LEHMANN 2004
CHRISTMAS
TEST SEAL COVERS
* * * * * *
February 2005 Letter
Dear Christmas Seal Cover Collectors:
Last year, 2004, registered my 25th consecutive year of making test seal covers and ALA's 26th year of test seals. So, on the first part that means I entered the quarter-century club! We still have no record of 1979 test seal covers and my 1980 covers sold out in 1981. Again, welcome to you who enjoy collecting this aspect of philately. This year, seals were available to me from two sources and early enough to prepare covers including First Day Covers. There was one exception, I did not receive the gift tag seals in time to make covers (however, these are not popular anyway). For those that do not have a PC, I will print and send you copies of these pages upon request.
2004 COVERS: This year I have four basic cover types totaling 180 covers. I have Santa Claus, Indiana, cancels for Christmas Day plus the Christmas Ornament postage stamps first day's from New York, NY on November 16. I used only the red rectangular pictorial cancel from Santa Claus, IN for the Christmas Day cancels. The Postmistress used quick-drying ink on two of the covers and long-drying ink on one cover. The former does not rub off the seal's silver ink. This letter includes an easy ordering price list with a complete price list and personal want list available upon request. Each year, the ALA normally does something strange. In 2004, they started returning to normal and total number of varieties is way down (hooray-hooray). Most veteran Christmas seal collectors and dealers really welcomed this beginning return to normalcy. Complete normalcy would be an even three test designs. The table summarizes both this year's ALA seals and my covers.
COMMENTARY: There are seven ALA basic seal designs this year. There is 1 version of the regular seal and 6 test seal designs. The regular seal comes with a Spanish inscription (with silver borders) this year. There are NO Christian and Chanukah religious seal designs issued this year. All 2004 seals I used had self-stick gum. ALL 2004 sheets I used had 56 seals arranged 8 across and 7 deep. One test design (which I call Natural Outdoors) was a repeat from 2003. The 2003 seals had a pale yellow border and the 2004 smaller and with silver borders. My favorite test design I call Red Christmas with only three seal designs (the other five had either 4 or 5 designs). It also came with white and silver borders. I like Red Christmas because of the dominant Christmas red colors and three traditional designs. I use color to describe many of the designs this year since they tend to have a certain hue when observed as a whole. Three of the test design have an old fashion look to the designs (I put them all on cover D).
| REGULAR SEALS | ||
| DESIGN | COVERS | |
| 2004 seals | 2003 seals | |
| BLUE OUTDOORS - (5-designs, roof, kids, tree, igloo, & dove) | ||
| —Blue borders | A1 & B | A1 |
| —Silver Borders | B | NA |
| —Silver borders—Spanish | B | |
| TEST SEALS | ||
| NATURAL OUTDOORS—(4 designs, snowman, cardinal, santa, & angel) | A2 & D | A2 |
| RED CHRISTMAS—White Borders (3 designs sock, wreath, & canes) | C | NA |
| RED CHRISTMAS—Silver Borders | C | |
| YELLOW CHRISTMAS—Silver Borders (5-designs tree, snowman, wreath, partridge, & rocking horse) | C | |
| INDOOR CHRISTMAS—Sivler Borders (4-designs, teddy, child, doll, & rocking horse) | D | |
| OUTDOOR CHRISTMAS—Silver Borders (5-designs, 3-snowmen, santa w/teddy, 3-snowmen[1-small], snoman w/animal, & santa) | D | |
| BIRDS—(4 bird designs including two cardinals) | D | |
| GIFT TAG SEALS | ||
| None made except a few A1 covers use a 2003 GT rather than a single | ||
COVER TYPES: The following lists the four covers that I made this year. This listing uses my formal numbering system that is shown only as letters 'A' to 'D' on the attached Easy Ordering Price List. One cover type does have a second minor variety for the specialist. NOTE: orders of $14.80 or more receive a 10% discount and orders of $44.45 or more receive a 20% discount. Postage free within the United States. However, you may order using any list you choose. I only take checks, Postal money orders, and PayPal—no credit cards.
