Sergio Aragonés: An Adolph S. Ochs First Day Cover

Adolph S. Ochs was the publisher of The New York Times from 1896 to 1935, a career which earned him a U.S. commemorative stamp issue in 1976. Mad magazine cartoonist Sergio Aragonés, asked to embellish a first day cover, showed that he too knows a bit about publishers.

Sergio Aragonés
eBay listing accessed March 12, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/285052289453?

Sergio Aragonés
eBay item description

04256

Sergio Aragonés: A George M. Cohan First Day Cover

I have frequently expressed my perplexity at the phenomenon of first day covers signed by celebrities, particularly when the stamp and the signer have nothing to do with each other. Every now and then, though, something comes along that makes my day and it's usually because of the creativity of a cartoonist.

In 1990, when Mad's Sergio Aragonés was in all likelihood, attending a convention, he was asked, it would seem, to sign the 1978 first day cover commemorating the George M. Cohan centennial. He knew what to do with it.

Sergio Aragonés
eBay listing accessed March 10, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275712042532?hash=item4031b7e624%3Ag%3An3oAAOSwxa1j-ryI&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338181027&customid=&toolid=10049

Sergio Aragonés
eBay item description

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Bill Justice: A Pinocchio First Day Cover Sketch

I like original cartoon art and I suppose I like first day covers too. Put the two together with some thought and I might just be impressed. Put them together with no rhyme or reason and we have today's post. Disney animator Bill Justice has created a fine pencil drawing of Pinocchio's head on a first day cover cachet with the 45 cent Love stamp. The flowers and Pinocchio don't clash, but they don't really go together either. 

Bill Justice
AbeBooks listing as of April 8, 2022

Bill Justice

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Pinocchios-smiling-face-graces-LOVE-Stamp/31153788147/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=readmore_low

Schulson Autographs, Ltd., must have realized the appeal lies almost entirely in Bill Justice's charming drawing. They therefore ended the Pinocchio cover listed at $295 and instead combined the postal item with Justice's Chip 'n' Dale sketch which they also had listed for $295—it recently appeared on this blog. The two items are offered together at $500, which under the circumstances seems reasonable enough. They are now combining Bill Justice's Pinocchio with Bill Justice's Chip 'n' Dale, and that makes a more sensible pairing than Pinocchio and the Love stamp ever did, not that you would want to separate them.

Bill Justice
AbeBooks listing accessed May 6, 2022

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Pinocchios-smiling-face-graces-LOVE-Stamp/31153788147/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=readmore_low

03948

Eldon Dedini: Mickey Mouse on an Israeli First Day Cover

One of the very important parts of Eldon’s early career was his time spent working as a staff cartoonist for Disney beginning in 1944, primarily on "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (an adaptation of Wind in the Willows), "Mickey and the Beanstalk," and "Fun and Fancy Free."

—Caitlin McGurk

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Blog

Eldon Dedini

https://www.ebay.com/itm/174173525180?hash=item288d8d14bc:g:8vEAAOSwIxFeMJbu

Years after his association with Disney, when Eldon Dedini (1921-2006) was recognized as an independent cartoonist who contributed brilliantly to publications such as The New Yorker and Playboy, he continued to give fans souvenir drawings, like that seen above, of a certain well-known mouse. These sketches generally show a left-facing Mickey, which is classic and also easier for a right-handed artist to draw.

One of Dedini's less typical Mickey Mouse drawings appears on a 1977 Israeli first day cover. Here he wishes Israel a happy 50th birthday, which pretty much fixes the date of the sketch to 1998. Mickey celebrates by wearing the traditional skullcap called either a kippah (from the Hebrew) or a yarmulke (from the Yiddish).

Eldon Dedini
eBay listing accessed September 12, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/351992077588?hash=item51f45cdd14:g:qOwAAOSwhlZYsuKI

Eldon Dedini
eBay item description

Regarding the following drawing from 2000, it might be more accurate for Dedini to say that he hasn't stopped drawing Mickey Mouse for over fifty years:

Eldon Dedini

https://www.ebay.com/itm/174173527624?hash=item288d8d1e48:g:GZUAAOSwQFpeMJpS

Note:  I ask once again, do such drawings really need to be authenticated with a sticker? It can't add much value to obvious Dedini sketches such as these, and the obtrusive stickers deface the artwork.

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Ronald Searle: A Christmas 1987 Signed First Day Cover

It's Magic, the 1987 Royal Mail Christmas issue, was canceled in London with a commercial Hamley's postmark promoting "the finest toy shop in the world" on the first day cover. Thirteen years later, one such cover was signed by illustrator Ronald Searle. The Christmas cover and the later autograph seem unrelated; they coexist on an envelope for no apparent reason. Still, the price realized on eBay indicates that at least someone out there appreciates this sort of dual collectible.

