be a GASS to give this a try. This 

message will not self-destruct in ten seconds. q 

* For the unadventurous or those who don’t happen to have a globe sitting around, you can go to 

www.generatormix.com/random-country-generator and get a list of three randomly selected countries. 

m editor@afdcs.org 


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“Distinctive Cachets 

for Discriminating Collectors” 

See you in Sacramento!! 

www.GoodmansArtCachets.com 

Charles.L.Goodman@hotmail.com 

First Day Covers • FDOI Souvenir Pages • “Added Art” Covers 

WANTED 

Any scans missing from my 

4-15-1942, MacArthur, WV 

and 9-10-1945, Nimitz, WV page: 

www.folklib.net/fdc/1940s/macarthur-nimitz.shtml 

Contact Doug Henkle via email at: 

henkle@pobox.com 


9

Society News 

Board of Directors Elects New Officers 

The AFDCS Board of Directors recently elected two members to serve as officers 

of the organization. Ralph Nafziger, who was serving as the recording secretary, 

has been elected executive vice president to fill the position left vacant by 

the resignation of the previous incumbent. The board also elected Mark Gereb to 

fill the position of recording secretary, which would have been open when Ralph 

Nafziger assumed his new role. Please congratulate these members and thank them 

for their willingness to serve the society. 

AFDCS YouTube Channel 

Education Department Chair Michael Lake recently reported to the Executive Committe 

on the department’s work. One of the highlights of the report was the progress being 

made with the society’s YouTube channel. Michael noted that the number of subscribers 

has increased, new videos have been posted, and the number of views (visitors watching 

videos) has grown significantly in recent weeks. 


Individually Hand Painted 

First Day Covers 

P.O. Box 188, Allentown, NJ 08501-0188 

collinscachets@yahoo.com 

Edmonia Lewis 

GRAEBNER CHAPTER CACHET 

LIMITED EDITION 

GASS Cinderellas 

www.AmericanTopical.org/ 

Circle-of-Maecenas/ 

First Day of Issue Cancels 

Machine or Hand Cancel — $3.00 

Digital Color Postmark — $4.00 

GRAEBNER CHAPTER #17 

Box 44 

Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0044 


11

The video AFDCS Graebner Chapter Early First Day Cover FDC Cachets 1977-1999 quickly reached more 

than 100 views shortly after it was posted. 

All members are encouraged to visit the channel and subscribe. The easiest way to 

reach the page is to go to www.youtube.com, type “AFDCS” in the search bar and then click 

once on the magnifying glass. When you see the AFDCS logo, click on it to go to the page. 

On the page, you will find a variety of presentations and the Education Department is 

working to expand the content available through YouTube. When you find videos 

that you enjoy, we hope you’ll help us promote them by giving them a “thumbs 

up” (similar to a “Like” on Facebook). Visiting the page and viewing the videos is 

not only enjoyable and informative, it also helps AFDCS reach other collectors and those 

searching the internet for information about FDCs. You can also stay up to date with the 

channel by subscribing. Simply click on the SUBSCRIBE button that will appear on the 

AFDCS YouTube page. 

There are additional chapter presentations being prepared for posting on the site. If you 

or your chapter are interested in sharing presentations for the YouTube channel, please 

contact Michael Lake via email at mlake7@gmail.com. Also, please thank Michael and the 

Education Department for their work on this exciting area of growth for AFDCS. 


Research Request 

AFDCS member Daryl Kibble is currently conducting research for a publication on 

the handdrawn/handpainted first day covers of artist Robert D’Spain. Daryl has achieved 

several Gold medal exhibits on the FDCs of D’Spain over the past years and would like to 

compliment his exhibit through a research publication. 

Daryl has been able to obtain correspondence between the artist and another AFDCS 

member, but his quest continues. Daryl would like to hear from other original subscribers 

to D’Spain’s cover who have: 

• correspondence from D’Spain that they could share, usually in his handwriting 

on notepaper; 

• examples of any artist’s proofs, or anything else unusual, that D’Spain produced 

to add to the growing number of items under study; 

• a D’Spain collection or partial collection they could share. Such material would 

facilitate a comparison of different painted covers for the same issues. One goal of 

the research is to note any significant variations. For example, sometimes, D’Spain 

did a small number of covers with a larger, close-up view to the standard but never 

numbered these covers any differently. 

If you have information or materials to share, please contact Daryl Kibble via email at: 

kibbled@bigpond.com. 

FDCs Online 

w 

AFDCS 

w www.afdcs.org 

Anon E. Mouse Cachets 

w www.anonemousecachets.com 

Will & Kathy Appel 

w www.postcardcovers.com 

Autographs.Online 

w www.autographs.online 

Fred Collins Cachets 

w www.collinsfirstdaycovers.com 

Dragon Cards 

w www.dragoncards.biz 

Dutch Country Auctions 

w www.thestampcenter.com 

For more information, contact: 

Mark Thompson 

1709 Russell St., Nashville, TN 37206 

615-945-6450; markrobbin@bellsouth.net 

Virtual Stamp Club 

w www.virtualstampclub.com 

FDC Auction Central 

w www.fdcauctioncentral.com 

Henry Gitner 

w www.hgitner.com 

Inaugurals.Com 

w www.inaugurals.com 

KSC Cachets 

w www.KSCCachets.com 

James T. McCusker Inc. 

w www.jamesmccusker.com 

Marilyn J. Nowak 

US & UN FDCs 

w www.marilynjnowakcovers.com 

The Stamp Center 

w www.thestampcenter.com 


13

Closed Albums 

14 First Days • July — August 2022 

Doris Gold 

January 26, 1926 to April 25, 2022 

Cachetmaker Doris Gold of Vernon Hills, Illinois passed away on 

April 25, 2022 at the age of 96. She was born January 26, 1926 in 

Chicago, Illinois. Both of her parents were involved with art. Doris 

and her sisters started a business “Cute Like Crazy” making custom 

designed hand-painted ceramic and candy creations. In 1948, she 

Doris Gold 

married Sam Gold and became a housewife, raising two daughters. 

A neighbor asked Doris to do a mural on one of her walls, which led 

to her “Murals by Doris” business. Returning to work at W.S. Miller Management Co., she 

started saving stamps from office mail. Her sister gave Doris a subscription to Linn’s Stamp 

News, where she learned about first day covers and postmarks. 

Doris began servicing blank FDCs on which she drew cachets. Her first was for the 1974 

Canadian Marconi issue (Scott 654) and her first US first day cover was for the 1975 Benjamin 

West stamp (Scott 1553). She won postmark design contests for Greater Miami Cachets 

and INTERPHIL 1976 with designs for “Writer’s Day” on June 6, 1976. She continued 

to produce hand-drawn cachets for herself, occasionally duplicating design for others. 

Her first Doris Gold (DG) cachet was for the 1977 Lindbergh stamp (Scott 1710). She 

created multicolored printed cachets made from black and white separations, one for each 

percentage of color, with each overlay going through the press. Some of her cachets went 

through the press a dozen times. In 1987, she changed her production to hand-painted cachets 

creating the DGHC cachet line. An outline was created in black and the cachet was 

hand-colored or painted by hand. The first DGHC cachet was for the 1987 Enrico Caruso 

stamp (Scott 2250). With the availability of color laser printing, Doris initiated her DGX 

cachet line in 1990 for the Movie Classics block of four (Scott 2445-2448). The initial design 

was hand-painted. Covers were then mechanically reproduced on laser printers. Doris 

continued to produce cachets until the end of 2017. Her last cachet was for the 2017 Christmas 

Carols stamps (Scott 5247-5250). The cover featured “Christmas in Wales,” part of her 

“Christmas Around the World” series that she produced annually from 1983 to 2017. 

Doris Gold joined the AFDCS in 1977 as member #13253, while living in Skokie, 

Illinois. In 1986, she moved to La Mesa, California. In later years, she lived briefly with her 

daughter in Williamsburg, Virginia before moving to Vernon Hills, Illinois. She served as 

AFDCS Cachet Information chair in 1981 and 1982 and served on the AFDCS Board of 

Directors from 1990 through 2001. 

Doris Gold won many awards for her cachet designs. She won top honors in the Linn’s 

Favorite Cachetmaker Poll in 1979, 1980 and 1981 and was selected for Professor Earl 

Planty’s Cachetmaker Hall of Fame in 1981. The AFDCS honored her with the 1994 Court 

of Honor first day cover. From 1991 through 2013, she won a total of 32 awards in the annual 

AFDCS Top Cachet contest. 

Doris Gold is survived by two daughters, Carol Melnick and Iris Noonan, six grandchildren 

and 11 great grandchildren. Her cachets can be viewed online at www.dorisgold.com. 

— Foster Miller

WANTED 

Isle of Man 

First Day and Event Covers on 

Colorano “Silk” cachets 

Anon E. Mouse 

Cachets 

Anita Mouse 

Photo Cachets 

Indy Mouse 

Hoosier Cachets 

Foster Miller 


Box 44 


Year of the Tiger 

GRAEBNER CHAPTER CACHET 

Everything Online: all hand 

drawn cachets and computer drawn 

cachets— selling as single covers, or 

in wholesale packets at discount. 

Check out the website! 

www.anonemousecachets.com 

Cynthia Scott 

4505 Chapel Drive, Columbus, IN 47203 

PETERMAN ART 

Airbrushed & Handpainted Limited Edition 

Cachets • Hand Done Add-ons 

$22.50 each plus $1 shipping & handling. While supplies last. 

First Day of Issue Cancels 



GRAEBNER CHAPTER #17 

Box 44 


DAVID PETERMAN 

938 Fond du Lac Avenue - PO Box 70 

Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085 

920-912-4514 • petermanart@gmail.com 

Find me on Facebook: Greatlakes Airbrush 


15

Awards & Honors by Alan Warren 

FDCs Factor into Literature & Exhibits 

The awards reported here are for FDC exhibits. They may or may not be by AFDCS members. 

AFDCS members also show other than FDC exhibits, but they are not recorded here. 

William Kelly 

The American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors each 

year presents its Clyde Jennings Award for the best article by a 

first-time contributor to its journal, The Philatelic Exhibitor. The 

2021 award goes to William Kelly for his article “Challenges 

of First Day Cover Exhibiting” that appeared in the 4 th quarter 

2021 issue. 

Ralph Nafziger won a large gold, 

the AFDCS award, the Hugh M. 

Southgate memorial trophy of the 

United States Stamp Society, and the show reserve grand award 

at Pipex, held in Portland, Oregon in April for his The 3¢ 1936 

Oregon Territory Issue. 

Several FDC displays were on view at Philatelic Show in 

Boxborough, Massachusetts, in April. Larry Fillion won a 

large gold, a United Nations Philatelists Special Convention 

award, the AFDCS award, and the Errors, Freaks, and Oddities 


Collectors Club second place award with his The United Nation’s 4¢ and 11¢ World United 

Against Malaria Set of 1962 and their First Days. A gold and a United Nations Philatelists 

Special Convention award went to Greg Galletti for The United Nations 1962 Housing Issue 

– A FDC Exhibit. Bob Helms took a vermeil for First Day of Issue and Early Use Flown Mail 

through February 1934. 

At the same show, Larry Fillion won a bronze, a United Nations Philatelists Special 

Convention award, and the Jean Benninghoff Encouragement award with his Philippines’ 

1962 Anti-Malaria Set and Its First Day Covers. Another bronze and another United Nations 

Philatelists Special Convention award went to George Arghir for Seventy Years in the Service 

of Peace – UN FDC Postal Stationery. Anthony Dewey had a non-competitive exhibit on 

display, The United Nations First Issue 1¢ Stamp and Its First Day – Solo Use. 

Several FDC exhibits were displayed at the Rocky Mountain Stamp Show in Denver 

in May. Anthony Dewey’s The 3¢ Connecticut Tercentenary Issue of 1935 and its First Days 

was in the court of honor of the George Brett Competition section of the show. In the 

open competition Ralph Nafziger received a large gold and the AFDCS award for his The 

3¢ 1936 Oregon Territory Issue, and James Mazeppa took a gold for The Poland Flag Stamp 

of the United States – Overrun Countries. Large vermeils went to Edward Bergen for Walt 

Disney’s 2nd Superstar: Donald Duck and The Walt Disney Postal Commemoration of 1986. 

q 

m alanwar@comcast.net 


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July — May August / June 2022 2020 •• First Days 3517

Canadian Cachets by Gary Dickinson 

Figure 1. This is the first exclusively Canadian ArtCraft cachet. 

Nine ArtCraft Cachets Were Used 

Exclusively for Canadian Stamp Issues 

Although ArtCraft was actively involved in the Canadian first day cover marketplace for 

over three decades, relatively few of their products were designed specifically for Canadian 

stamp issues. Their main stock in trade was a series of ten general-purpose cachets used for 

Canadian stamps and discussed in an earlier issue of First Days. 1 There were some other 

special-purpose cachets that were used for American as well as Canadian stamps, which 

had identical themes. 

There were nine exclusively Canadian designs for Canadian stamps, all but three of which 

included the words “Canada” or “Canadian,” and these are the subject of the current article. 

