Page 6 - Demo

A First Day Cover is an envelope (or Postal Stationary) affixed with a postage stamp that has been canceled on very first day that particular stamp was available for sale to the public. First Day Covers often contain a cachet, printed on the left side, to enhance their appeal to collectors. The words %u201cFirst Day of Issue%u201d are generally in the postmark, but not always. There is usually a single city designated to issue a new stamp on its first day, and that city%u2019s Post Office may host a ceremony when the stamp is released. Sometimes, the date of release is coordinated with a convention, exhibition, or other special event.At one time, I had a collection of nearly 300 First Day Covers, which I picked up from dealers, mailorder catalogs, and fellow collectors. For example, there is a story herein about a collection of First Day Covers for the 1939 Presidential series of stamps that I obtained as a young boy, sold as an adult, then replaced over 30 years later.Eventually, I sold off most of First Day Covers that I found uninteresting, and only kept the ones I still found appealing. Most of them are in this album, along with others that have some sentimental value to me, or are particularly fascinating.The Cover on the next page, honoring the World%u2019s First Air Mail Flight, by a hot-air balloon, was issued in Lafayette, where the Jupiter took off in 1859. It was my first First Day Cover, and was addressed to me by my Grandma Mendy, and delivered through the regular mail.The other Cover on the next page honors John Glenn%u2019s successful Project Mercury space flight. For the only time in history, the stamp was kept a secret until Glenn%u2019s splashdown at 3:30 PM on February 20, 1962. At that time, it was simultaneously released at 305 different Post Offices throughout the country. One of the 305 Post Offices was in Lafayette so, after school, I went there and bought some stamps. There were other young collectors milling around, and none of us could agree if affixing the stamps to Covers and having them postmarked in Lafayette would constitute an official First Day Cover. So, most of us didn%u2019t do that. The Cover I have is one of the three million that were officially cancelled at Cape Canaveral. Since that time, people have tried to collect cancelled Covers from all 305 cities, but no one seems to have been successful. In another album, I have an extensive set of Project Mercury First Day Covers.