A first-day cover is an envelope carrying a new stamp, cancelled on its first day of issue. On the left-hand side of most of them there is a design — an illustration relating to the stamp's subject.
That design is called a cachet, and here is the thing most people never realise: the Postal Service does not make it. Cachets are produced by independent artists and small makers, entirely outside the postal system. USPS supplies the stamp and the postmark. Everything else on the envelope is someone else's work.
Which means the interesting part of a first-day cover is the part that is not official.
The competition
The American First Day Cover Society runs an annual cachetmakers contest, judging the previous year's covers. The categories map the craft rather than the subject matter: hand-painted and hand-drawn, hand-painted from non-original art, media and production methods, foreign, events, esoteric, and rookie of the year.
Judging is done by three anonymous judges representing collectors, dealers and artists. They judge each category, then choose the best of the best for the top honour — and a winner of the top cachet cannot win it again the following year, which keeps the award moving.
Who wins
Bob Emrick took best cachet of the year for a hand-painted and hand-drawn cover for the 2020 Arnold Palmer stamp, which also won its own category. He works in printed and pencil-sketch cachets as well, all from original art.
The more remarkable result was a junior member winning an adult category for the first time. Arianna Calle, then 17, took both first and second place in the hand-painted/non-original-art category — against adults.
She had already won first or second in the junior categories more than a dozen times, going back to 2009. Which, given her age, means she started at around six.
Three generations
The name is not a coincidence. Arianna Calle is the daughter of Chris Calle, a professional artist who has designed numerous US stamps. Chris's father, Paul Calle (1928–2010), was also a US stamp designer.
Three generations of one family working on the same small rectangle — the grandfather and father designing the stamps, the daughter decorating the envelopes they go on.
Why collect first-day covers
Because they are the one part of philately where the collector's material is still being made by hand, in small numbers, by identifiable people.
A stamp is printed in the millions and is identical to every other copy. A hand-painted cachet is a one-off. The stamp on it is worth its postage; the envelope is worth what someone will pay for the painting.
The society publishes First Days six times a year along with handbooks and directories, sponsors exhibit awards, and co-hosts the Great American Stamp Show with the American Philatelic Society and the American Topical Association. It can be reached at Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246.
Making one yourself
There is nothing stopping you. Buy the stamp on its first day, get it cancelled with the first-day postmark, and put whatever you like on the left of the envelope.
That is the entire barrier to entry, and it is why the field still has rookies of the year in it.
Best deals on Forever stamps
Worth separating the two halves of a cover. The cachet is art and priced as art. The stamp is postage — and if it is a Forever issue, it is worth the current rate no matter how old the cover is.
For the stamps themselves, retired designs below face value from a surplus seller are the only way to pay less than the post office charges. The envelope is where the money and the interest go; the stamp is a commodity.
Where to buy
Current issues from USPS. Retired designs from a verified surplus channel such as Forever Stamp Center — see the full catalogue.
The short version
The illustration on a first-day cover is made by an independent artist, not by the Postal Service. There is an annual competition for it, judged anonymously by collectors, dealers and artists — and one recent winner was seventeen, from a family that has been designing US stamps for three generations.
More on buying Forever stamps
- 👉 What Actually Happens at a National Stamp Show
- 👉 How Stamp Exhibiting Competitions Work
- 👉 Every First-Day City Is Chosen for a Reason
USPS specialist based in Los Angeles with extensive experience in postal operations and customer service. Certified in mail management and trained at the USPS Business Mail Academy, she offers reliable guidance on Forever Stamps and practical mailing solutions.