The first such cachet appeared for a stamp (Scott 275) which was issued on July 1, 

1947, the eightieth anniversary of confederation. It also commemorated Parliament’s passage 

of the Canadian Citizenship Act (Figure 1). The text message reads, “Marking the Advent 

of Canadian Citizenship.” The artwork includes a figure (like the one on the stamp) 

and a maple leaf symbolizing Canada. The Parliament Buildings are in the background. 

The next Canadian stamp to be issued (Scott 276) on February 16, 1948, received 

two different ArtCraft cachets featured in Figures 2 and 3. Both have photographs by “Int 

News,” with one showing the royal couple in full wedding regalia and the other with a 

less formal setting. The texts of the two designs differed, as did their fonts, and the frames 

around the portraits also differed. These are two of the three exclusively Canadian cachets 

which did not include a country identification, so it is conceivable that ArtCraft may have 

used them for stamp issues of other countries in the British Commonwealth. 


Figure 2. Here is ArtCraft’s more formal wedding photo for Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. 

Figure 3. This cachet features a less formal portrait of the Princess and Duke. 

The Canadian Association for Philatelic Exhibitions turned to ArtCraft for its official 

FDC, marking the opening of CAPEX 51, which honored the centennial of the transfer of 

postal service from Great Britain to British North America. Four stamps, including a facsimile 

of the first Canadian issue, were issued on September 24, 1951. The cachet’s artwork 

(Figure 4) shows the building housing the exhibition. 

Canada as an “all-season playground” was the theme of a set of four stamps (Scott 

365-368) issued on March 7, 1957, some six years after the previous exclusively Canadian 

ArtCraft FDC. Their cachet for this issue (Figure 5) started its life with a special purpose, 

as noted by the absence of a letter designation and four illustrations reflecting the stamps’ 

theme. Soon after, it became the tenth and final general-purpose cachet in the ArtCraft 


19

20 

LARRY K. MARSHALL AUTOGRAPHS 

P.O. Box 722110 

San Diego, CA 92 I 72 

'/ 

FDCs autographed by 

Figure 4. Canada’s first international philatelic exhibition is marked by aviators, this cachet. authors, film stars, 

composers, astronauts § 

sports figures our specialty. 

Celebrating Our 35th Year 

jon@c 

Figure 5. ArtCraft’s special purpose “playground” cachet became its tenth general purpose design. 

series by adding the designation “K” to the cachet design. 

An asylum of loons is featured on ArtCraft’s cachet for the stamp marking Canada’s National 

Wildlife Week (Scott 369) issued on April 10, 1957 (Figure 6). This bird is a symbol 

of the northern wilderness, and its call is unforgettable. 

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Figure 6. An asylum of loons is depicted on the National Wildlife Week stamp cachet. 

Figure 7. Explorer and cartographer David Thompson is honored on this ArtCraft cachet. 

A third (of four) special purpose cachets issued by ArtCraft during 1957 is illustrated 

in Figure 7. The stamp (Scott 370) and the cachet mark the centenary of the death of 

David Thompson, who conducted extensive explorations and mapping of the Canadian 

northwest. His travels covered 56,000 miles, and he mapped 1.9 million square miles, 

earning him the designation as the “greatest practical land geographer that the world has 

produced.” 

Although no direct reference to Canada is contained in the cachet shown in Figure 8, it 

was designed for the issue (Scott 374), marking the October 1957 visit of Queen Elizabeth 

II and Prince Philip to Canada. This places it in the category of exclusively Canadian FDCs. 

The visit was the Queen’s first to Canada since ascending to the throne in 1952. 


21

Figure 8. Portraits of the royal couple are featured on this cachet marking their 1957 visit to Canada. 

Figure 9. A Canadian physician is honored on this 1969 stamp and cachet. 

A dozen years passed before the next (and final) exclusively Canadian ArtCraft cachet 

was published. The design was for the stamp commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of 

the death of Canadian physician Sir William Osler (Scott 495). Osler is credited with introducing 

clinical practice into the training of medical doctors and was one of the four 

founders of Johns Hopkins Hospital. The cachet (Figure 9) and the stamp were issued on 

June 23, 1969, and feature two different portraits of Osler in his later years. q 

Reference 

m gandbdickinson@shaw.ca 

1. Gary Dickinson. “ArtCraft General Purpose Cachets.” 

First Days. Vo. 57, No. 5 ( July 2012), pp. 36-39. 


BUYING 

BETTER HAND-PAINTED FIRST DAY COVERS 

CALL OR WRITE 

The Gold Mine 

1707 Adelphi Road, Wantagh, NY 11793 

(516) 795-0090

Covering the Youth Field by MaryAnn Bowman 

Create a Memory Quilt 

As Told through First Day & Commemorative Covers 

Memory quilts are typically wonderfully crafted hand-made panels designed from 

cloth and created to preserve a particular person’s special memories, traditions, significant 

events, hopes and dreams to capture their history. And yet, these same stories and memories 

can also be shared by creating a paper-crafted quilt. Using event and first day covers 

can add another dimension and further highlight the experiences of the honoree. 

Some of the “stories” you might want to tell could begin with relatives’ ancestry and 

the countries from which they came. Select covers that represent the culture of that country. 

You could also look for covers illustrating the occupations or career paths parents and 

grandparents took. 

Find covers that tell about some of your favorite things. Is there a cover that best shows 

a favorite vacation spot? What are some favorite foods? Is there a favorite pet? Sports, 

hobbies, and other past-times can be depicted through selections of first day and commemorative 

covers. 

Consider adding memories of a beautiful place or time? Garden flowers? A rainbow? 

What brings joy? What makes you laugh? What makes you smile? What makes you happy? 

Illustrate the idea with covers. 

Think of things for which you are thankful. Can you find covers to represent those 

ideas? Are there traditions that have become a part of your family’s rituals? Celebrate them 

through covers. 

Look to the future. What hopes, dreams or wishes do you have for yourself or the world? 

Where do you dream of traveling to someday? How can they be expressed in covers? 

Once you have selected the covers you wish to use to tell the story of your life and 

memories, it is time to think about how to mount those covers. Instead of mounting them 

on standard white paper album style, consider using colored construction paper. 

Typically quilts are constructed using squares. Eight- or nine-inch squares of colored 

paper are one possibility. If desired, include a title or caption to identify each memory. Or 

think how much fun it might be to research some common quilt designs and then create 

a similar design using crayons or markers. Generally, it is best to mount the cover after the 

design is colored. 

Another option, experiment with different shapes, such as mounting the covers on diamond- 

or hexagon-shaped paper. Once the quilt squares are complete, staple them to form 

a small booklet. Use a heavier paper stock for the cover and give the booklet a title such as 

My Memory Quilt. 

A memory cover quilt can be a fun way to introduce cover collecting to a child. They 

would also make great gifts for an adult to create for a child or non-collector. Start yours 

today! q 

m youth@afdcs.org 


23

Books & Literature by Allison Cusick 

THE COMPREHENSIVE LISTING OF 

ARTCRAFT COVERS: THEIR VARIETIES AND 

VALUES (1939-2015), 7th edition, by Martin L. 

Severe and Michael W. Lake. 

ArtCraft is the most ubiquitous of all cachet 

brands. Go to any philatelic bourse, and you likely 

will see boxes literally stuffed with ArtCraft first 

day covers. It’s easy to dismiss ArtCraft cachets as 

mass-produced blandness. That would be a mistake, 

however. Specialists can have a field day with 

printing varieties that well deserve serious study. 

This “Listing”—an encyclopedia in all but name— 

illustrates the wonderful diversity of ArtCraft productions 

and is a great corrective to the notion that 

these cachets are uninteresting. 

Several years ago, I casually remarked that compiling a comprehensive account of Art- 

Craft cachets would be a worthwhile endeavor. Martin L. Severe took me up on that challenge. 

The first edition of the ArtCraft catalog appeared in 1992. Now we have the 7th 

edition of the catalog co-authored by Severe with Michael W. Lake, known to readers of 

First Days for his numerous articles on ArtCraft varieties. The authors can be justifiably 

proud of this volume. It proves the value of intense research into ArtCraft cachets in all 

their diversity. There is no comparable reference on any cachetmaker. I don’t say that lightly. 

Of course, ArtCraft had the greatest longevity of any cachet brand, 76 years, 1939-2015. 

Nearly 16,000 individual items were produced during that span. The authors’ research 

went beyond simply looking at cachets. They studied the AFDCS Archives as well as the 

archives of Washington Press, the company behind the ArtCraft brand. They also listened 

to recorded interviews with Sam and Leo August, the founders of Washington Press. 

The book opens with “The ArtCraft Story” by Lake, which details the history of the 

August Brothers and William “Bill” Decker, the salesman who introduced the August to 

Woodbury & Company, a maker of steel engravings. It was a match made in philatelic 

heaven! This history makes compelling reading. A useful timeline of significant events in 

the life of Washington Press appears on the following page. I wish similar charts existed for 

other long-term cachetmakers. 

The catalog is broadly organized into four basic sections (Figure 1): 

1. US first day covers—including those produced for the Postal Commemorative 

Society—arranged by Scott number; 

2. Miscellaneous non-first day cachets such as Presidential inaugurations, 

philatelic conventions, and general-purpose cachets; 

3. United Nations FDCs; and, 

4. Non-US FDCs and events. 

Section I takes up the majority of the book, 148 pages. It’s almost startling to learn 


how many variations exist for many Artcraft cachets. 

The listing for the first ArtCraft FDC, for the World’s 

Fair issue of 1939 (Scott 853), lists 23 variations of 

color, printing, and envelopes and three documented 

forgeries. My initial impression when scanning the 

book is that the highest number of variants may be 

for the Project Mercury issue of 1962, Scott 1193, 

and the John F. Kennedy commemorative of 1964, 

Scott 1246. The “Foreign” section only includes the 

countries for which ArtCraft prepared cachets for a 

series of FDCs, such as Canada and Vatican City. I 

was surprised, however, to find ArtCraft cachets the 

Canal Zone in this section. They rightfully belong in 

Part I with US stamps. 

Figure 1. 

My favorite section of the catalog is the 

“Miscellaneous” section. The variety of material represented is remarkable, ranging from 

portraits to space covers to “Greetings from Hell” [Norway]. And who knew that a radio 

station ordered cachets to mark the first day of spring in Paris, Texas? 

The book concludes with five appendices summarizing its contents. Appendix C is especially 

informative. The nomenclature and components of envelopes are illustrated. I was 

excited to learn about concave, convex, and straight heels. 

The ArtCraft “Bible,” as it has been dubbed, is easy to use, full of valuable information, 

and affordable. What’s not to like? It belongs in the library of every serious collector of 

cachets. 

Published in 2021 by PoppyGun, Inc., P. O. Box 762, Rockville, MD 20848. xxi + 226 p. + 

5 unpaginated appendices. Spiral-bound. $34.95 + $3.50 shipping. 

Figure 2. 


25

The Question Box by Alan Warren 

Figure 1. 

How Do I Know 

it is a First Day Cover? 

Figure 2. 


Collectors of United States first day covers realize that those issued prior to the 1937 

Ordinance of 1787 commemorative (Scott 795) do not have postmarks with “First Day 

of Issue” wording. You need a catalog to be sure they are FDCs. 

There may be other clues like a cachet or a handwritten notation on the envelope, but 

in the absence these indicators, the catalog is the ultimate resource. 

However, we have the opposite problem with the Denmark covers shown here. A set of 

eleven different denomination definitives was issued by that country between September 

1942 and November 1946 to honor King Christian X. The first day covers canceled in 

Copenhagen have postmarks with the Danish wording for first day of issue (Figure 1). 

All the stamp releases were publicized well in advance by the postal service so that collectors 

and cachet makers could prepare appropriate envelopes. One exception is the 75- 

øre value which was not announced. Hence FDCs are scarce. The rate paid the little known 

second weight step for a parcel. A few knowledgeable collectors were able to create covers. 

Figure 3. 

Some of them recycled cachets that were used for other values in the set (Figure 2). 

A collector named Henrik von Seydewitz made his own general purpose hand stamped 

cachet and simply added an SL marking with the date of issue for this stamp, October 15, 

1946 (Figure 3). Others just mailed their covers at the nearest Copenhagen post office 

branch (Figure 4, next page). 

The Figure 5 FDC took a bit more effort. It is addressed to someone in Sweden and 

bears an Express mail label. It is still overpaid as the letter rate to Sweden at the time was 

25-øre and the express fee 40-øre. In addition, the addressee had moved from the town of 

Ålsten to Halmstad. The arrival mark on the reverse indicates it arrived there October 17. 

Modern first day covers can also be overlooked if they have unofficial cancels. In all 

cases the catalog is the collector’s best friend. q 



27

Figure 4. 

Figure 5. 


Finland Birth Certificates 

by Alan Warren 

Figure 1. 

Part 17 

On January 1, 1941, Finland issued a set of four semipostals (Scott B44-47) to raise 

funds for reconstruction projects following the Winter War of 1939-1940. Catalogs used 

to list the first day as January 2 since January 1 was a holiday. However, FDCs are found 

with the correct issue date of January 1 postmarked at major post offices that were open 

that day. 