04-A1 - PREDECESSOR BLUE OUTDOORS: I had no trouble keeping this 24 year old tradition going in making my favorite cover (continuously from 1981 to 2004). The cover takes the winning test seal of the previous year and combines it with the regular seal of the current year. The result is the same seal design but with two different dates. I used seals with blue borders to better receive the inked cancel. I use the New York, NY First Day Cancel (FDC) of November 16, 2004 (above) with a Ginsburg Covers cachet. This cachet is the second in a new era of cachets for this series made exclusively for me. Jack Ginsburg is a friend and local cachetmaker who made the cachet envelopes to my specifications. This cover has 1 of 4 Christmas Ornament postage stamps. The cachet depicts the Dove design (1 of 5 designs in the sheet). I made 60 total covers all at $3.95 each all FD dated November 16, 2004. Use order #04-A1 for the cover just described and pictured above (45 made) using the blue border seals. I only had one sheet, so 9 of these covers (no special code-by request only) use a 2003 gift tag instead of a single but the 2004 seal is always a single. I also made 15 covers (#04-A2 also at $3.95)) using the 2003 and 2004 test seal design I call Natural Outdoors (last year I named in Outdoors). Thus the latter is a predecessor of a test seal.
04-B - REGULAR/SPANISH: This philatelic creation uses three different varieties of the regular seal design (blue outdoors). Two regular seals, one with silver border and the other a blue border. One Spanish inscription (Feliz Navidad) seal included with a silver border. All are self-seal with diecuts. See chart for descriptions and my other illustration page for an actual view. The cover is postmarked on Christmas day at Santa Claus, IN with quick-drying ink. It uses their red pictorial rectangular cancel and 1 of 4 Christmas ornament postage stamps. I made 40 using the sleigh and santa Artopage cachet envelopes ($2.95 each). (Order# 04-B)
04-C - CLASSIC SINGLES-I: This cover has one single seal from three 2004 national test seal sheets. Two sheets (red Christmas) differ only by either a white or silver border. These sheets have three designs—stocking, wreath, and candy canes. The third sheet (yellow Christmas) has five designs—tree, snowman, wreath, partridge, & rocking horse. So, there is a mixture of designs used in the 40 covers made. These use the red rectangular Santa Claus, IN pictorial cancel on Christmas Day with slow-drying ink. They have a Wreath or Candle Artopage cachet. All covers use 1 of 4 of the Christmas Ornament postage stamps and are $2.95 each (order #04-C).
04-D - CLASSIC SINGLES-II: This cover has one single seal from four different 2004 national test seal sheets. Three sheets had four designs while the other one had five designs, so, there is a mixture of designs used in the 40 covers made. The NATURAL OUTDOORS use a snowman, cardinal, standing santa, & angel. The INDOOR CHRISTMAS uses a teddy bear, child decorating a tree, doll, & rocking horse. The OUTDOOR CHRISTMAS uses 3-snowmen (equal size), santa w/teddy bear, 3-snowmen (1-small), snowman holding animal, & santa holding a house decoration in each hand. The final BIRDS uses two solitary cardinals (one female the other male), a pair blue birds, and a pair of mystery birds. The mystery birds resemble a blue jay on the back but seem smaller and the breast is not similar to any bird in my book of birds east of the Rocky Mountains. These covers use the red rectangular Santa Claus, IN pictorial cancel on Christmas Day with quick-drying ink. They have a Christmas tree Artopage cachet. All covers use 1 of 4 of the Christmas ornament postage stamps and are $2.95 each (order #04-D).
Look at Additional 2004 Cover Pictures (Reduced Sizes) (Shows the design of this year's Santa Claus, IN pictorial cancel.)
EASTER SEALS: I also sell tied Easter seal covers since no one else does. These I cancel in Nazareth, PA on Easter Sunday. The 2004 cover
has an April 1, 2004 black circular date stamp postmark. I use a self-stick flower stamp as postage and an Artopage Easter cachet. I also added the 2004 ALA Easter seal to the cachet (not tied). Covers have a single Easter seal ($1.95).
I wish everyone live long and prosper in 2005 (plus the tied cover you have always been looking for). Cordially:
Douglas K. Lehmann
P.O. Box 1312
Falls Church, VA 22041-1312
(dlehmann@erols.com)