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Here we have a couple of very nice looking engraved covers from Artcraft. Artcraft is one of the better known cachet lines available. They have been creating beautiful engraved cachets since 1939. This one features an illustration of some doctors examining a mammogram while behind them a scientist works on a cure for breast cancer. And above them all is an illustration of a woman representing everyone they are trying to help. Very nicely done. I have recently acquired this second Artcraft cover autographed by the beautiful actress and singer Ann Jillian. Ann is an accomplished performer in all areas of show business. Among other things, she starred in the Broadway musical "Sugar Babies" and had a television sitcom in the late 1970's. She is also a breast cancer survivor and became very supportive of quality health care for woman in the 1980's. Ann autographed the cover to someone named Andrea for her birthday. She added a nice P.S. at the bottom of the cover encouraging Andrea to "Get a check-up!" I love the personal aspect of this cover. It makes me wonder who Andrea was and why the cover ended up in the marketplace.
ARTMASTER CACHET
An Artmaster Cachet illustrating the proper method for performing breast-self-examination. Artmaster is another one of the older cachet companies still in business. They created their first covers in 1946. Click HERE to learn more about the proper technique to use when performing a breast-self-examination. Although BSE cannot replace a mammogram, it is still a good healthy habit for a woman to get into. All women should become familiar with the normal shape, feel and appearance of her own breasts.
ARISTOCRAT CACHET
Although Aristocrat issued their first cover in 1936, they are still going strong more than 60 years later. This nice cachet includes a small image of a woman seeing her doctor. I've recreated the text below: BREAST CANCER RESEARCH This is the first U.S. semipostal stamp issued by the USPS. It took an act of Congress to make it happen. As the USPS did not want to be saddled with the costs and recordkeeping chores. The extra 8c charged for this stamp will go towards research on breast cancer. It is one of the most deadly diseases for women. It has little regard for race, creed or color. The extra funds will help find a cure much sooner. Still the best way to prevent breast cancer is through early detection. By self-examination, mammograms and regular check ups.
HOUSE OF FARNAM CACHET
Here we have a wonderful House of Farnam Cachet. It is one of my favorite printed cachets. House of Farnam have been producing their beautiful cachets since 1936. It features the wonderful image of a woman in the recommended position ready to perform a breast-self-examination. A beautiful pink ribbon sets off the image very nicely. I just think it is a very classy and tasteful image.
HOUSE OF FARNAM CUSTOMIZED VARIETY
This beautiful pink cover was specially made for Dr. Marvin Speer, a House of Farnam collecting specialist. He contracted with Mike Zoeller at Artmaster (who now makes Farnam) to make this HF variety for the Breast Cancer Research stamp, that consisted of the normal HF cachet on a pink envelope with a DC slogan cancellation. The good doctor created this special edition to surprise and support his wife who is an active volunteer in support of breast cancer treatment and cure. I want to thank Michael Rosenthal for helping me acquire a copy of this rare House of Farnam variety.
COVER CRAFT CACHET
This Cover Craft Cachet has obviously been created by the same people that made the above House of Farnam covers. Cover Craft is the HF limited edition line. Although this cover is unnumbered, there were only 200 copies made. There are only a few differences between the Cover Craft and the Farnam covers. The Cover Craft is made out of a slightly different envelope and includes an informative text card that the House of Farnam covers do not. Of course, the cachet logo's are different as well.
FLEETWOOD CACHET
This wonderful Fleetwood Cachet was made from an original painting by Lois Hatcher. Her beautiful painting was originally created for the Fleetwood FDC of the Breast Cancer Awareness stamp issued in 1996. For the new semipostal stamp, they added some highlighted squares to the image and changed the text along the bottom, otherwise, it is the same cachet. So far, I have not been able to discover any information about the artist, Lois Hatcher. If you can add anything, please drop me a line. Fleetwood is another company that has been producing covers for many years. They created their first one in 1941. They are well known for including some very nice informative text on the back of most of their covers. The text on the back of this one reads as follows: BREAST CANCER RESEARCH According to the American Cancer Society, over 40,000 women died from breast cancer in the United States in 1996. Breast cancer is a genetic disease caused by multiple mutations in the genes that control cell division. The Breast Cancer Research stamp was issued at a White House ceremony on July 29, 1998, with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Postmaster General William Henderson presiding. "This deadly disease . . . claims a woman's life every 12 minutes," commented the First Lady. "This historic stamp will be invaluable in our efforts to increase research funding and save lives." The Breast Cancer Research stamp is the first stamp in U.S. history to have its net proceeds above the cost of postage earmarked for research organizations. Priced at 40 cents, the attractive "semipostal" stamp covers the current 32 cent first-class letter rate, while reserving the remaining 8 cents for breast cancer research. The stamp portrays a woman with her right arm raised above her head with the elbow bent. Her left arm is folded across her stomach. This posture is instantly recognizable as the position recommended for women to conduct regular breast-self-examinations. In addition, the woman is pictured holding a bow in her left hand while reaching for arrows behind her shoulder with her right hand - details suggestive of an Amazon warrior. The Amazons were a mythological race of courageous women warriors who sacrificed a breast to their goddess. The Amazon warrior symbolizes the sacrifices many women undergo in fighting this dread disease and the courage necessary to combat it.