The 50 + 5 penni depicts a laborer carrying building materials, and the 1.75 mark + 

15 penni shows a man plowing a field. A mother and child are seen on the 2.75 mark + 25 

penni and the Finnish flag on the 3.50 mark + 35 penni. 

The registered FDC in Figure 1 was hand canceled in Helsinki and bears a general purpose 

four-language cachet. Even though it went to Sweden it is still overpaid as the letter 

rate to Nordic countries was 2.75 marks and the registry fee another 2 marks. At the left of 

the cover is a circular Finnish censor mark with wording in both Finnish and Swedish to 

indicate that the item was inspected. 

Figure 2 was hand canceled first day and mailed locally at the town of Lohja, 30 miles 


29

Figure 2. 

west of Helsinki. The printed red cross general purpose cachet with “1941” is accompanied 

by a hand stamped “First day cover” in English. 

In May 1945, Finland issued another set of stamps with the same designs and colors 

(Scott B65-68, Figure 3), but different denominations. They were used to raise reconstruction 

funds following World War II. q 

Figure 3. 


References: 

Lithén, Gunnar, ed. FACIT Special Classic catalog, Malmö, Sweden, 2020 

Moxter, Hans G. Die Postzensur in Finnland, FG Nordische Staaten im Bund Deutscher Philatelisten, Berlin, 

Germany, 1975. 


Figure 1. 

Walter Crosby 

by Kenneth Stern 

I first discovered the FDCs of Walter Crosby at a stamp show held on the Queen Mary 

in Long Beach, California many years ago. As with others who became attracted to his 

covers, it was the bright colors along with the small “photo stamps” (the words Crosby 

used to describe the photos on his covers) that attracted my interest. Having picked up 

a few covers that day I remember a very rainy Saturday when I visited one of my favorite 

FDC dealers in Pasadena to look through their stock to see if I could begin what I imagined 

would be an easy journey to collect all the FDCs issued by this obscure (to me) cachet 

maker. To my then surprise I found that there were 2, 3, or even more different Crosby cachets 

for each stamp! My idea to easily collect all of Crosby’s FDCs was quickly disabused. 

In the years since, I have learned much about Crosby, have collected and sold two different 

large Crosby collections and now have a third collection. All along, I hoped that someone 

would produce a catalog of Crosby covers. 

Nearly 50 years ago, Mike Mellone advertised in these pages that a WG Crosby catalog 

was “currently being produced for publication.” (First Days, Nov/Dec 1974, page 43) 

Correspondence exists between Frederick Hall and Emma Crosby (Walter’s widow) in 

1975 regarding that project. However, the catalog was never published. Instead, Crosby’s 

cachets were documented to some extent in the Planty and Mellone catalogs that were 

published over the next 32 years. (I once asked Mike Mellone about the proposed Crosby 

catalog, and he told me that the idea of producing the catalog had been subsumed by the 

publication of the Planty catalog.) 


31

William Stroebel published his volume on Crosby (Walter G. Crosby, Philatelic Cachet 

Specialist) in 1992. It covers Crosby’s work in all facets of his cachet making activity, not 

just first day covers and is an essential tool for Crosby collectors. 

The Planty, Mellone, and Stroebel publications all cover various aspects of Crosby cachets, 

but none include detailed listings of his cachets, including minor (and sometimes 

major variations) and none are in color. Also, since their publication a thousand and more 

new discoveries have emerged. 

Finally, I decided to take up Mellone’s mantle to a limited degree and publish a Crosby 

catalog but not in print, rather online and in full color. This catalog focuses only on first day 

cachets and, because it is online, can be updated easily as new cachets come to light. This 

catalog can be found at www.wgcrosbyfdcs.com. 

At the time of this writing, the catalog includes covers from 1928 through 1945, but 

will eventually extend until 1949. Crosby died on September 28, 1947, but his wife continued 

the business until early 1949. (Figure 1 is a Crosby cacheted cover which was postmarked 

on the date of his death. It is a particularly appropriate cover with an Army cachet, 

a naval cancel, and on an airmail envelope.) 

For many years Crosby had been promoting the creation of a stamp honoring ‘Old 

Ironsides,’ the US Frigate Constitution. Ironically, that stamp was released on October 21, 

1947, just a few weeks after his death. Figure 2 shows an example of one of Crosby’s cachets 

for that issue. 

Figure 2. 

Described below are some of the covers not listed in the Planty catalogs that are shown 

in the new online catalog covering the early years of his career - through 1937. 

Early Uncacheted Covers - When Stroebel published his volume, he listed Scott 681 

(October 1929) as the earliest then known uncacheted first day cover addressed to Crosby. 

Paul Sommers (First Days, January 15, 2011, pp. 8-12) describes earlier covers, picturing a 

cover for Scott 649 postmarked 2 nd Day D.C., Dec. 13, 1928. 


Illustrated here are two additional early covers. First, the companion piece to Paul’s 

Scott 649, a cover for Scott 650 which was issued on the same day, and which was also 

canceled in D.C. on December 13, 1928. (Figure 3). Next is a cover for UC1. This was canceled 

a month later on January 12, 1929. (Figure 4). Other early uncacheted covers shown 

in the online catalog include Scott 651 (February1929), Scott 654 ( June 1929), Scott 680 

(Sepember 1929), all preceding the Scott 681 referred to by Stroebel. 

Figure 3. 

Figure 4. 

Early Thermographic Covers - While traditionally, Scott 773 is viewed as Crosby’s 

first thermographic printed first day cover, Stroebel noted a 2 nd day cover for the 2¢ 

Carolina Charlston stamp (Scott 683) which was issued in 1930. It turns out that Crosby 

had already used that same thermographic cachet at least a year earlier in June 1929 for the 

Edison stamp (Scott 654 - Figure 5), making it the earliest Crosby thermographic FDC 


33

presently known (at least to me). The cachet he used should be familiar to many because 

he would reuse the design in 1938, most notably for the 4 ½ cent Presidential Series stamp 

(Scott 809). 

Figure 5. 

Yorktown Stamp (Scott 703) - Crosby produced several different cachet types for 

the Yorktown stamp. All are canceled on either the USS Arkansas or USF Constitution and 

generally include a rubber stamp cachet noting the visit of President Hoover to Yorktown 

harbor that day. In addition to creating a Beazell style photographic cachet (Planty 34m) 

for this issue, Crosby added “photo stamps” of various ships on the front of the covers including 

one of the USF Constitution upon which the cover in Figure 6 was canceled. Those 

covers also generally have a rubber-stamp on the back reading: ‘W.G. CROSBY.” 

Figure 6. 


Washington Bicentennial (Scott 704-15) - Crosby produced an entire set of covers 

in the Beazell photographic style for the George Washington Bicentennial Series of 1932 

(Planty #26q-26bb). While those covers are shown in the Planty Catalog, there is an interesting 

variation of P#26aa with a reversed image of the “Storming of Stony Point” (Figure 

7). The first image is the Planty version and the second is the reversed. 

Figure 7. 

National Parks Series (Scott 740-749) - When considering Crosby’s Beazell style 

photographic cachets, I often return to the last set Crosby created – the National Parks 

Series (Scott 740-749) as mentioned by Stroebel at pages 3 and 62. Stroebel reported that 

Crosby created a complete set of these covers for the National Parks Series. (Stroebel, pp. 

3, 62) A collector once told me some years ago that he had seen a set of the covers which 

replicate generally the designs of the stamps with dots surrounding the cachets. What remains 

puzzling to me is where have those covers been hiding all these years. If anyone has 

copies that they would like to share, I would be most interested. 

California Pacific International Exposition (Scott 773) - While the Planty catalog 

lists more than 30 cachets used on covers for this “first” Crosby cachet, the online catalog 

now illustrates more than 40 additional covers not shown in Planty. Two are shown here: 

(Figure 8) and (Figure 9). The latter is one of several cachets Crosby produced on post 

cards and the image shows the reverse of the card as well. 

Susan B. Anthony (Scott 784) - The online catalog currently shows four covers not 

listed in Planty. For this issue and several others (notably the Army-Navy series) one 

should note whether the stars point up or down (Figure 10) and that there are two distinct 

photographs showing the night view of the US Capitol Building (Figure 11). 

Army-Navy Series (Scott 785-794) - Crosby, as a retired naval chief gunner’s mate 

focused almost exclusively on the Navy part of this series. Planty shows only six cachets 


35

Figure 8. 

Figure 9. 


Figure 10. 

Figure 11. Type 1 on the left, type 2 shown on the right. 

designed for the Army series as contrasted with about 80 Navy cachets. While Planty does 

not list a cachet for the Army 2¢ value (Scott 786), the cachet it shows as P#789-22b really 

belongs to that value since it is in red. The online catalog illustrates the cachet being properly 

used for Scott 786 (Figure 12). 

As to the Navy series, my online catalog shows more than 50 covers not listed in Planty. 

A few of them are Figures 13, 14 and 15. Note that Figure 14 represents a dual FDC for the 

Army and Navy 4-cent issues. 

Territorial Series (Scott 799-802) - There are 24 covers not listed in Planty presently 

shown in the online catalog. Among them are Figures 16 and 17. 

1937 Airmail Issues (Scott C21-22) -There is a new cachet for Scott C21 (Figure 18). 

Later Issues -The catalog of 1938 issues includes an extensive look at the Presidential 

Series designs which are considerably more varied than noted in the Planty Catalog. 1939 

issues include one of my favorite Crosby set of designs for the Canal Zone 25 th Anniversary. 

Crosby created cachets not only for the US stamp (Scott 856) but also for the stamps 

issued by the Canal Zone itself. There are approximately 235 cachet varieties for these 

issues shown in the catalog (as contrasted with 60 documented in Planty). 1940 brings the 


37

Figure 12. 

Figure 13. 

Figure 14. 

Figure 15. 

Famous American Series 

and with the help 

of Paul Hoffman who 

wrote several articles on 

Crosby Famous Americans 

stamps in First 

Days, there is extensive 

coverage of that issue. 

Another First Days author 

Steven Zwillinger 

was very helpful with 

cachets of the 1945 

Texas Statehood issue. 1945 

also was the year that the USPS 

released a Navy stamp (Scott 

935) as part of a series honoring 

the Armed Forces of World 

War II. Crosby made the most 

of this opportunity to create 

numerous Navy cachets. The 

Mellone catalog lists about 30 

different cachets, but the new 

online catalog shows over 70. 

This article gives a small 

taste of what can be found in 

the online catalog. I welcome 

additions and corrections to 

the information in the website 

as well as contributions of new 

covers (and also improved 

quality of images where necessary.) 

Contact information 

can be found at the website. I 

also plan to reach out to other 

former AFDCS contributors 

who have published articles 

on Crosby covers throughout 

the years to see if they are interested 

in contributing to this 

catalog. While it will never be 

complete, I hope it will become 

a valuable resource for 

those interested in Crosby first 

day cover cachets. q 


Figure 16. 

Figure 17. 

Figure 18. 


39

EUGENIE CLARK 

SHEL SILVERSTEIN 

FDoI-perf (illus.) or imperf-DCP - $5 

FDoI-perf-hand or machine - $4 

FDoI-imperf pair-DCP - $7 

FDoI-imperf & perf singles - $7 

GEORGE MORRISON 

FDoI-perf (illus.) or imperf-DCP - $5 

FDoI-perf-hand or machine - $4 

FDoI-imperf pair-DCP - $7 

FDoI-imperf & perf singles-DCP - $7 

MOUNTAIN FLORA 

FDoI-Set/5-imperf pair (illus.)-DCP - $25 

FDoI-Set/5-imperf & perf singles-DCP - $25 

FDoI-Set/5-imperf or perf-DCP - $22 

FDoI-Set/5-perf-hand or machine - $17 

TITLE IX 

FDoI-Set/4 (illus.)-DCP - $19 

FDoI-Set/4-hand or machine - $15 

FDoI-Blk/4-machine - $8 

FDoI-Bklt pane w/cover-DCP - $15 

FDoI-Entire bklt (2 covers)-DCP - $25 

AFRICAN DAISY 

FDoI-Set/4-perf (illus.) or imperf-DCP - $19 

FDoI-Set/4-perf-hand or machine - $15 

FDoI-Set/4-imperf & perf singles-DCP - $24 

FDoI-Set/2-imperf pair-DCP - $14 

FDoI-Blk/4-perf-machine - $8 

FDoI-DCP (illus.) - $7 

FDoI-hand or machine - $6

MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI 

FDoI-perf (illus.) (illus.) or or or imperf setenant blks/4 blks/4 & 6-DCP & 6-DCP & hand & hand cancels - - $18 - $18 

FDoI-perf (illus.) (illus.) or or or imperf setenant blk/10 with with machine cancel - - $15 - $15 

FDoI-perf (illus.) (illus.) or or or imperf-Set/10-DCP - - $45, - $45, FDoI-Set/10-perf-hand or or or machine (illus.) (illus.) - - $35 - $35 

FDoI-Set/5-imperf pairs-DCP - - - $28.00, FDoI-Set/10-perf & & imperf singles-DCP - - $55 - $55 

FDoI-ENTIRE PANE PANE on on on a a a cacheted 99 x 9 x 12” x 12” envelope - - $24 - $24 

WOMEN’S ROWING 

NOTE: There There are are only only 22 sets 2 sets of of of 44 4 different stamps in in the in the pane pane of of of 20 20 20 stamps. This This leaves leaves 12 12 12 

extra extra stamps per per pane; pane; therefore, your your purchase of of of the the sets sets below below will will include 66 mint 6 mint stamps. 

