Page 84 - Demo

One of a unique series of photo-cachets he produced between 1947 and 1954.%u201cEric H. Lewis,%u201d printed on reverse.In 1927, Eric Lewis began working at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York, and retired from there in 1973. While he had an interest in First Day Covers as early as 1936, he didn%u2019t produce his own designs until 1947%u2014beginning with the Thomas Edison stamp, of which only four copies are known. His last cachet was for the Blood Donor issue of 1971. Over his lifetime, he produced cacheted covers for more than 380 different stamps, plus additional designs for special events. There are only seven known copies of his Indiana Territory Sesquicentennial cachet.Using the knowledge he acquired in Kodak%u2019s camera-works section, their research lab, and their emulsion-testing department (where he was manager), Eric created cachets using a photographic process. In general, it appears that he drew a cachet design, photographed it, then photo-printed it. He next cut the paper into an envelope shape, folded it, and glued it together. Because the envelope was for philatelic purposes, he put no glue on the flap. The photographic paper he used provided a good bond for the stamps, and prevented ink smearing from the cancelation or address. He typically produced less than ten copies of his photo cachets per stamp issue.In 1953, Eric began producing silk-screened cachets, of which he made as few as one and as many as thirty copies per stamp release. For three issues (in 1953 and 1954) he made both a photo cachet and a silk-screened cachet. The consistency of his designs, his photo-paper envelopes, and the number of different cachets he produced, make Lewis an important figure in First Day Cover collecting. He died in 2001 at the age of 94.