ARTOPAGES CACHET
A simple looking Artopages combination cover. Artopages began making their covers in 1962. This cachet mainly focuses on the money to be raised by the semipostal stamp as opposed to the more personal side of breast cancer
R. C. GRAEBNER CACHET - BERNARD GOLDBERG
A nice R. C. Graebner Cachet honoring former first lady Betty Ford and her victory over breast cancer. The cachet was designed by Bernard Goldberg of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Of course, Betty Ford is well known for her famous health clinic to the stars, however, her struggle and victory against breast cancer is less known. To honor Mrs. Ford with this cachet is certainly well deserved. The text along the bottom of the cover reads thus: Betty Ford Former First Lady of the U.S...She dramatized the importance of regular physical exams after breast surgery. The Betty Ford Center for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation opened in 1982.
HAM CACHET - LOIS HAMILTON
These two beautiful Ham Cachets were designed by Lois Hamilton of Lago Vista TX for the American First Day Cover Society. Lois Hamilton has been creating beautiful hand-painted cachets for many years. She is an avid supporter of the AFDCS and created this printed cachet as a fund raiser for the society. This cachet was originally designed for the Breast Cancer Awareness stamp issued in 1996. The first cover is an example of this original cachet. The Breast Cancer Research Semipostal stamp was added later and an official FDOI cancellation was applied. The second cover was created after the Semipostal stamp was announced. The AFDCS simply added the line "Our Nation's First "Semi-postal" in the upper left corner of the cover. Otherwise, they are identical cachets.
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY BREAST CANCER NETWORK
A nice gold embossed cachet created for the American Cancer Society. It features their Breast Cancer Network logo. It comes with a very nice informational insert card. The ACS created this cover to be used as thank you gifts for their breast cancer volunteers.
DAVE CURTIS
These four beautiful covers were created by Dave Curtis from Falls Church VA. Dave is an active member of the Transcendental Arts Council. He creates his distinctive cachets by carving the original image into a block of linoleum and covering the finished design with ink. The cover is then carefully placed upside down on the ink coated surface and a spoon is used to press down on the back of the cover, transferring the image to the front. This process is similar to old-fashioned woodblock printing which was commonly used before modern offset methods were invented. The first three covers shown above are different colored versions of the original linoleum carving. The only difference between them is in the choice of ink used to print the cachet. The fourth cachet, however, was created after Dave made some minor changes to the carving. He improved the facial area and cleaned up some rough spots. If you look closely, you can easily see the difference between this cover and the first three. The fourth cachet is much more delicate looking. The first cachet was printed using a rainbow colored effect that I think came out very nicely. It is number two of ten. The second cachet was printed in turquoise and is number four of five. The third cachet was printed in green ink and is number two of ten. The fourth cachet was also printed in green ink and is number six of ten. Dave won three Earl Planty awards at Americover 99, including an Honorable Mention for Printed Art/Single Color Cachets, an Honorable Mention for Event Covers and the Rookie of the Year Award. His unique style and technique has won him many fans, including myself. I think we are going to be hearing a lot about this cachetmaker in the future.
EDKEN CACHET - ED LYONS
This stunning Edken Cachet was created by Ed Lyons from Tampa FL. It has a wonderful printed cachet featuring a pink rose with a pink ribbon and the tasteful silhouette of a woman performing breast-self-exam. I really love this cachet. It's one of the most beautiful printed covers I've ever seen. The cover is unnumbered.