FDoI-Setenant strip/4 in in red in red or or or green green plus plus coxswain-Perf (illus.) (illus.) or or or imperf-DCP & hand & hand cancel 

are are $12 $12 each each or or or a a Set a Set of of of both both varieties - - $20 - $20 

FDoI-Set/4-perf (illus.) (illus.) or or or imperf-DCP - - $25, - $25, FDoI-Set/4-perf & & imperf-DCP - - $35, - $35, FDoI FDoI Set/4 

Set/4 

perf perf hand hand or or or machine (illus.) (illus.) - - - $20.00 

FDoI-Set/2-perf or or or imperf pairs pairs (All (All 44 stamp 4 stamp varieties)-DCP - - $15 - $15

1922 

Figure 1. PMG Hubert Work at the Philatelic Stamp Agency 

window purchasing the first new special delivery stamp. The 

photo captured national press coverage (right). 

A Banner Year for First Day 

Cover Collecting 

by Jerry A. Katz 

One hundred years ago, the United States Post 

Office Department (USPOD) adopted the following 

policies, establishing a new foundation for first day 

cover collecting. Some of the policies had been practiced 

before, but not to the new scope and extent. The collecting of FDCs, still in its infancy, 

would move from a stage of Post Office indifference 1 to a partnership still in place today. 

1. Press releases of the upcoming first day of issue information for new stamps, not 

only for commemoratives but ordinary and special service stamps as well. 

2. The release of new stamps at sites significant to the subject of the stamp. 

3. Public first day ceremonies to formally introduce the new stamps. 

The When, Where, and How of the modern FDC were being implemented. The final 

ingredient of contemporary FDC collecting as we know it today, the commercially produced 

cachet, would debut on the scene one year later. 

It all started in 1921. The victory of Warren G. Harding in the recent US presidential 

election ushered in a new Republican administration. Among Harding’s appointees was 

W. Irving Glover, the Third Assistant Postmaster General. His responsibilities would include 

postage stamps. Glover not only brought to the office a background of being a savvy 


politician and successful businessman who knew the president, but also a wife who the 

philatelic press reported as a serious collector who owned one of the best collections in 

the country. 

Glover became an advocate for the country’s stamp collectors. He recognized that if 

the USPOD catered to stamp collectors, both parties would benefit from the relationship. 

Glover’s first philatelic endeavor, made over Postmaster General (PMG) Will Hays’ 

reluctance, was the establishment of the Philatelic Stamp Agency in December 1921 at 

the City Post Office in Washington, DC. The Agency would provide new issues and older 

stamps, particularly selected for their centering, to collectors in person or by mail. It would 

eventually become a source for FDCs. 

Glover decided that the design of all postage stamps should be changed. The first stamp 

to receive this attention was the ten-cent special delivery stamp, whose bicycle messenger 

had been in use since 1902. A new design (Scott E12) would show a motorcycle messenger 

to reflect that the USPOD was mechanizing. Glover’s July 9, 1922 newspaper announcement 

said a new special delivery stamp would be made available to collectors on 

July 12 at the Philatelic Stamp Agency. 

A few days earlier, the new special delivery stamps were coming off a printing press at 

the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). The first six sheets were autographed at press 

side by Glover, Superintendent of Stamps Michael Eidsness, Jr., and BEP Director Louis 

A. Hall. That output, which resulted in 24 autographed panes (post office sheets), was put 

on sale at the Agency on the first day. This custom of commemorating new issues of stamps 

with government official signatures would continue for several years. 

A ceremony of sorts occurred on the first day when PMG Hubert Work, who had replaced 

PMG Hays, was photographed at the Agency window purchasing the first new special 

delivery stamp (Figure 1). The Washington newspapers printed a cropped photo which 

showed only Work at the window of the Agency buying the stamp from agent H. A. Mount. 

They said he would present the stamp with a die proof to the president. The philatelic press 

also mentioned that the second copy was purchased by Glover (standing directly behind 

Work in the photograph), who “presented it to his wife, an enthusiastic stamp collector.” 

It was announced on June 30 that a new series of 21 ordinary postage stamps would 

replace the Washington-Franklin series that had been in use since 1908. This series, now 

known as the Fourth Bureau Issue, would include portraits of past US presidents and 

scenes of national landmarks. 

Unexpectedly, the first stamp in the new series to be released was an eleven-cent stamp 

(Scott 563) featuring Rutherford B. Hayes, our 19th president. The Hayes family, after 

hearing about a proposed Hayes stamp, successfully convinced Glover, via the president (a 

fellow Ohioan), that the stamp should be released at Hayes’ hometown of Fremont, Ohio, 

on October 4 in conjunction with that city’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of Hayes’ 

birth. This timing would preempt the planned release of other Fourth Bureau Issue stamps. 

Work was started at the BEP on September 1 on a die whose design was based on a 

Mathew Brady portrait of Hayes. It was not until Saturday, September 30, that the new 

stamp was coming off a printing press. Glover released an announcement to major newspapers 

on the same day. The release stated that a Hayes stamp, the first of a new series of 

stamps, would be released on Wednesday, October 4, in Fremont, Ohio, and Washington, 


43

Figure 2. A publicity photograph shows Eidsness receiving a package of stamps in preparation for his trip. 

The inset (bottom) shows an enhanced enlargement indicating that the package contained 50,000 stamps of 

the 11-cent Hayes stamp. 

DC. This plan was the first time the USPOD designated a city other than Washington to sell 

a stamp on the first day. 

Glover selected Superintendent Eidsness to take the new stamp to Fremont. A publicity 

photograph (Figure 2) shows Eidsness receiving a package of stamps from PMG 

Work in preparation for his trip. An enlargement of the printing on the box indicates that 

the package contained 50,000 stamps of the 11-cent Hayes stamp. That’s 500 post office 

sheets; the number seems excessive. A news release also mentioned 50,000 stamps. Previous 

articles have said that only four sheets were taken to Fremont. 2 They must be the 

number of sheets handed by Eidsness to Fremont Postmaster Myron Cox in a brief public 

ceremony held on the morning of the first day. 

In addition to presenting stamps to Postmaster Cox at the ceremony, Eidsness also presented 

a die proof and a sheet, both autographed by PMG Work, to Scott Hayes, the son 

who represented the Hayes family. A schedule outlining the program on a mimeographed 

sheet of paper was distributed at the ceremony. It is the forerunner of today’s more sophisticated 

first day ceremony programs. The ceremony was the first of its kind in the United 


States. Motion picture operators also photographed Hayes purchasing stamps from Cox 

on the speaker’s platform in the afternoon. 

With his release of the Hayes stamp at Fremont, Glover had not only introduced the 

Fourth Bureau Issue but also set up collectors to look forward to announcements about 

other new stamps’ release dates and locations. 

Detailed articles that feature the E12 FDCs and Hayes FDCs have previously appeared 

in First Days. 3,4,5 A survey conducted by this author for more than fifty years has updated 

the cover counts mentioned in those articles. The last addition to the counts happened in 

2020. 

There are now 86 known FDCs of Scott E12. They were serviced by only eight servicers, 

six of whom had serviced FDCs previously. When duplicate covers are eliminated, there 

are only 21 different covers. The numbers for Scott 563 FDCs canceled at Washington, 

DC, are very similar. The 91 covers known today were serviced by seven servicers, six of 

whom also previously serviced the E12 FDCs. There are only 19 different covers. Firsttime 

servicer Edward C. Worden serviced the bulk of the known covers for both issues. 

The servicers for the two issues were primarily from the Washington, DC area or had some 

relationship with Superintendent Eidsness. 

There are now 76 known Scott 563 FDCs from Fremont, Ohio. They were serviced 

by 24 different servicers. With the duplicates eliminated, there are 44 different covers. All 

of the servicers, except for Henry Hammelman, who serviced covers from both first day 

cities, are believed to be first-time FDC servicers. The other veteran servicers, those who 

serviced Washington FDCs, did not service Fremont FDCs. 

Some of the covers merit special attention. Philip Ward Jr., the noted Philadelphia dealer 

and philatelic journalist, received a registered E12 FDC (Figure 3). He mentioned the 

following in his column in Mekeel’s Weekly Stamp News: “The first copy to be sent through 

the mails officially from the Agency was received by your editor and bears the postmark of 

the First Day.” All other known E12 FDCs were serviced in person at the Washington City 

Post Office by their servicers. Ward’s cover received special treatment before being sent to 

him by the Agency. The reverse of the cover bears the wax seal of Eidsness’ Department 

of Stamps, which oversaw the Agency. The Agency also applied its return address to the 

cover. 

A similar situation happened with the processing of the Hayes FDCs three months later 

in Washington, DC. Ward again received a first day cover with the wax seal. Stamp dealer 

Erwin Strasser of Cleveland, Ohio, sent four covers to the Agency for first day processing 

(Figure 4). At least two of them received the wax seal, while all of these covers received 

the new Philatelic Stamp Agency address handstamp. Strasser also received four Hayes 

FDCs from Fremont. Like the E12 FDCs, all the other known Hayes covers were serviced 

in person, not mailed in, by their servicers. Note that the Strasser cover does not have a 

dated postmark on its front. Registered covers processed at Washington, DC typically had 

(registration) dates applied only to their backsides. The Ward cover is an exception. 

Eidsness serviced the final FDC of note at Fremont before the first day ceremony. It is 

one of five Eidsness FDCs with the corner card of the Third Assistant Postmaster General 

and is addressed in Eidsness’ handwriting. The cover is addressed to his boss W. Irving 

Glover (Figure 6). It is not only the premier FDC of the Fourth Bureau Issue, but I think 


45

Figure 3. A registered E12 FDC sent to Philip Ward Jr., the noted Philadelphia dealer and philatelic journalist. 

Figure 4. A registered cover sent from the Agency to stamp dealer Erwin Strasser. 

Figure 5. The back of the Strasser cover shows the registration dates, wax seal and Cleveland 

receiving dates. 


that it is the most important United States first day cover of the 20th century because it is 

the first to best introduce Glover’s When, Where, and How policies. 

All known Scott E12 FDCs and Scott 563 FDCs are exhibited and discussed on the 

internet. They can be accessed via a website managed by this author. The web address is 

jerryakatz.wordpress.com. q 

m jerryakatz@aol.com 

Figure 6. A registered cover sent from the Agency to stamp dealer Erwin Strasser. 

References 

1. Siskin, Ed. “Pre-1922 FDC Dates – What Do They Mean?” First Days, March, 1978, Vol. 23. No. 2. pp. 28 -31. 

2. Cusick, Allison W. “Modern First-Days Began with Hayes Issue,” Linn’s Stamp News, April 27, 1987, pp. 8 – 9. 

3. Katz, Jerry A. “FDCs of the Special Delivery Issue of 1922”, First Days, Vol. 47, No. 4, June 2002, pp. 

240 – 249. 

4. Katz, Jerry A. “The 11c Hayes FDC”, First Days, Vol. 44, No. 2, March, 1999, pp.126 – 139. 

5. Katz, Jerry A. “The 11c Hayes FDC Census Updated”, First Days, Vol. 46, No. 3, April, 2001, pp. 192 – 195. 

For Further Information... 

Jerry Katz’s exhibit, 1922: A Banner 

Year for FDC Collecting, will be 

on display at The Great American 

Stamp Show, scheduled for August 

25 - 28 in Sacramento, California. 

This show is co-sponsored by 

AFDCS, APS and ATA. For more 

information and to register for the 

show, please visit: www.stamps.org/ 

great-american-stamp-show. 


47

US First Day Covers in Support of Norway’s WWII Resistance 

by Richard St. Clair 

Figure 1. This photo shows the WWII "We Will Win" slogan painted on a road in Norway. (Photo: eBay). 

Early in World War II, Norway was considered by Germany’s Führer Adolf Hitler to be 

strategically important to his military designs, thus he invaded Norway on April 9, 1940 by 

air and sea. Afterward, the Germans stationed 350,000 soldiers in this northern country of 

less than 3 million inhabitants. Almost immediately, Norwegians began to resist the Nazi 

occupation at risk of imprisonment and even death. 

I am personally interested in the occupation of Norway since I am a Norwegian-American 

with relatives who lived through those trauamatic years under Nazi rule. There are 

many books on the resistance and Norwegian life under Nazi tyrrany, some of which I will 

list in the references. 

Although the Germans declared to Norway that they “came in peace,” they quickly 

abolished the Storting, Norway’s national legislature, installed a puppet leader in the 

person of Vidkun Quisling. King Haakon VII decided to flee into exile in Great Britain. 

They expanded the Nazi party equivalent in Norway called Nasjonal Samling (founded 

in 1933), but only a mere 40,000 Norwegians ended up joining, for self-serving motives 

and not out of patriotism. The Nazis invited young able-bodied Norwegians to join the 

German Wehrmacht, but only 700 actually enlisted; those who had ties to Germany. All in 

all, Norwegians nearly unanimously opposed, and many joined the resistance against, the 

despised Nazi invaders. 