Ronald Searle
eBay Listing Ended June 8, 2019

https://www.ebay.com/itm/St-Trinian-039-s-Ronald-Searle-Signed-FDC-/223544140339?ul_noapp=true&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Ronald Searle
eBay Item Description

03831

Ed Arno: Self-Portrait on a First Day Cover

Some time in the final decade of his life, cartoonist Ed Arno (1916-2008) signed a first day cover of the U.S. Space Discovery issue. He added a small self-portrait in profile. The space stamp, of course, has nothing at all to do with Arno's addition to the cover; the two, in my opinion, create no synergy and don't belong together. Yet collectors continue to present unrelated first day covers to all manner of celebrities for their signatures.

Ed Arno
eBay listing ended August 5, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/370618572239?hash=item564a969dcf%3Ag%3AUSgAAMXQNOZRBuAu&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Ed Arno
eBay item description

03794

Morrie Turner: A Wee Pals First Day Cover

In 1978, the United States Postal Service issued a souvenir sheet to coincide with the Canadian International Postal Exhibition, or CAPEX. The sheet featured eight stamps depicting wildlife found along the border of the United States and Canada. First day covers for this issue are a postal novelty: American stamps canceled by the USPS with a Toronto postmark.

One of the eight stamps on the souvenir sheet featured a chipmunk, and it is the cachet of this stamp's first day cover that cartoonist Morrie Turner (1923-2014), creator of the Wee Pals comic strip, was asked to sign. Turner gets high marks for working with the material he was given. The cover was offered for sale on eBay in 2014.

Morrie Turner

eBay listing accessed March 15, 2014

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Morrie-Turner-Wee-Pals-Cartoonist-Artist-Signed-Autograph-Sketch-FDC/371006708336?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222003%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D21144%26meid%3D5507013883148549724%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D9373%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D370530783979&rt=nc

Morrie Turner

eBay item description

03691

Charles M. Schulz: Snoopy on a First Day Cover

What can a cartoonist add to a first day cover? Often not much, but once in a while everything on the envelope comes together synergistically. One of the best of these covers I've seen is an air mail postal envelope with a printed cachet honoring Charles Lindbergh's 1927 nonstop flight from New York to Paris. The FDC is embellished in ink by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. He has added a drawing of World War I flying ace Snoopy flying what any aviation buff will tell you is a Sopwith Camel.

Charles M. Schulz
RR Auction
July 14, 2021

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/344470706120747-charles-schulz-original-sketch-of-snoopy/?cat=0

03690

An Edward Lear First Day Cover Signed by Ronald Searle

The autograph market is rife with postal covers bearing patently unrelated signatures. The thinking is that if one takes something collectible such as, say, a first day cover, and has some celebrity sign it, a unique rarity has been created. If the signature bears no relation to the cover, though, there's not much point to it. On the other hand, if an astronaut should perhaps sign a cover with a space stamp, the signature and the stamp might have a perceived synergy that could very well make it a sought-after item.

The same might be said for an item sold yesterday by Chaucer Covers and Auctions, a first day cover with four Edward Lear (1812-1888) stamps issued in the UK on the centenary of his death and signed by Ronald Searle (1920-2011). Lear, of course, is known for his nonsense verse and fanciful illustrations, while Searle, who followed him a century later, was a master of humorous illustration. Clearly the combination works and the selling price, 28 GBP ($39.50 US), while not extravagant, is at least a proof of concept.

Edward Lear/Ronald Searle
Invaluable auction accessed May 2, 2021

https://www.invaluable.com/catalog/jj2r9r0owm?rfa=true&size=50&page=1&categories=&searchWithAll=Searle

03632

Ten Items Signed by Eight Cartoonists

A group of ten items signed by eight comic strip cartoonists was sold at auction this past March in L.A. First day covers signed by a cartoonist unassociated with the stamp's subject matter don't generally do much for me unless the cartoonist interacts in some way with what is already printed, stamped, or postmarked. A signature even by the great Charles M. Schulz gains nothing, in my opinion, from its placement on a Walt Disney cover postmarked with the first day of issue. I'd prefer to keep the Disney cover and the Schulz signature separate, or better still, of course, to have the Schulz signature in a Peanuts book. I suppose any oddball, signed cover becomes an instant rarity, but so what? Among the sample of covers shown here, I give Bo Brown the highest mark. Chester Gould drew one of his ubiquitous Dick Tracy profiles on an unstamped Canadian Papineau cover; I don't see how this is in any way preferable to a sketch on a plain blank card or sheet of paper. The signed cards with printed cartoon images are nice enough, sure, but Marge's hand-drawn and personalized sketch of Little Lulu seems more thoughtful and therefore more desirable.

