Cachets & Cancels

"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." Marcus Garvey

A First Day Cover (FDC) is an envelope or card bearing a stamp which is canceled on its First Day of Issue (FDOI) at a United States Postal Service designated site(s). The location is usually appropriate to the subject of the stamp and is where the FDOI postmark is used. FDCs generally have an illustration (or cachet) on the envelope/card. The cachet compliments the theme or story of the stamp.

I started working on FDC cachets in 1983. At that time, most of the work was line illustrations with registered color-identified overlays for printing on two-color offset presses. With the advent of superior digital presses, it became economically possible to create quality full color images. Below are samples of recent cachet illustrations and designs.

Cachet illustration of Abigail Adams
Cachet illustration of Abigail Adams
Image of envelope with Bruce Lee cachet
Image of envelope with Bruce Lee cachet
Image of envelope with 1st Continental Congress cachet with first day of issue cancel
Image of envelope with 1st Continental Congress cachet with first day of issue cancel
Image of envelope with Jimmy Buffet cachet
Image of envelope with Jimmy Buffet cachet
Cachet illustration of Muhammad Ali
Cachet illustration of Muhammad Ali
Cachet illustration of winter scene of barn and wildlife
Cachet illustration of winter scene of barn and wildlife
Cachet illustration of Ruth Bater Ginsberg
Cachet illustration of Ruth Bater Ginsberg
Cachet illustration of freshwater fishiing lures and fisherman
Cachet illustration of freshwater fishiing lures and fisherman
Cachet illustration of Go For Broke WW2 infantry men
Cachet illustration of Go For Broke WW2 infantry men
Cachet illustration of blueberries in basket and table
Cachet illustration of blueberries in basket and table
Cachet illustration of Pete Seeger playing banjo
Cachet illustration of Pete Seeger playing banjo
Cachet illustration of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Cachet illustration of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Cachet illustration of African daisies
Cachet illustration of African daisies
Cachet illustration of warrior, dragon and castle
Cachet illustration of warrior, dragon and castle
Cachet illustration of Santa Claus sitting on a roof top
Cachet illustration of Santa Claus sitting on a roof top
Cachet illustration of baseball player Yogi Berra
Cachet illustration of baseball player Yogi Berra
Cachet illustration of Old Glory, the US flag
Cachet illustration of Old Glory, the US flag
Lunar New Year, Year of the Tiger
Lunar New Year, Year of the Tiger
Cachet illustration of Ansel Adams with camera
Cachet illustration of Ansel Adams with camera
Cachet illustration of SpongeBob SquarePants creator
Cachet illustration of SpongeBob SquarePants creator
Cachet illustration of John Lewis
Cachet illustration of John Lewis
Cachet illustration of Thinking of You design with cupid and artistic flowers
Cachet illustration of Thinking of You design with cupid and artistic flowers
Cachet illustration of female elephant and baby
Cachet illustration of female elephant and baby
Cachet illustration of the Midnight Rider
Cachet illustration of the Midnight Rider
Cachet illustration of General Washington and troops at Trenton
Cachet illustration of General Washington and troops at Trenton
Cachet illustration of 3 winter landscapes
Cachet illustration of 3 winter landscapes
Cachet illustration of Holiday Cheer with wreath, cardinals, berries and flowers
Cachet illustration of Holiday Cheer with wreath, cardinals, berries and flowers
Cachet illustration of August Wilson
Cachet illustration of August Wilson
Cachet illustration of Tomie de Paola
Cachet illustration of Tomie de Paola
Cachet illustration of the Raven Story, native American mythology
Cachet illustration of the Raven Story, native American mythology
Cachet illustration of of American Pony Car, 1969 Camaro
Cachet illustration of of American Pony Car, 1969 Camaro
Illustration of an American Bison
Illustration of an American Bison
Illustration of Illustration of Route 66
Illustration of Illustration of Route 66
Illustration of Bald Eagles
Illustration of Bald Eagles
Illustration of happy people celebrating post-crossing
Illustration of happy people celebrating post-crossing

Show Cancels

Show cancels are a pictorial postmark featuring words and graphics related to an event and are generally applied with a hand stamp. The First Day Cover displayed to the left includes this type of a pictorial cancel. FDC shows can be held for several days, usually over a weekend, and can have a cancel designed for each day.

©2026. All images copyrighted by Paul Johnson unless otherwise stated. ©2026. All rights reserved.

Show cancel illustration for the Declaration of Independence
Show cancel illustration for the Declaration of Independence
Show cancel illustration for World Soccer Champions
Show cancel illustration for World Soccer Champions
Show cancel illustration celebrating soda fountains
Show cancel illustration celebrating soda fountains
Show cancel illustration celebrating start of US airmail routes
Show cancel illustration celebrating start of US airmail routes
Show cancel illustration celebrating heroes in medicine
Show cancel illustration celebrating heroes in medicine
Show cancel illustration celebrating the rock and roll hall of fame
Show cancel illustration celebrating the rock and roll hall of fame
Illustration of British crown jewels
Illustration of British crown jewels
Show cancel illustration celebrating anniversary of 2nd Continental Congress, picturing Ben Franklin
Show cancel illustration celebrating anniversary of 2nd Continental Congress, picturing Ben Franklin
Image of envelope with Jimmy Carter cachet and pictorial first day of issue cancel
Image of envelope with Jimmy Carter cachet and pictorial first day of issue cancel