Owney FDCs Sought By NPM

FDCs at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum: Cachetmakers Participation Invited for Owney Stamp

Cachetmaker members of the American First Day Cover Society are invited to participate in a unique opportunity to have their cachets showcased in the new William H. Gross Stamp Gallery of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. This will be the premier First Day Cover exhibit in the gallery. Individual AFDCS members and AFDCS chapters are invited to submit their cacheted cover for the Owney stamp, to be issued on July 27, 2011.

All selected covers meeting the museum criteria will become a part of the permanent collection, and some will be selected for display in the Gross Stamp Gallery. Final selection of the cachets to be used in the exhibit will be done by the museum’s Council of Philatelist’s New Initiatives Committee at the committee’s fall meeting. The committee’s decisions will be final. Cachet covers entered will become the property of the National Postal Museum and may be reproduced in museum literature or displayed on its web site.

Owney was a dog who found his way into the Albany, New York, post office in 1888 and was adopted by the mail clerks. Owney was fond of riding the rails with the mailbags and became the mascot of the Railway Mail Service. For more up to date information about Owney, visit the museum website and the APS Chapter Activities Committee Owney Resource Page.

Cachet designs should be submitted on a standard #6 envelope using any media or technique. Downloadable images of Owney are available here. The design must be family-friendly. All submissions should respect copyright law. The deadline for registering has been extended to October 15, 2011. An application form must accompany all entries. Click here to download the application.

This represents an incredible opportunity for cachetmakers to have one of their first day covers added to the museum’s permanent collection and to be considered for public display in the nation’s capital. The Owney Cachet project will promote visitation to the museum and attract new collectors to FDC collecting.

The William H. Gross Gallery will be a new 12,000 square foot area at street level within the National Postal Museum. It is expected to open in 2012 and will house extraordinary philatelic treasures as well as have space for educational exhibits, temporary exhibits, and public programs. For further information about the gallery, visit the museum website.

Questions regarding the competition for the Owney project can be emailed to: angelbear.hisey@gmail.com. Owney Project Team members are Liz Hizey, Mary Ann Bowman, Don Sundman, Janet Klug, Cheryl Ganz, and Katie Burke.

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