In the United States, the postal service in 1943-1944 issued the Overrun Countries series 

showing as vignettes the flags of countries occupied by the Axis powers. These stamps 

are Scott 909-921, with flags of Poland (909), Czechoslovakia (910), Norway (911), Luxembourg 

(912), Netherlands (913), Belgium (914), France (915), Greece (916), Yugoslavia 

(917), Albania (918), Austria (919), Denmark (920), and Korea (921). The stamp 

featuring Norway’s flag was issued in Washington, DC on July 7, 1943 with the standard 

cancellation reading “First Day of Issue.” 


First day covers 

(FDC) of the Overrun 

Countries issues 

are plentiful. I found 

twelve of these FDCs 

with interesting cachets 

in support of the 

resistance in Norway, 

hence the motivation 

to write this article. 

The Norwegian people 

often painted the 

Figure 2. “Vi Will Vinne!” cachet with two stamps. 

slogan, “Vi Vil Vinne” 

(“We Will Win”) on streets in protest of the occupation. Figure 1 shows one of these slogans 

painted on a country road outside the capital city, Oslo. 

This defiant patriotic slogan made its appearance on a 1943 Norwegian 20 øre postage 

stamp (Scott 263). Issued by the Norwegian government-in-exile, it was used for correspondence 

on Norwegian ships until after the liberation of Norway, at which time the 

stamp and the others in its set (Scott 261-266) were used for regular postage in Norway. 

The cachet in Figure 2 carries the slogan “Vi Vill[sic] Vinne” with a giant uppercase V 

for victory over the Nazi occupation symbolized by the chains over a swastika. The cover 

shows the insignia of King Haakon VII, a large H with a superimposed 7 and crown above. 

This cover is also interesting because it has the regular Scott #911 with another specimen 

with the red flag color quite faded. It is uncertain if this is a color error/variety, or simply 

fading due to sunlight exposure. Uncertain as well is the double franking with the two 5¢ 

stamps. It is addressed to a Lieutenant Vernon Clark of the Signal Corps Department at 

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. 

Figure 3 shows a block of four of Scott 911 with the pen notation “Airmail Special Delivery.” 

The cachet shows a picture of the awesome Nærö Dal (Nærø Valley), in a sparsely 

Figure 3. This ArtCraft cover bears a block of four Overrun Norway stamps, Scott 911. 


49

populated region in central Norway (now spelled Nærøy). Under the picture is the hortatory 

slogan, “Freedom is a Creed, Liberty a Necessity for the Sons of the Ancient Vikings.” 

The next cover (Figure 4) with the slogan, “We Fight On, We Will Win,” has a cachet 

bearing a painting of the destroyer, the Sleipner. According to Wikipedia, “HNoMS [His 

Norwegian Majesty’s Ship] Sleipner was a destroyer commissioned into the Royal Norwegian 

Navy in 1936. The lead ship of the Sleipner class, she gained near-legendary status by 

enduring over two weeks of intense air attack by Luftwaffe bombers following the 9 April 

Figure 4. This Smartcraft/Staehle FDC shows the Sleipner (inset enlarged). 

Figure 5. The Sleipner sometime after the Second World War. 

Figure 6. This cachet includes Norway’s coat of arms and hortatory 

inscription. 

1940 invasion of Norway. 

After the resistance in 

South Norway started 

unravelling she made her 

way over the North Sea to 

continue the fight against 

the Germans from exile. 

After serving as a convoy 

escort along the coast of 

the United Kingdom, she 

was decommissioned in 

1944.” 

The 1943-45 10-øre 

issue from the Norway 

government-in-exile 

(Scott 261), depicts the 

destroyer Sleipner. Figure 

5 is a post-war photo of 

the Sleipner. 

Figure 6 shows the 

coat of arms of Norway, 

the lion rampant holding 

a battle axe, with the 

hortatory inscription, 


“The Kingdom of Norway, cruelly betrayed and overrun by the Nazis in April 1940 under 

the guise of ‘Protection from Allied invasion,’ still keeps up the fight for freedom under 

its government in exile headed by King Kaakon VII. Her mighty merchant marine, her 

thousands of fishing craft and the indomitable spirit of her people are invaluable in the 

cause of liberty.” (The cachet, here in red, is also available in a blue variety.) 

Figure 7. This cover includes an actual photo of Norway’s King Haakon VII and account of the Norwegian 

government-in-exile in London. 

In Figure 7, the cachet bears an insert photo 

of Norway’s King Haakon VII and the account of 

the government in exile in London. Interesting is 

the comment, “The Crown Princess and her children, 

at the invitation of the President of the United 

States, came to America (August 25, 1940).” 

Crown Princess Martha of Norway (born 

Princess of Sweden, Figure 8) and her children 

were invited by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 

to live at The White House after the Nazi 

invasion of Norway. The two families had met 

previously during the Norwegian Royal Tour of 

the US. While Martha boarded a ship for the US, 

her husband joined his father, King Haakon, in 

London, where they set up a government-in-exile. 

After the war, Martha and her children (who 

include current monarch, King Harald) returned 

to their home, but Martha sadly passed away from 

cancer in 1954 before her husband succeeded to 

the throne. 

Figure 8. Norway’s Crown Princess Martha. 


51

Figure 9. Norway and US flags with slogan (Photo: eBay). 

Figure 10. Norway and US flags crossed in allied friendship with 

slogan (Photo: eBay). 

Figure 9 has a cachet with 

the Norwegian flag between 

two American flags with the 

hortatory statement, “Lest 

we forget - The People of 

Norway Fight on for Freedom 

from the Nazi.” 

The FDC in Figure 10 

shows the American and 

Norwegian flags crossed in 

friendship, with the notation, 

“United States of America 

Honoring the Oppressed Nation 

Norway.” 

The FDC in Figure 11 

has a stunning Dorothy 

Knapp handpainted cachet 

(this cover offered for $465 

on eBay). Dorothy Knapp 

(1907-1986) was a commercial 

artist and art teacher 

residing in Rhinebeck, NY, 

who designed commercial 

FDCs during the 1940s, mainly 

for Fleetwood, one of the large FDC publishers. It is uncertain when she painted this 

cover – was it at or shortly after the date of issue, or perhaps after the war? There is no reference 

to the war or the resistance in this cachet. However, its beauty is undeniable. 

Figure 11. A Dorothy Knapp handpainted cachet on a Scott 911 first day cover (Photo: eBay). 


Figure 14. “Let Freedom Ring” cachet (Photo: eBay). 

Rounding out this essay is a simple Scott 911 FDC cachet (Figure 12). The two-color 

cachet has the slogan, “LET FREEDOM RING,” underneath the Norwegian flag and 

torch of liberty. 

I am sure there are other FDC cachet varieties for the Overrun Norway issue to be 

found, as the above were the ones that I found easily on eBay. 

About the Author 

Dr. Richard St. Clair, born and raised in North Dakota, is a collector of worldwide 

stamps and covers. In addition to the United States Stamp Society, he is member of several 

other philatelic societies, notably the American Philatelic Society, Scandinavian Collectors 

Club, Scandinavian Philatelic Society, Royal Philatelic Society of Canada and others. 

He is a Ph.D. graduate of Harvard University and a widely recognized composer of 

modern classical music with membership in ASCAP. His maternal family emigrated in 

the late 19th century to the US from southeastern Norway farming country and settled in 

Minnesota. q 

References 

Kaare A. Bolgen, The Long Norwegian Night, Based on VI VENTET, a POW Narrative with Illustrations, by 

O.M. Magnussen; Fern Hill Press, North Adams, Mass., 2013. 

Richard S. Fuegner, Beneath the Tyrant’s Yoke: Norwegian Resistance to the German Occupation of Norway 

1940-1945; Beaver’s Pond Press, Edina, Minn., 2002. 

Knut Haukelid, Skis against the Atom: The exciting, first-hand account of heroism and daring sabotage during the 

Nazi occupation of Norway; North American Heritage Press, Minot, North Dakota, 1989. 

Leif Terdal, Our Escape from Nazi-Occupied Norway: Norwegian Resistance to Nazism; Trafford Publishing, 

2008, Print on Demand. 

Paul G. Vigness, Ph.D., The German Occupation of Norway; Vantage Press, New York, 1970. 

Website, https://www.tatler.com/article/norway-tv-drama-atlantic-crossing-rewrites-royal-history. 

Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HNoMS_Sleipner_(1936). 

Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HNoMS_Sleipner_(1936)#/media/File:HNoMS_Sleipner_ 

(H48).jpg. 


53

ArtCraft Variety Spotlight by Michael Lake 

The “House of Dreams” and 

MacDowell Day 

Edward MacDowell 

Edward MacDowell is, sadly, not well-known today among the general populace. But 

prior to the turn of the 20 th century, he was one of the most renowned composers in the 

United States. 

Edward MacDowell was born in 1860 in New York City. At the age of 17, his mother, 

witnessing his burgeoning musical talents, took him to Paris and eventually Frankfurt to 

study at the cities’ acclaimed conservatories. MacDowell completed his studies in 1881 

and remained in Germany performing and giving lessons. One of his students was Marian 

Nevins, whom he would marry in 1884 (Figure 1). For the next few years, he largely 

focused on composition before the couple moved back to the United States in 1888. They 

first resided in Boston before relocating to New York City in 1896, when he was invited to 

become the first Professor of Music at Columbia University. 

Figure 1. Edward and Marian 

MacDowell (Courtesy MacDowell). 

Figure 2. The MacDowell log cabin studio (Courtesy MacDowell). 

It was then that Marian MacDowell purchased the Hillcrest Farm in Peterborough, 

New Hampshire as their summer residence. His wife found that the peaceful, beautiful, 

rural setting fueled her husband’s creativity. They built a log cabin studio (Figure 2), and 

it was there that Edward MacDowell wrote one of his most famous works – a suite of ten 

short piano pieces known as Woodland Sketches – each of the pieces titled to reflect some 

of the quiet scenes of the surroundings. 

In 1904, amidst a great deal of administrative stress, he resigned from Columbia. That 

same year, he was struck by a hansom cab in New York City. With his health in decline, the 

MacDowells spent more time at their Peterborough home. Sadly, the famous composer 

spiraled into debilitating dementia, requiring full-time care from his devoted wife, with the 

need for financial support raised from fellow musicians and friends. On January 23, 1908, 

Edward MacDowell died at the age of 47. 

The MacDowell Colony 

Prior to his death, the composer made clear his desire that other artists should reap the 


same benefits of these surroundings, to focus on enhancing their work as well as building 

camaraderie amongst their fellow creatives. Mrs. MacDowell committed to seeing her husband’s 

dream come to fruition. A fund was created to support the new Edward MacDowell 

Association, receiving donations from the community along with such prominent figures 

as Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and former President Grover Cleveland. She oversaw 

the development of the land with multiple studios for artists to retreat to. In 1907, the 

MacDowell Colony (renamed to simply MacDowell in 2020) was officially formed and 

welcomed its first two Fellows. Mrs. MacDowell devoted the rest of her life to its success, 

and her dedication was incredible. She traveled the country – more than 600 different 

cities – giving lectures and performances to help raise awareness and solicit donations. 

She nurtured nearly 400 MacDowell Clubs, local women’s organizations devoted to music, 

that were dotted across the United States. Those local groups helped immeasurably in 

maintaining awareness as well as raising much-needed funds to ensure the community’s 

long-term survival. 

The Stamp 

In 1940, the US Post Office Department released 

a series of 35 postage stamps known as the 

Famous Americans Series. It consisted of five honorees, 

depicted on 1¢, 2¢, 3¢, 5¢, and 10¢ face value 

stamps, from seven disciplines: authors, artists, 

poets, composers, educators, scientists, and inventors. 

Edward MacDowell was selected for the 5¢ 

blue composers issue – Scott 882 (Figure 3). 

On the initial announcement of the postage 

stamp’s release, MacDowell’s birthplace of New 

York was originally slated to be the designated 

first day city. But in an interview with the Keene 

Evening Sentinel on November 15, Major A. Erland 

Goyette, the prominent Peterborough financier 

Figure 3. The Edward A. MacDowell stamp of 

the Famous Americans series (Scott 882). 

entrepreneur and friend to Mrs. MacDowell, said that “he, along with (other) local stamp 

collectors, feel that in view of the fact that the composer wrote most of his best music 

in Peterboro and it is there that his work is being perpetuated through the efforts of his 

widow and the famous MacDowell colony, it is only fitting that the commemorative stamp 

should be issued in Peterboro.” In addition to petitions from Major Goyette and other local 

organizations, New Hampshire’s former Governor turned US Senator Charles Tobey (R- 

NH) exercised his influence with the US Post Office Department. The collective efforts 

paid off in short order – a mere two weeks passed before the USPOD reversed its decision 

at the end of November 1939 and awarded the first day of issue honors to Peterborough. 

