1968 First Day Issue Cover - Walt Disney - Americana

First Day of Issue featuring Walt Disney, Showman of the World.

A first day of issue cover, also known as a first day cover (FDC), is a postage stamp affixed to a cover, postal card, or stamped envelope. It is issued on the first day the issue is authorized for use within the country or territory of the stamp-issuing authority. Sometimes, the issue is produced from a temporary or permanent foreign or overseas office. Covers postmarked at sea or their next port of call will bear a Paquebot postmark. Typically, there will be a first day of issue postmark, often a pictorial cancellation, indicating the city and date of the item’s initial issuance. The term “first day of issue” is commonly used to refer to this postmark. However, depending on the policy of the issuing nation, official first day postmarks may occasionally be applied to covers weeks or even months after the specified date.

Postal authorities often organize a first day ceremony to generate publicity for the new issue. During this ceremony, postal officials unveil the stamp, and prominent individuals, such as descendants of the person being honored by the stamp, are present. The ceremony can also take place in a location with a special connection to the stamp’s subject, such as the birthplace of a social movement, or at a stamp show.

As the popularity of collecting first-day covers grew, they started appearing on prepared envelopes, often featuring an illustration (commonly known as a cachet) that aligned with the stamp’s theme. Several printing companies began producing these envelopes, frequently hiring freelance illustrators to design their cachets, such as Charles R. Chickering, who in his earlier years designed postage stamps for the U.S. Post Office. Cachets, distinct from postmarks, are essentially rubber stamps. Postmarks can only be applied by official Post Offices, while anyone can design a cachet and attach it to their cover. A cachet adds uniqueness to a cover and helps convey its narrative. It can indicate whether the cover was carried (for instance, covers were carried on the very last flight of the Concorde), the signer’s name, or additional information about the postmark. Notably, Royal Mail no longer recognizes pre-decimal stamps as valid and won’t postmark them. Consequently, a cachet can be used to cancel a pre-decimal stamp on a cover, establishing a link between the stamp and the envelope. Additionally, cachets can be employed to cancel Cinderella stamps.

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