cds

First Day Covers of the

U.S. Winston Churchill Memorial Issue

of 1965 (Scott 1264)

cds

1264

Sir Winston S. Churchill died on January 24, 1965 at the age of 90. Postal administrations around the world issued memorial stamps in the weeks and months that followed, including the United States, which released its very attractive and respectful stamp on May 13, 1965 (a mere 109 days after Churchill's death). The U.S. stamp, like so many others, is based on Yousuf Karsh's legendary "Angry Lion" portrait of 1941. The stamp was designed by Richard Hurd, lettered by Sam Marsh, engraved by Charles A. Brooks (portrait) and Harold Sharpless (lettering), and printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in a quantity of 125,180,000 (two printings). The stamp had its first day of issue at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where Churchill delivered the "Iron Curtain" speech in 1946. The May 13 issue date was the 25th anniversary of Churchill's "blood, toil, tears and sweat" speech. 773,580 first day covers were serviced.

The U.S. Churchill issue was popular among first day cover (FDC) producers. The standard cachet reference work for FDC collectors, Michael Mellone's Specialized Cachet Catalog of First Day Covers (1985), lists over 50 different cachets for the Churchill issue. However, Mellone's catalog is merely a starting point. There are many more cacheted FDCs for the Churchill stamp not listed in the catalog, and additional cachets come to light on a regular basis.

This portion of my site will showcase the many Churchill FDCs that are known, beginning with the cachets listed in Mellone, and then moving on to uncataloged items. I'm always looking for "new" cachets of this issue, as well as additional information about the items I already have. If you have information about any of the covers depicted here, or have a cover you don't see here, please contact me at tronnei@gmail.com.

A note about "add-ons": An "add-on" is a cachet design added to a cover which was originally uncacheted. An add-on cachet should be identified by maker and date so that it is clear that it is not contemporary with the cover. Unfortunately, those who create add-ons don't always mark them as such. A comprehensive collection of add-ons is impossible and I usually pass on purchasing them; however, a select few are included here.

Part I: Mellone-listed Items

Click on cover link for larger image and information

M1 Hollis Hobby Center	M2 C. Stephen Anderson	M3 Aristocrats	M4 Art Craft	M5 Artmaster
M6 Artopages	M7 & M8 Artopages	M9 Bar Jean	M10 Boerger ABC	M11 Cachet Craft
M12 Chickering/ Jackson	M13 Colorano	M14 Cover Craft	M15 House of Farnam	M16 First National City Bank
M17 Fleetwood	M18 Fluegel	M19 FDC+Plus	M20 C.G. Junior III	M21 Hammond Maxi Card
M22 Harcourt, Brace	M23 Hutton	M24 Khol Kraft	M25 Kolor Kover	M26 KJM
M27 Lichty	M28 Mahdeen	M29 Marg	M30 Martin	M31 Masonic Stamp Club of N.Y.
M32 Masonic Stamp Unit	M33 Mather Counterfeit	M34 Maul	M35 Overseas Mailer	M36 Patterson
M37 Prestige	M38 Rosecraft	M39 Sarzin	M40 Seibel	M41 Teich
M42 Texas Refinery Corp.	M43 Ulrich	M44 Universal Philatelic	M45 Velvatone	M46 Von Ohlen
M47 Westminster College	M48 Dizer	M49 Butler & Kelly	M50 Colorano (listing error)	M51 Hammond Maxi Card #2
M52 Unknown	M53 Unknown	End of Cachets listed in Mellone

Part II: Uncatalogued Items; Cachetmaker Identified

Click on cover link for larger image and information

BPA/PTS	Locke	J-N	Reid	GPO
C. Winston	JAX	Eric Lewis	Pennant	Philatelic Center of New York
Fulton City Clerk	Postmaster General	Melissa Fox	Dulski	Artopages SOUPEX
Blitz	Crawford	Griffith	Bob Jones	Adam Bert

Part III: Uncatalogued Items; Cachetmaker Unknown

Click on cover link for larger image and information

Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Unknown	Unknown

Part IV: Postcard FDCs

Click on cover link for larger image and information

Postcard 1	Postcard 2	Postcard 3	Postcard 4	Postcard 5
Postcard 6	Postcard 7

Part V: Miscellaneous First Day Items

Click on cover link for larger image and information

WSC Quotes	Ceremony Program	Postal Bulletin	Post Office Announcement	Church of St. Mary
Fulton Memorial	Honorary US Citizenship	Westminster Stationery	Crossed Flags	Williamsburg Bell
Art Craft Card	Dizer Album Page	Cole's Corner Card	Kohler Corner Card	Hudson Dispatch Corner Card
Crown Agents FDC Forgery

Part VI: Art Craft Commercial FDCs

Click on cover link for larger image and information

American Mutual

web page hit counter