Saturday, September 28, 2019

Jack Kelly's Other Job - Pt III :)

Howdy!

How is the incredible first-day cover below connected to Jack Kelly's political career in Huntington Beach? Let's find out:

PNC created by Eunice Alter/JONAL ArtCovers 
and autographed by Jack Kelly
 
I recently purchased this Kellectible and noticed the seller lived in HB. Naturally, I had to ask if they had more information about this item.

They sure did, because the cachet was hand-painted by Eunice Alter--the seller's mother.

Now, I wasn't too familiar with philately (the study of stamps) and its associated terminology. So, I did some research and found a Facebook page for Ms. Alter's work. From this page, I learned that (1) this first-day cover is more accurately described as a "Philatelic-Numismatic Cover" (PNC), because it contains a coin as well as a stamp, and (2) Eunice Alter has a unique place in the world of PNCs. Her FB page explains:

"Philatelic (stamp) Numismatic (coin) Covers are envelopes with cancelled stamps on them, a coin mounted inside and showing through a dye cut-out, and often times a silk screened or printed picture. First Day of Issue Covers have their stamp cancelled on the first day the Post Office makes the stamp available for sale to the public...PNCs are often designed to commemorate a historical, political, or social event - just as the stamps you buy at the Post Office which commemorate a President, end of a war, Nobel Prize winner, holiday, etc.

"Eunice Alter, founder of JONAL ArtCovers, has created a unique niche for herself in the world of Philatelists and Numismatists. Her First Day of Issue Covers and PNCs are each researched and designed so that the coin, stamp and illustration are all inter-related and celebrate an important event or famous person. Each JONAL ArtCover is HAND PAINTED and signed by the artist. You can see why JONAL ArtCovers are so popular among serious coin and stamp and art collectors! Also, some of JONAL's PNCs are autographed by great political, entertainment and sports heroes making them an incredibly unique and valuable collector's item!"
 

Eunice's daughter, Amie, graciously shared the story behind JK's PNC with me. It's coming up in the next TDS--please stay tuned! :)

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Happy Anniversary, "Maverick"! :)

Hello!

I'm sorry I couldn't post a crazy caper involving carrot cake as I usually do for Jack Kelly's birthday on 9/16. I drove the Bartistamobile about 300 miles round trip last weekend to participate in a model horse show. Then, I was taken out of commission by a migraine followed by some tummy trouble over the next couple of days. But, at least I got JK's name up in lights...that's the best I could do lying down with a cell phone. :)

I'm feeling fit as a fiddle now, though, and I'm rarin' to continue with Part III of "JK's Other Job". I just received some additional and unique Kellectibles (including a photo!) relating to Part III, and I need to get these scanned and digitized. Believe me, it will be worth the wait when you see them!

In the meantime, I'd like to commemorate a very special anniversary: the premiere of Maverick on this date in 1957. Here's a first-day cover from the Kellection with an illustration of JK and James Garner and a brief write-up about the show. I've actually had this cover for years but I kept forgetting to post it until now:

First-day cover created by Cover Scape Cachets

Incidentally, first-day covers play an important role in the next post in TDS, so please stay tuned! :)