GAMM CACHET - GERRY ADLMAN
This nice GAMM Cachet was created by Gerry Adlman from Larchmont NY with artwork designed by Paul Johnson from Annandale VA. It features both an official first day cancel and a unofficial cancel. The cover is unnumbered. Gerry Adlman's covers are well known for their use of unofficial cancels. These can often be harder to obtain than the official cancel. The text is difficult to read on my scan, so I've included it below: Lives depend on it
In 1971, President Nixon signed the National Cancer Act, declaring "war on cancer." This expanded research efforts to combat this deadly disease. Breast cancer is diagnosed in one out of every three cases of cancer. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women. It is a life-threatening disease because it spreads to the body's vital organs. New research and drugs provide hope in the fight and possible prevention of this terrible disease.
JC CACHET - DR JOSEPH CONNOLLY
This simple JC Cachet was created by Dr Joseph Connolly from Orange CT and is unnumbered. It features a nice line drawing of a woman getting a mammogram.
WILDBILL CACHET
This interesting combination cover was created by Bill from Nebraska. I've been unable to determine his last name. If you can help provide it, please drop me a line at smith@in.net. Wildbill also has two covers in the Attached Cachets section of this online exhibit. This cachet features a large pink ribbon and the text "Feed the FUND the Fight". It also includes some graphics demonstrating breast-self-examination. It is unnumbered.
GARDEN STATE SOCIETY OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNOLOGY RAYMOND E. ROBINSON
These two beautiful covers were made by Raymond E Robinson as a fund raising vehicle for the Garden State Society of Nuclear Medicine Technology. It is the first cachet made for this organization. It is also the first cachet designed on a computer by Mr Robinson. He normally makes linoleum block print covers. These two covers are identical, except for the cancel. The first cover was processed with the official pictorial cancellation and the second was processed with the standard FDOI cancel. Neither cover is numbered, but Mr Robinson has made it known that only 300 of them were created for the Garden State Society. The covers include a very informative insert card, the text of which, is recreated below: GARDEN STATE SOCIETY OF
The GSSNMT is a grassroots organization with goals aimed at education and promotion of the science of Nuclear Medicine Technology. Mammography is a well-established diagnostic technique with widespread clinical use. Unfortunately patients with extremely dense breasts, post surgical radiation therapy or implants may mask possible tumors on a mammogram. Approved by the FDA in 1997, DuPont developed a product (Tc99m Sestamibi) marketed as Miraluma, that allows a patient to be imaged following the injection of a radiopharmaceutical to visualize malignant breast tumors. This nuclear medicine procedure is not approved as a screening tool, but as an adjunct to an equivocal mammography. The cachet pictures a breast tumor imaged with Miraluma, and a Siemens E.CAM detector. Cachet director - Raymond
E. Robinson, PO Box 800, Clark, NJ 07066
MENDLOWITZ WEITSEN, LLP, CPAs
This wonderful cachet was created for Mendlowitz Weitsen, LLP, CPAs from East Brunswick NJ. It was designed by Don Bloom and features the silhouettes of women and children along with the following text: Mendlowitz Weitsen, LLP, CPAs
The first U.S. postage stamp that includes a charitable contribution...20% of the cost of this stamp will help support breast cancer research. This nice cover also includes an informative insert card. The text is reproduced below: Breast Cancer Awareness This official first day of issue commemorative envelope salutes the United States Postal Services' postage stamp supporting Breast Cancer Awareness. It is estimated that about 200,000 women will be diagnosed in the next year with breast cancer. During this same time, over 14,000 will die. In addition, about, 1,400 men will develop breast breast cancer and 260 will die. Also, breast cancer is the leading cause of death of women between the ages of 35 and 54. Mammography, monthly breast self-examinations, and regular clinical breast examinations by a health care professional are important components of a breast health program. There is no known cure for advanced breast cancer. Detection of breast cancer at an early stage provides a greater chance for cure and more treatment options. Early detection is the key to survival and a greater quality of life. The Breast Cancer Awareness stamp contains an extra payment of 8c per stamp which will be used for breast cancer research. For those making purchases over $75.00 the Post Office will issue, upon request, a charitable contribution receipt to be used for tax deduction purposes. Support Breast Cancer Awareness - use the new stamp.
UNKNOWN POSTCARD
This is an interesting first day postcard I picked up from a dealer. The front of the postcard features a photograph of a Siemens Mevatron MD. I believe the device is used to treat cancer patients with radiation therapy. The stamp and first day cancellation is on the back of the card. There are no other markings. I have no idea who created it, or why. If you can shed any light on it, please drop me a note.
LOMBARDI CANCER CENTER
This oversize cover was prepared by Lorraine Bailey from Arlington VA. It does not have a cachet, but it does include the return address of the Lombardi Cancer Center located on the campus of the Georgetown University Medical Center. Oversize first day covers such as this one are somewhat unusual, but they can be found if one is persistent. |
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