I don't know if anyone would know the answer to this question but I am going to thow it out there anyway.

I collect Hand Painted FDC's of the Wildlife Habitats (Scott 1924a). An artist by the name of Lois Hamilton numbers her cachets 1/175, 2/175 etc on the back of the cover. She apparently has 4 basic designs for the cachet (Bear, Badger, Egret, Grouse) each one slightly different. Does the 1/175 mean that there are 175 Bear Cachets, 175 Badger cachets etc. for a total of 700 (175 x 4) covers or are there 175 total covers for this issue???

Thanks
Bob

parkinlot,
Bob,
Each person doing handpainted,sort of uses thier own numbering system.there is no written rules for individuals.Even some mass FDC servicers,drift from the norm in the numbering and ID of covers.
i would suggest you contact the person doing the painting,and ask them.might be able to trace through a web site for FDC.I dont have this one listed in my 1998 FDC listings,but most listings in catalog or of liecenced mass producers,or now defunct cover makers.
I only use the book to search for #1,or first cached of a maker.not interested in any susequent covers,so dont follow up on makers.
Ill try a web search and see if I can find something.
TOM

Bob,
did a quick search,lois hamilton--not same person.
hand painted FDC L. HAMILTON,brought several results,but no info on numbering system,put inquirey to three dealers who have hamilton covers..awaiting replies,let you know.
most covers range in price from 11 to 26 dollars.
if you want to know approximate value of what you have.
Ebay stores has a sight for Malibu Philatelics,who have 20 covers listed.
TOM

Tom,

Thanks for your response.

I have about 20 of her covers for this issue about 4 each (bear,badger,grouse,heron). I was originally under the assumption that there was a total of 175 covers for the issue. These are truly hand painted covers and couldn't imagine that there were 175 of each for a total of 700 covers. At first glance they all look the same but the details are very different. I thought that if there were 125 total that I would try to get as many as I could, but if there are 700 I will probably give up on that goal. I have been paying between 8 and 15 dollars per cover.

What prompted me to pose this question is the other day I received a cover that had the same number as another cover I had in my collection but the cachet was a different animal. I can only come up with 3 possiblities.

1) There is 175 of each cachet.

2) A number was accidentlly repeated if only 175 total exist.

3) One of them is a fake. (I'm not an expert but I don't think that's the case)

The other thing that makes me think that there are 700 total is that 175 is not divisible by 4. That means that there are less of at least one type of cachet than the others.

Thanks again,
Bob

good call, parkin'. go to afdcs.org or com or net or to virtualstampclub.com and ask the question. some one will know her and give you her email or phone or know the answer for fact not from logic which sometimes doesnot correlate with reality for various reasons

Bob,

my guess is that Lois made 175 cachets for each of the stamps in the series. Since each cachet is different for each of the four critters, it makes sense to repeat the numbering sequence each time (from 1 - 175) rather than starting at 176 for the second of the series. Doing it that way would give a mistaken impression that there were 350 in the grouse, and 525 copies of the badger, etc. from what you have described, i don't think there's an error or fraud

Bob,
just recieved reply to inquirey of one of Hamilton cachet FDC.
There should be two numbers on the cover.
one--the number of the cachet-ie 1/175
and another-the personal number--such as HAM#165
(THIS ONE NOT ON YOUR COVER) this number shows that it is the 165 th cacheted item.
the 1/175 ,is the number one of 175 printings of that particular cachet of that one stamp.In the sace of 4 stamps of a set or series,it is 175 of each stamp,a total of 700 covers,
The cover I inquired of had on the back-- 95/280 and HAM #165.
So look for that second number,for the Lois Hamilton cachets.
TOM

David & Tom,

Thanks for your responses. I am waiting on a response from a couple of sources also. I will let you know what they tell me.

I have little doubt now that there are actually 700 covers of this issue.

Tom... I do not see a second number on any of my covers. I do see "Ham". So that adds a little more mystery to this question. What was the issue that you inquired about??? Perhaps her style changed over the years. The Wildlife Habitats was issued in 1981.

Thanks again,
Bob

Bob,
item I inquired of was the volunteerism,scott 2039,I think issued in 1983.(U.S.)
Didnt get any more info,was only inquireing of the cachet numbering system of Lois Hamilton.
TOM