The Cachet 

Once the first day of issue city was successfully moved to Peterborough, New Hampshire, 

discussions immediately commenced in December 1939 – not only on planning the day’s 

festivities, but also on the idea of creating an “official” cacheted first day cover celebrating 

the composer and his artistic refuge. The cachet idea was initially conceived by the 


55

Monadnock Region Association 

and the Peterboro Rotary 

Club, to support repairs to the 

MacDowell Colony after the 

devastating effects of The Great 

Hurricane of 1938. Not long 

after, the Peterborough Stamp 

Club, Keene Philatelic Society, 

and the MacDowell Club of 

Peterboro joined the cachet 

effort. At the suggestion of Mrs. 

MacDowell, the beneficiary from 

sales of the cover changed to an 

endowment for the maintenance 

of the MacDowell grave site near 

the Colony (shown present day 

in Figure 4). 

The cachet variety shown in 

Figure 5 is identified as SEV#3 in 

the Severe/Lake catalog of Art- 

Craft varieties. It was designed 

by renowned architect and Peterborough 

resident John F. G. 

Gunther. He used an etching 

of MacDowell’s Peterborough 

log cabin, done by former Colony 

member Grant Reynard, as 

the central vignette (Figure 6). 

Along with MacDowell’s name 

and years of birth and death, it 

includes text identifying “The 

Log Cabin” artwork by title. Additionally, 

the phrase “House of 

Dreams” is included below the 

title; Edward MacDowell called 

Figure 4. Present day photos of the MacDowell grave site. his beloved log cabin “a house of 

dreams untold, it looks out over the whispering tree-tops and faces the setting sun.” 

A proof was approved by Mrs. MacDowell in January 1940, and the cachet was engraved 

by Woodbury & Co. of Worcester, Massachusetts – the long-time printers of Art- 

Craft cachets – thus its identification as an ArtCraft variety. Advertising for the official cachet 

through various outlets, both philatelic and non-philatelic, began in February leading 

up to the May stamp release. The attractive cachet’s design appeared on the front page of 

local and national papers (Figure 7) as well as on a promotional card (Figure 8). The covers 

could be purchased in three forms: 15¢ for a single stamp (Figure 9); 30¢ for a block 


Figure 5. 

Figure 6. 

of four (Figure 10); and $1.00 for 

a cover autographed by Marian 

MacDowell (Figure 11). Unserviced 

covers were not sold to the 

general public, so no other stamp 

configurations are known to exist 

with the official cachet. Most are 

serviced with the machine cancel, 

though some blocks of four covers 

have been seen with the oversized 

hand cancel. A folded stuffer card 

featuring photos of both Edward 

Figure 7. 


57

Figure 8. 

Figure 9. 

and Marian MacDowell, as well as background on the Colony and the beneficiary of the 

FDC sales, was included in each cover (Figures 12-14) – the printing of which was sponsored 

by Major A. Erland Goyette. Order fulfillment was handled by the MacDowell Club 

of Peterboro, led by Herbert MacDonald – an avid philatelist and officer in the local Peterborough 

Stamp Club. 

The print run of 10,000 covers was subsidized by the Monadnock Region Association. 

Crane & Co. watermarked 25 lb. weight envelopes were used by Woodbury for the print 

run, a different paper stock from that used for ArtCraft first day covers to that point. Two 

envelope cuts are known – the most common is with a traditional rounded flap (Figure 


Figure 10. 

Figure 11. 

15), with a smaller number known with a pointed flap identified as SEV# 3Z (Figure 16). 

This is likely the result of the firm simply utilizing what envelopes were readily available for 

the large print run. 

Local news reports indicated that Mrs. MacDowell hand-signed at least 1,000 covers to 

meet the high demand, no small feat for a woman 82 years of age. She signed in black ink 

as “Mrs. Edward MacDowell” sideways along the left side, on all examples seen by the author. 

That is, except for the cover shown in Figure 17. The correspondence inside (Figure 

18), from Mrs. MacDowell’s long-time companion and caretaker Nina Maud Richardson, 

would seem to indicate that this was a separately signed favor cover for the recipient. This 


59

Figure 12. The front of the stuffer card. 

Figure 13. The back of the stuffer card. 

Figure 14. The insde of the stuffer card. 


Figure 15. A traditional 

rounded flap 

(above). 

Figure 16. A pointed flap. 

may account for the fact that she signed her normal signature Marian MacDowell – making 

this a unique find to date. 

The author has also seen a copy of a cover with cachet designer John Gunther’s autograph. 

Responding to a collector inquiry, the Figure 19 letter from Herbert MacDonald of the 

MacDowell Club of Peterboro indicates that not only was Gunther pursued for signature, 

but also Grant Reynard, the artist of the original etching. It’s unknown whether Reynard 

officially consented, but even if both gentlemen did, there is no evidence to suggest that 

this was marketed in any way or that a large quantity of covers were signed by either 

individual via the Club. 

Of unknown origin is a rubberstamp version of the same cachet design. It is cataloged 

as an ArtCraft variety with various colors and envelope sizes under SEV #4. Figures 20-22 

show just a few examples. Based on the various colors and usages, this would be consistent 

with a rubberstamp that was applied to collector-supplied envelopes versus uniformly 

merchandised. Further, it is possible that multiple rubberstamp devices existed and were 

potentially applied at different times and locations. In Figure 23 for instance, the cachet 

adorns an unofficial FDC from Rochester, New Hampshire – 80 miles away from Peterborough. 

Through the author’s extensive research efforts, no details have been found even 

acknowledging the rubberstamp’s existence, much less whether it was officially sponsored 

or who actually created it. The Figure 24 cover would support the theory that the rubberstamp 

cachet was available on or before the first day of issue in Peterborough. This 


61

Figure 17. An autographed cover. 

Figure 18. The correspondence contained in the cover shown in Figure 17. 


Figure 19. A letter from Herbert MacDonald of the MacDowell Club of Peterboro. 


63

Figures 20-22. Showing several examples of a rubberstamp version of the same cachet design 

(numbered from top). 


Figure 23. 

Figure 24. Scott 882 SEV#4C rubber-stamp cachet signed by USPOD officials. Signed clockwise from top: 

Capt. Otho L. Rogers, Philatelic Agent of USPOD Washington DC; George E. Tuttle, Assistant Postmaster 

Peterborough NH; Martin J. Keenan, Postmaster Peterborough NH; John W. Dunnington, Special Representative 

USPOD Washington DC; R.J. De Vroy, supervisor of canceling machines 

souvenir was likely created by mail carrier George Ramsey (seen third from left in Figure 

25, photo reproduced from The Union Leader, Manchester, New Hampshire newspaper) 

and was sent to either his wife or 16-year old daughter, both of whom were named Minna 

Elizabeth. Affixed with a plate block of the new stamps and tied by an oversized FDOI 

hand cancel, it was signed by several fellow USPOD officials who were involved in-person 

with the execution of the stamp’s first day of issue in Peterborough. The rubberstamp 

had clearly been applied to the cover contemporaneously, with each signatory positioning 

their autograph around the cachet. 


65

Figure 25. 

MacDowell Day 

The first day of issue for the 5¢ blue Famous Americans postage stamp on Monday, 

May 13, 1940 was dubbed “MacDowell Day.” And this was no overstatement based on the 

number of events scheduled from morning to night, celebrating the late composer and his 

beloved widow. According to Miss Nina Maud Richardson’s first-person account of the 

day: 

(It was) a beautiful and important event that will be remembered always I think, 

with tender joy, by those who participated. The town was gaily decorated with flags 

and bunting, and the Post Office and a special office set up by Major Goyette for the 

MacDowell Club, were humming with activity. On the day itself all business places 

were closed. The day, after a long spell of cloudy and rainy ones, was bright, pleasantly 

warm, and shone like a jewel. 

It began at 9:30 a.m. with a memorial service and the laying of wreaths and flowers at 

the composer’s grave site. Presided over by the Rev. James McKee, the event was witnessed 

by hundreds of townspeople and students grades 4-12. 

From there, the crowds grew as they wound down High Street, less than a mile walk, 

to arrive at the Peterborough post office downtown. There, at 10:30 a.m., an official ceremony 

took place on the front steps, with the presentation of the first pane of postage 


stamps sold to Mrs. MacDowell by Captain Otho Rogers, Philatelic Agent representing 

PMG James Farley and the US Post Office Department (Figure 26). This was immediately 

followed at 11:00 a.m. with a short pageant by 12 local schoolchildren in front of 

the Historical Building, as well as an outdoor concert across the street by the WPA New 

Hampshire Federation Band. 

Figure 26. Marian MacDowell Stamp Presentation in front of Peterborough, New Hampshire post office. 

From left: John W. Dunnington, Special Representative of the US Post Office Department, Washington, 

DC; Major A. Erland Goyette, prominent industrialist and friend to Mrs. MacDowell and the MacDowell 

Association; Martin J. Keenan, Postmaster Peterborough, New Hampshire; Mrs. Marian MacDowell; Capt. 

Otho L. Rogers, Philatelic Agent of US Post Office Department, Washington, DC; Harry L. Lindquist, Editor 

of Stamps Magazine; and Edward Ellingwood, Secretary of the Monadnock Region Association (Courtesy 

MacDowell). 

The highlight of the day was a Memorial Luncheon that commenced at 12:00 p.m. on 

the second floor of the Peterborough Town Hall next door. Over 400 people attended the 

program with a $1 advance ticket purchased. Miss Richardson’s account of the sell-out 

event gives it due justice: 

I have attended a good many important luncheons and dinners given (by) some 

of the most important people in this country, since I have been trailing around on 

Mrs. MacDowell’s cloud of glory, but this, in many respects, was the most impressive 

of them all. Every move seemed planned to show the devotion, the love, respect and 

appreciation that New England feels for Mrs. MacDowell. The tables filled the room 

– and the people filled the tables … The speeches were as good as any I have ever 

heard at any dinner or luncheon anywhere in the United States, and far better than 

most. 


67

Figure 27. (top) Figure 28. 

Speakers included New Hampshire Governor Francis Murphy (D-NH), US Senator 

Charles Tobey (R-NH), US Representative Foster Stearns (R-NH), Captain Otho Rogers 

from the US Post Office Department (also on behalf of Third Assistant PMG Roy North 

who was unable to attend), Harry Lindquist of Stamps Magazine, Dr. Curtis Hidden Page 

of the Rotary, and of course, Mrs. Marian MacDowell herself. A special Steinway piano was 

sent up from Boston, on which Mrs. MacDowell played a couple of her husband’s most 

well-known compositions, including To A Water Lily and 1620, much to the audience’s 

delight. 

Each of the attendees received a 4 x 7-inch card, engraved with the official cachet and 

first day canceled, with the luncheon program on the reverse (Figures 27-28, identified as 

SEV# 5). The cards were sponsored by the American Guernsey Cattle Club, identified in 

small text on the back. 

A 3:00 p.m. concert by the New Hampshire Federated Symphony Orchestra was held 

at the Peterborough Golf Club, a fitting location across the street from the MacDowell 


Colony and created as part of the original tract of land purchased by the MacDowells at the 

turn of the century. Mrs. MacDowell again played here a couple of her husband’s pieces. 

The day concluded with a 6:30 p.m. formal banquet in nearby Keene, organized by the 

Keene Philatelic Society as part of the Monadnock Region Philatelic Exposition show. The 

approximately 150 attendees here received a 4 x 7-inch FDOI canceled card engraved with 

the official cachet – identical to the Peterborough luncheon program – except with the 

rundown for the Keene banquet on the back (Figure 29 identified as SEV# 6). Introduced 

as “Peterboro’s sweetheart” by the influential Major Goyette, Mrs. MacDowell spoke on 

the work of the Colony, the difficulties it endured in its early days as well as those ahead 

repairing hurricane damage, and concluded with her gracious thanks to the people of all of 

the surrounding towns for their support of the Colony. 

Figure 29. 

As this was a very long day, Miss Richardson writes that her and Mrs. MacDowell 

planned a quiet exit following her speech before the end of the banquet. Her first-person 

account describes their departure as something that “all who saw it will remember for a 

long time”. Henry David Navig, reporting for the Keene Evening Sentinel, set the scene: 

Mrs. MacDowell rose again to speak after seating herself following a huge applause. 

She had to leave, she said, speaking of her active program for the next few 

days. With that, the crowd arose as a unit, waited silently as the lady was escorted to 

the St. James Street door. In the doorway, Mrs. MacDowell turned and with her face 

beaming and with a lift of the hand in a wave, spoke a very happy-sounding goodbye. 

Almost instantly, the people, every one of them so far as this reporter could see, also 

waved and swelled a returning goodbye as they stood in fond farewell to one who had 

completely captured their hearts. 

Stamp & FDC Sales and Benefit to MacDowell 

Local newspaper coverage was extensive, typically garnering the front page, in the 


69

weeks leading up to and following the May 13 FDOI. Prominent philatelic writer Harry 

Lindquist, editor of Stamps magazine, wrote of the intense publicity – “we are sure philately 

will be an even more important factor in this district from now on.” 

That attention translated to incredible sales figures for the stamp’s debut. The Peterborough 

post office recruited 22 additional staff, on top of their usual 11, to keep up with 

stamp and FDOI cancellation orders. Nearly a quarter million stamps were sold on the 

first day, doubling even the most aggressive of projections. Local news reports said that the 

Peterborough post office fulfilled over 165,000 FDOI cancellations; Postmaster Martin J. 

