Fleetwood Envelopes

The Fleetwood Lacemaking cachets were designed by Canadian Tom Bjarnason. Fleetwood starting producing covers on March 4, 1941 and is still in business today. On April 2, 2007, the Fleetwood division of Unicover Corporation, Cheyenne, WY, became part of the Mystic Stamp Company of Camden, New York (founded in 1923).

To me this set of cachets is the most annoying of all the Lacemaking stamp cachets. Shown here is a complete set of 5 #6-3/4 (6-9/16" x 3-11/16") unaddressed envelopes. The block of 4 envelope is labeled “Lacemaking in America”. Each of the 4 single envelopes is labeled “Modern Lacemaking”, “The Art of Lacemaking”, “The History of Lacemaking” and “Lacemaking Design”. Each envelope has a different text printed on the back and has “First Day of Issue” cancellations and postmarks. 

The entire set of Fleetwood cachets is repeated on 5-3/4” x 4-1/8” ‘Maximum Card’ postcards (maxicards), with single Ypsilanti Aug 14, 1987 postmarks, but no “First Day of Issue” cancellation banner.  They are Fleetwood Nos. 87-76, 77, 78 and 79. Compared to the Fleetwood envelopes, the maxicards have added bobbins at the tops and lace strips at the bottoms.  The same text used for the envelopes is printed on the back side of each maxicard on the left hand side.  I have not yet found a block of 4 maxicard.

There is yet another set of 5 6” x 9” Proof Card Cachets, one with the block of 4, and 4 with the single stamps. Each has “First Day of Issue” cancellations and postmarks.  The Cachets with labeling are set onto raised blocks on the upper part of each card, and the standard text for each is printed on the reverse at the bottom.

first posted 1/11/2009