A group of 21 colourful first-day covers dating from the late 1950s through the mid-1960s has revealed much more than an assortment of unusual hand-made cachets. Tucked inside several of the envelopes were handwritten notes, preliminary designs, extra stamps and other pieces of ephemera offering clues to a decades-old collecting friendship. The covers were created by H. Long of South Lyon, Mich., and sent primarily to Canadian collector Fred Wolters, whose addresses over the years included Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and Cambrai, Ont. Their surviving correspondence suggests the two men shared more than stamps, with Long writing about fishing trips, gardening, yard work and other parts of everyday life. Continue reading →
H. Long’s colourful hand-painted cachet commemorates the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Dollard des Ormeaux, incorporating Indigenous imagery, a French fleur-de-lis and period weapons. The cover bears Canada’s five-cent Dollard des Ormeaux commemorative and an Ottawa first-day cancellation dated May 19, 1960.