Keenan was quoted that this compared to, at most, 3,000 cancellations of outgoing mail on 

a typical day. And to say that sales were brisk of the official cachet would be an understatement. 

While the exact number of covers sold from the print run has not been published, 

the annual report for the MacDowell Association reported that cover sales yielded a $900 

profit – nearly $18,000 in today’s money. This represented a net 50% increase to the endowment 

fund for the MacDowell grave site; it had a balance of only $1,700 prior to the 

cover sales. 

Figure 30. The Peterborough Town Hall (left) was the site of the first day ceremony for the MacDowell stamp 

in 1940. Today, the MacDowell Colony (entrance shown in the image on the right) remains an artist’s oasis. 

The Legacy of MacDowell 

As one can infer from this writing, and as confirmed by the author’s visits to the area 

and speaking directly with residents, Mrs. Marian Nevins MacDowell remains a revered 

member of the community, even more than 60 years after her passing in 1956. And the 

legacy of Edward and Marian MacDowell – and their private oasis to support the arts in 

idyllic Peterborough, New Hampshire – is still very much alive more than a century later. 

MacDowell is the nation’s leading artist residency program, awarding 300 Fellowships 

each year to individuals among seven disciplines – architecture, film/video arts, 

interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theatre, and visual arts. More than 

8,000 artists have taken residency at MacDowell since its creation, producing a wide array 

of meaningful and award-winning works. The property encompasses over 450 acres with 

32 individual studios for Fellows. The community can be best summed up in this intro on 

their website: “MacDowell makes a place in the world for artists, because art makes the 

world a better place.” 


Acknowledgments & Notes 

Readers will notice different spellings of the town of Peterborough, New Hampshire. 

The town officially changed its name from Peterboro to Peterborough on March 1, 1935. 

Even in the ensuing years after the change, different sources use the spellings interchangeably. 

For purposes of this article, Peterboro is used for directly printed quotes or organization 

names from the period; any contemporary or non-quoted references defer to the 

official spelling of Peterborough. 

The author wishes to thank the following individuals for their assistance in providing 

valuable insight and research guidance – Corinne Chronopoulos, Director of the 

Peterborough, New Hampshire Town Library; Tess Kimsey, New Hampshire Room 

Librarian at the Manchester, New Hampshire City Library; Colette Lucas, Librarian at 

MacDowell; Michele Stahl, Executive Director of the Monadnock Center for History 

and Culture in Peterborough, New Hampshire; and the reference staff at the Library of 

Congress in Washington, DC. q 

References 

m mlake7@gmail.com 

Marian MacDowell Papers. Washington, DC: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, February 2022. 

Boxes 1, 4, 7. 

“10000 MacDowell Stamps Expected Sold First Day.” Keene Evening Sentinel 22 December 1939: 1,4. 

“Calls for MacDowell Stamp Pile Up.” The Peterborough Transcript 2 May 1940: 1. 

“Complete MacDowell Day Plans.” The Peterborough Transcript 9 May 1940: 1. 

“Famous Stamp Cachet Pictures ‘House of Dreams’.” Keene Evening Sentinel 19 February 1940: 1. 

“First Day Cover Sales Yield $135,155.” Keene Evening Sentinel 30 November 1940: 1. 

Gasper, Wayne P. “Sc. 882, Part III - Edward MacDowell.” First Days December 1987: 978. 

“Interest Grows in MacDowell Stamp Sales .” The Peterborough Transcript 15 February 1940: 1. 

“John F.G. Gunther, Artist, Educator - Obituary.” The New York Times 22 March 1946. 

Library of Congress. The House That Marian Built: The MacDowell Colony of Peterborough, New Hampshire. 

n.d. January 2022. https://guides.loc.gov/american-women-essays/macdowell-colony. 

Lindquist, Harry L. “MacDowell Stamp First Day Sale at Peterborough, N.H., May 13, 1940.” Stamps 25 

May 1940: 271-72. 

MacDowell. March 2022. https://www.macdowell.org/. 

“MacDowell Day Program Great Success.” The Peterborough Transcript 16 May 1940: 1. 

“Mourners Fill Church at Funeral for Major Goyette.” The Peterborough Transcript 14 April 1960: 1. 

Nadig, Henry Davis. “Philatelic Society Pays Honor to MacDowell.” Keene Evening Sentinel 14 May 1940: 1. 

“Peterboro Seeks Commemorative Stamp Honor.” Keene Evening Sentinel 15 November 1939: 1. 

“Peterboro Will Sell First of Famous Stamps.” Keene Evening Sentinel 2 December 1939: 1. 

“Plans Speeded for MacDowell Day.” The Peterborough Transcript 25 April 1940: 1. 

Ranck, Edwin Carty. “The MacDowell Colony at Peterborough.” The Musical Quarterly 6.1 (1920): 24-28. 

“Region Association to Underwrite Postage Cachets.” Keene Evening Sentinel 5 January 1940: 1. 

Reynard, Grant. The Log Cabin. Museum of Nebraska Art. 

“Stamp Collectors Organize.” The Peterborough Transcript 22 November 1934: 1. 

“Stamp Fans to Head Here May 13.” The Peterborough Transcript 1 February 1940: 1. 

Stiles, Kent B. “100th Year of Stamps.” The New York Times 18 February 1940. 

The Edward MacDowell Association Inc. Report for the Year 1940. Peterborough, NH: The Transcript Printing 

Company, n.d. 

“Tribute Paid MacDowell.” The Union, Manchester NH 14 May 1940: 1, 7. 

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. “Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940.” n.d. Ancestry. 

com. National Archives and Records Administration. 

“US Government Honors Memory of MacDowell.” Keene Evening Sentinel 13 May 1940: 1. 


71

Chapter News by D.A. Lux 

Presentations, Patriotics and More 

As a reminder, chapter information is always available on the AFDCS website at 

www.afdcs.org/chapters.html. For chapter representatives, send your announcements 

of chapter activities to D.A. Lux, PO Box 1831, Allen TX 75013-0062, or email 

dalux2041@gmail.com. 

At the May meeting of the Fred C. Sawyer North Texas Chapter the presentation by 

D.A. Lux was “Using Philatelic Resources to Identify the Stamp and the Cachet of a FDC.” 

This meeting was the first hybrid (Zoom and in-person) meeting the chapter held and five 

virtual members were able to join the seven in-person members for the meeting. Thanks 

to Rick Howell of the Mid-Cities Stamp Club for hosting the Zoom and to Cassandra 

Galus, Curator of the Wineburgh Philatelic Research Library, for their her assistance in 

setting up and providing equipment for the Zoom meeting. For those interested, a PDF 

of the presentation is available at www.afdcschap56.org/Files/fdc_resources.pdf. Chapter 56 

information, including a selection of chapter covers and other covers, is available on the 

web at www.afdcschap56.org. 

The Motor City Stamp and Cover Club’s May 2022 newsletter reported that the presentation 

for the April meeting was Al Raddi’s “April 1945 in Patriotic Covers” (Figure 1). 

Raddi also provided a 6-page pamphlet of the topic to the attendees. Raddi is the author 

of the 1945 United Nations and the 1968 Einstein FDC catalogs available on the AFDCS 

website at www.afdcs.org/fdccatalogs.html. Chapter 5 information is available from Marneli 

Laing, 4666 Carolee Lane, Dearborn Heights, MI 48125. 

Figure 1. Figure 2. 


The Chapter 79, Art Cover Exchange’s, April 2022 issue of From Cover to Cover, Figure 

2, announced that Dana Jacobson of Billerica, Massachusetts, was the winner of Member 

of the Year for 2021. Jacobson, an ACE member since 2007 is also the chapter webmaster. 

He is also a moderator for the Delphi Stamp Collectors Forum. Also announced was the 

winner of the 2021 Cover of the Year contest, Gene Falada of Addison, Illinois. Falada, 

a member since 1988, chose a grist mill along a river as the subject of his hand-painted 

cover with trees in autumn foliage providing a beautiful background. Chapter information 

is available from Joseph Doles, 105 Lawson Road, Rochester, NY 14616 or artcoverexchange@aol.com. 

The Second Quarter 2022 issue of Reflections, Figure 3, the quarterly journal of The 

Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections (ESPER), features an article, by Editor 

Don Neal, about three African-American stamp artists who had recently passed away. First 

is Floyd Cooper, an award winning illustrator and author of children’s books. Philatelically, 

Cooper designed the 2018 (50¢) Forever Kwanza stamp. That stamp, the seventh Kwanza 

stamp design issued by the USPS, features a family gathered around the 7-candle kinara 

(Kwanza candleholder). Second is Lloyd McNeill, a musician, artist and a Professor of 

the History of Afro-American Music (at Rutgers University). McNeill designed the 2007 

44¢ Kwanza stamp. That was the third Kwanza stamp issued by the USPS. Third was Jerry 

Pinkey, an illustrator of children’s books. Pinkey was the artist for the first nine Black Heritage 

stamps, starting with the 1978 13¢ Harriet Tubman stamp. He was also Art Director 

for additional Black Heritage and other stamps. The first African-American designer of 

a USPS postage stamp was George Olden, for the 1963 5¢ Emancipation Proclamation 

stamp. 

Neal wrote a moving tribute to the late ESPER president Dr. Warachal Eileen Faison 

who passed in March 2022. Dr. Faison was a geriatric psychiatrist and was recently recog- 

Figure 3. 

Figure 4. 


73

nized by Linn’s Stamp News as one of its Most Influential Philatelists. Chapter information 

is available from Don Neal, PO Box 5245, Somerset, NJ 08875-5245. 

Outgoing President, Dave Goyer, in the 2022 First Quarter issue of Duck Tracks, Figure 

4, from the Nation Duck Stamp Collectors Society, asks members to consider self-nominating 

to fill the vacant positions of President and Advertising Manager. The chapter, 

founded by Bob Dumaine, is celebrating its 30th year as the only philatelic entity devoted 

to the collecting of federal and state duck stamps. 

The journal reports that the 2021 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest was won by Chaska, 

Minnesota artist James Hautman with a painting showing a pair of red-head ducks floating 

on a lake. This artwork will be the basis of the 2022-2023 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting 

and Conservation Stamp. This is the sixth time that Hautman has won the annual contest. 

Speaking of Duck Stamp contests, Jeff Bernknopf ’s article, “Comic TV Host Goes 

Quackers Over Duck Stamp Art Contest,” details how comedian John Oliver, host of the 

HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” parodied the contest by commissioning five artists to 

paint and submit entries. Needless to say, these were tongue-in-cheek entries loaded with 

humor and satire. Two of these entries were disqualified for violating a contest rule and 

three were actually shown and judged during the first round of the contest but none made 

it to the second round. This portion of Oliver’s show is available for viewing on YouTube. 

Figure 5 shows two of the entries. The top one was one of the disqualified entries because 

it used numbers or letters in the painting. Chapter information is available from NDSCS 

Secretary, PO Box 43, Harleysville, PA 19438-0043. 

The April/May/June 2022 issue of North American Maximaphily, Figure 6, the journal 

of Chapter 67, the Maximum Card Study Unit, continues with its series of maximum 

cards associated with each state—Alaska being the current honoree. The card shown 

features Scott C53, the 1959 7¢ Alaska airmail stamp showing a map of the state. Other 

The Quarterly Journal of the 

Maximum Card Study Unit 

NORTH AMERICAN MAXIMAPHILY 

The BTRis 

an armored troopcarrier 

designed in 

Ukraine by the Kharkiv 

Malyshev factory. 

Postcard published by: 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Yogi Berra and his Yogi- 

Longfellow & Maximum Card Variants ...13 

Board of Directors 

Terry Watson: 

President 

George Constantourakis: Honorary President 

Sun Yu Ng,: 

Vice President 

Gerard Marandino: Treasurer 

Dorin Cojocariu Assistant Editor 

NORTH AMERICAN MAXIMAPHILY 

Figure 5. Figure 6. 


featured cards include Scott 2066, the 1984 20¢ 25th Anniversary of Alaska Statehood and 

Alaska stamps in the Greetings from America other 50-state sheets of stamps. The most 

striking maxicard featured was Scott 4203, the 2007 41¢ Aurora Borealis stamp. 

Other articles include “Yogi Berra and His Yogi-isms” which includes a list of 50 Yogiisms! 

along with several cards showing Scott 5608, the 2021 (55¢) Yogi Berra stamp and 

“Recent Realizations” showing member provided maxicards featuring stamps from USA 

(Longfellow, Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses), Canada and China. Chapter information is 

available from Gary Denis, PO Box 766, Patuxent River, MD 20670. 

The JAPOS Study Group ( Journalists, Authors and Poets on Stamps), Chapter 54, 

Summer 2022 newsletter, The JAPOS Bulletin reports that James Byrne’s article “The Dumas 

Family on the Stamps of Haiti” was voted the best JAPOS article of 2021. Byrnes’ 

article has been submitted to the American Philatelic Society’s annual best article competition 

and now appears on the APS website. Members can check out Byrnes’ article at 

www.stamps.org/collect/clubs/articles-of-distinction. 