Cartoonists

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/cartoonists-ten-items-signed-by-eight-cartoonists-7b04b10b00#

Ten Items Signed by Eight Cartoonists

https://www.goldbergcoins.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/69/?page=1&key=Cartoonists&cat=&xclosed=no

03403

A Whitney Darrow, Jr. First Day Cover Sketch

Here's a quick sketch made on a first day cover by cartoonist Whitney Darrow, Jr. It shows a boy showing off his basketball skills to a girl. Darrow incorporates the postmark as the ball. The sketch is being offered on eBay for $49.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.  First day cover sketch

EBay Listing from June 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Whitney-Darrow-Cartoonist-signed-w-Sketch-New-yorker-/370618572071?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564a969d27

Note:  Sketches on first day covers play a smallish role on this blog. See covers sketched upon by Chon Day and R. Crumb

Whitney Darrow, Jr. plays a larger role here and gets star treatment.

Yes, basketball is important too. Just ask Dr. J. or Sparky.

01546

Chon Day's Brother Sebastian on First Day Covers

First day covers are stamped envelopes with a special cancellation indicating the first day of issue and the local post office of issue. They exist primarily to meet collector demand and, as a practical matter, aren't necessarily all physically cancelled on the precise date of the postmark. I think it's fair to say that most of them aren't actually sent through the mail but are obtained on unaddressed envelopes or cachets bearing printed artwork created specifically for that stamp issue. The Postal Service gets to sell a stamp with a cancellation and often doesn't even have to deliver it.

Whoever first came up with the idea of collecting autographs on first day covers is no doubt lost to philatelic history. That person's logic must have gone something like this: first day covers are collectible. Autographs are collectible. First day covers, at least when unaddressed, have large areas of blank paper suitable for autographs. Combining a first day cover with an autograph makes for a unique collectible. Therefore, the market value of this collectible should be greater than the sum of the separate values of the autograph and of the first day cover.

Well, yes and no. I see little point to an autograph on a first day cover when the two are unrelated. If there is some relationship, as in astronauts signing a cover bearing a space stamp, then I can certainly see why that should be highly-prized and even sought after.

There are currently three first day covers listed on eBay which bear not only the signature of cartoonist Chon Day (1907 - 2000), but also a drawing of his character Brother Sebastian. Brother Sebastian cartoons appeared in Look magazine beginning in 1954 and they were subsequently collected in three volumes.

Let's look at a first day cover with a totally unrelated pairing. The stamp commemorating the centennial of the Civil War has absolutely nothing to do with Chon Day or Brother Sebastian. In this case, I'd think it preferable to have the drawing on a blank sheet of paper, and the Gettysburg first day cover without a drawing.

Chon Day, Brother Sebastian on 5-Cent Gettysburg First Day Cover
Scott No. 1180, 1963 US 5 cents

http://www.ebay.com/itm/First-Day-Issue-Envelope-signed-by-cartoonist-Chon-Day-with-Brother-Sebastian/310535650497?_trksid=p2045573.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27%26meid%3D9008784222606500849%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D1011%26rk%3D3%26sd%3D250007720830%26

It's interesting that Day chose a view for his souvenir drawings of Brother Sebastian
that is not quite a side view but rather a view from slightly behind the monk. I suppose this allows Day to emphasize the hood and tonsure.

The next first day cover is I think a little more interesting. Day's drawing of the monk is not dissimilar, but whoever requested the drawing provided a first day cover with the Touro Synagogue stamp. Now that's an autograph seeker with a sense of humor. The asking price is the same as the previous cover, but I'd rather own this one.

Chon Day, Brother Sebastian on Touro Synagogue First Day Cover
Scott No. 2017, 1982 US 20 cents

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTHENTIC-Chon-Day-signed-FDC/250007720830?_trksid=p2045573.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27%26meid%3D9008989631158982662%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D1011%26rk%3D2%26sd%3D310535650497%26

This final example is my personal favorite of the three, with Brother Sebastian holding up a fountain pen to echo the quill pen in the cachet cover art. This could easily have become another unrelated cover, but instead the cartoonist got creative, and that, my friends, is what makes the game interesting. This is being sold by the same seller as the first eBay example above, but the price for this one is lower by a third. Amen.

Chon Day, Brother Sebastian on William M. Harnett First Day Cover
Scott No. 1386. 1969 US 6 cents

http://www.ebay.com/itm/First-Day-Issue-Envelope-signed-by-cartoonist-Chon-Day-with-Brother-Sebastian-/121038546660?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c2e75a6e4

Note:  See more of this week's blog posts about Chon Day here.

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