William Pederson’s “Gandhi: The Writer” chronicles the public life of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Gandhi’s initial exposure to the world was as a journalist, newspaper editor and author in 

South Africa where he promoted the moral philosophy of non-violence. This philosophy, 

which he pioneered, led to India’s independence from Britain in 1947. The impact of his 

philosophy on just the hobby of philately was reflected in the three-year commemoration 

of the sesquicentennial of his birth. Nearly half of the world’s nations honored Gandhi 

with stamps or souvenir sheets during this celebration. Examples from the Republic of the 

Marshall Islands and India are shown in Figure 7. 

Rene Manes and Clete Delvaux’s “Rachel Carson: Did Her Books Change the World?” 

highlights the effect that Carson’s books have had on improving the environment and ridding 

it from the damage done from indiscriminate use of dangerous chemicals. She has 

been honored on stamps from USA, 

Marshall Islands, Zambia and Palau 

among others. Chapter information is 

available from Cletus Delvaux, 800 E. 

River Dr., Unit B, De Pere, WI 54115 or 

cletus.delvaux@gmail.com. q 

m dalux2041@gmail.com 

Figure 7. 


75

AFDCS Auction Donors by Catharine Genaw 

We Appreciate Those Who Give! 

The Auction Committee is thrilled to report the wonderful donations that so many generous 

hobbyists have gifted. Take a look at just some of the future auction items you’ll want 

to add to your collection! 

John Amorosia...500+ UN/Foreign FDCs. Raymond Amoroso...an AFDCS First 

Days September 1960 journal with 5 th convention first day cancel. Lorraine E. Bailey...two 

LEB #2046 Babe Ruth FDCs, each signed by eight different NY Yankees pitchers. 

Louis R. Caruso...101 1980s Readers Digest FDCs. Craig Cook...57 FDCs, half being 

Transportation Coil Series. Elena Cornejo...9 2000s Cornejo FDCs. Carol Costa...136 

UN Flag Series FDCs, complete sets for 1982-2001. 

Allison Cusick...among 50 FDOI items, Pacific 97 ceremony program for the 

Washington and Franklin S/S, 18 classic FDCs, and 23 1970s UN FDCs. 

Charlie Delgado...32 ACE member cachets including fun covers by John Martin, Dennis 

Gelvin, Cal Breaux and Ray Younkins. David Hummel...FDC Collector’s catalogs including 

Mellone, Scott, Canada Post and Planty. David Lorms...11 USPS clasp pins and 

magnets. David Mertz...4 ceremony Programs, 71 FDCs 1921-2000. 

Foster E. Miller...A very large gifting, including 74 AFDCS CEC/FM Cachetmaker Series; 

11 AFDCS Court of Honor Series FDCs; 48 Doris Gold cachets (1977-2002); 26 H/P 

Collins FDCs (1986-2014); six Hideaki Nakano FDCs; 21 Bennett Cachetoons; 65 Panda 

Cachets; 15 R.C. Graebner Chapter #17/AFDCS; four European; four sets (20 total) USPS 

2003 Southeastern Lighthouses cards; two #1381 Baseball cachets with add-on cachets. 

Martin Severe...Many Artcraft varieties - #856 Panama Canal (2C1); #1355 Disney; 

#C76 Moon Landing EDSEL varities; 190+ advertising FDCs - AML, AMP, ATLAS, 

Lindquist, and PTP; #UXC1-A1 dark carmine and UY16 plate proof; Artcraft 7 th Edition 

Catalog for committee use. Springfield Stamp Club...seven 1973 IMS FDCs. Richard 

Thomas...151 FDCs - 108 1930s-2000s and many uncommon cachets (43 pre-1950 & 

17 First Cachets). Stephen Zabrenski...135 uncacheted FDCs. Mick Zais...88 items, 

including 45 Army/Navy Series - singles and combinations; set of PMG cornered card 

FDCs; eight foreign FDCs. 

With the generosity of our faithful and new donors, the auctions continue to bring in 

hefty totals! Thank you for your generosity. 

Please send your donations of uncommon 

or better material to: 

John White 

AFDCS Auctions 

PO Box 800 

Pinebluff, NC 28373 


Your donations of common material should 

be sent to: 

Michael Moticha 

PO Box 2622 

Apple Valley, CA 92307-0050 

For large donations, please email John at auctions@afdcs.org before shipping. For any 

questions, including if material is common or uncommon, please email John. q 

m auctions@afdcs.org

New Members & Changes 

Membership Report 

New Members 

Pfaffman, Nathaniel (29762) 

Neosho, MO by AFDCS 

Friedman, Vinson (29763) 

Bayside, NY by AFDCS 

Eash, David (29764) 

Elk Grove Village, IL by AFDCS 

Nelson, Charles E. (29765) 

Moosup, CT by Foster Miller 

Nashan, Georges (29766) 

Brooks, ME by Carl Swain 

Greenway, Pamela (29767) 

Roanoke, VA by AFDCS 

Start, Sherwin (29768) 

Springvale, ME by the internet 

Waldo, Wenona (29769) 

White River Junction, VT by AFDCS 

Chilton, Keith (29770) 

Mesa, AZ by Andy Zutler 

Hoogerhyde, Garrett (29771) 

North Haledon, NJ by AFDCS 

Lenz, Joel (29772) 

Jericho, NY by AFDCS 

McBrearity, Shelly (29773) 

Ledyard, CT by AFDCS 

Wu, Yan (29774) 

Brooklyn, NY by AFDCS 

Beckman, John (29775) 

Canton, MI by AFDCS 

Beckman, Sarah (F29775) 

Canton, MI by AFDCS 

Fleischmann, Ezra (29776) 

Brooklyn, NY by AFDCS 

Walsh, James (29777) 

Waterbury, CT by AFDCS 

Reinstatements 

Clark, Nancy (26510) 

Marstons Mill, MA by AFDCS 

Gay and Lesbian History on Stamps 

(CH072) 

Kent, WA by Foster Miller 

Kaigler, Sharon (27167) 

Spencer, TN by AFDCS 

Van Natta, George (25411) 

Ocala, FL by AFDCS 

Woodfill, James (25842) 

Pleasanton, CA by AFDCS 

Deceased 

Gold, Doris (13283) 

Kozen, Norman (LM256) 

Resignations 

Hummel, David (03562) 

Lazaroff, Chris (18603) 

Lazaroff, Denise (F18603) 

Membership Upgrades 

Gold 

Bagley, Frank 

Hoogerhyde, Garrett 

Silver 

Anderson, Joan 

Brown, Robert Brown 

Mattheiss, Bruce 

Priecko, John 


77

Donation Honor Roll 

AMERICOVER/GASS 2022 Reserve 

Grand Award: 

Henry Gitner Philatelists 

In Memory of Doris Gold: 

Foster Miller 

In Memory of Tamsie Goyer: 

Foster Miller 

In Memory of Barbara Judd: 

Mark Gereb 

General Fund: 

Nancy Leach 

Judith Newblom 

George Van Natta 

Publication Fund: 

Sarah Beckman 

David Eash 

Bruce Mattheiss 

Foster Miller 

Non-Monetary Donation: 

Mark Goodson 

AFDCS AUCTIONS 

Recent Donation 

A recent donation to AFDCS Auctions is sure to be a popular 

piece in a future offering. Baseball fans take note and make 

plans to bid on this gem in an upcoming auction. 

www.afdcs.org/auction.html 


Advertising with First Days 

Index of Advertisers 

AFDCS............. Back Cover, 78 

American Topical Assoc. .... 11 

Anon E. Mouse ..................... 15 

Appel, Will & Kathy ............ 17 

Autographs.Online ............... 17 

Collins FDCs......................... 11 

Dragon Cards............................9 

Dutch Country......Inside Back 

FDCs Online ......................... 13 

Fohn, Jane King..................... 17 

Geringer, Ken......................... 20 

Gitner, Henry............................5 

Gold Mine........................17, 22 

Goodman’s Art Cachets..........9 

Graebner Ch. 17.............. 11, 15, 17 

Hardin, Terri.............................7 

Henkle, Doug ...........................9 

Inaugurals.com ..................... 17 

KSC Cachets.......................... 11 

Marshall Autographs ........... 17 

McCusker, James T......Inside Front 

Miller, Foster ......................... 15 

Nowak, Marilyn J.................. 20 

Panda Cachets................ 40–41 

Peterman Art.......................... 15 

Ries Chapter 48....................... 1 

Virtual Stamp Club............... 17 

Whit’s Covers......................... 17 

Zurn, Karl .................................9 

Advertising Rates 

Size Dimensions (inches) Once 3 consecutive* 6 consecutive* 

Full Page 5 x 8 $148 $135 ($120) $120 ($105) 

3/4 vert. 5 x 6 $130 $117 ($104) $104 ($91) 

1/2 horiz. 5 x 3-15/16 $90 $81 ($72) $72 ($63) 

1/2 vert. 2-3/8 x 8 $90 $81 ($72) $72 ($63) 

1/4 horiz. 5 x 1-7/8 $55 $49.50 ($44) $44 ($38.50) 

1/4 vert. 2-3/8 x 3-15/16 $55 $49.50 ($44) $44 ($38.50) 

1/8 horiz. 2-3/8 x 1-7/8 $35 $31.50 ($28) $28 ($24.50) 

1/16 horiz. 2-3/8 x 15/16 $20 $18 ($16) $16 ($14) 

* Prices in parentheses are base prices discounted 10% for payment with order or for the entire contract. 

Please contact Mark Thompson (615-945-6450 or markrobbin@bellsouth.net) for all 

advertising inquiries and for more information on the benefits of advertising in First Days. 

2022-2023 First Days Tentative Production Schedule 

Issue No. & 

Cover Date 

Articles & 

Columns 

Due 

Ads Due to 

Ad Manager 

Final Ads 

to Editor 

Production 

Closed - Issue 

Posted Online 

Projected 

Mailing 

Date 

Projected 

Delivery 

Date 

466 

Sep-Oct 2022 

August 5, 

2022 







September 6, 


September 19, 


467 

Nov-Dec 2022 

September 

30, 2022 

September 


September 


October 


October 


November 12, 


468 

Jan-Feb 2023 

November 


November 


November 


December 15, 


December 23, 


January 16, 

2023 

469 

Mar-Apr 2023 

January 27, 

2023 

January 23, 

2023 

January 28, 

2023 

February 10, 

2023 

February 27, 

2023 

March 13, 

2023 

470 

May-June 2023 

April 3, 

2023 

March 27, 

2023 

April 3, 

2023 

April 17, 

2023 

April 28, 


May 12, 


465 

July-Aug 2022 

June 2, 

2023 

May 29, 

2023 

June 2, 

2023 

June 21, 

2023 

July 3, 

2023 

July 17, 

2023 


79

Recruit New Members Today! 

AMERICAN FIRST DAY COVER SOCIETY 

Membership Application 

Date:_________________________________ 

Status: o New Member 

Current AFDCS members are our best recruiting tool. Make sure that 

first day cover collecting friends and dealers are members. If not, give 

them a copy of this application. For each new member that you propose, 

you will receive a $2.00 AFDCS recruiting coupon, good toward AFDCS 

goods and services (including dues). Sign up a new member today. 

This form may be reproduced in newsletters, price lists and show programs. 

o Renewal: AFDCS #_______________________ 

o Reinstatement/Old AFDCS #_____________________________________ 

Type: o Regular $35 o Junior $20 o International $100 o Family +$3 each* 

o Online $24 o Silver $60 o Gold $100 o Three-Year $100 

Print the following information as you want it to appear in the AFDCS’s official records. 

First Name______________________________ 

Last Name_____________________________ 

Street or POB_________________________________________________________________ 

City _____________________________ State_____________ZIP_______________________ 

Email________________________________________ Country_________________________ 

Age (if under 18)_______________________________________________________________ 

* Additional family members:_____________________________________________________ 

Note: family memberships do not receive additional subscriptions to First Days. 

I agree to abide by the rules and bylaws of the AFDCS. 

Signature:____________________________________________________________ 

Proposed by First Days or member (optional)____________ AFDCS#_____________ 

All members, except online members, receive six issues of First Days per year by mail. 

All members have access to the online version of First Days. Online members have 

access to the online version only. Submit your dues with your application or join online 

at the secure AFDCS website. Make US fund checks and money orders payable to 

AFDCS. PayPal (preferred), Mastercard, VISA and American Express and payments 

are also accepted. 

AFDCS 

P.O. Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246 

AFDCS@AFDCS.ORG | www.AFDCS.org 


U.S. or Worldwide Stamps 

Coins 

Historical/Sports 

Related Memorabilia 

Currency 

Covers 

Postcards & More!

POSTMASTER SEND FORM 3579 TO PO BOX 246, COLONIAL BEACH, VA 22443-0246 

PERIODICAL 

CEC/FM AFDCS CACHETS 

Hand Cancel - random single $3.00/set of four $10.00 

Digital Color Postmark - random single $4.00/set of four $14.00 

Order online at wwwafdcs.org/afdcstore01.html or from 

AFDCS Sales, Box 44, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0044.

FIRST DAYS - July-August 2022 Digital Edition

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