The feature stamp on this beautifully designed FDC by Dr. Ross Knoble is the PO's 1953 150 Year Anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase 3¢ stamp, Scott # 1020. (It is one of two different varieties of Knoble/Louisiana Purchase FDCs which I am putting on the board this evening.)
About the inspiration for the stamp : it was on
April 30, 1803 . . . and, hence, this
cover's status as a 150 Year Anniversary FDC, right down to the exact day . . . when the Louisiana Purchase
was signed in Paris France. The U.S. paid approximately 15 million dollars for
a mass of land so expansive that the total price, according to some estimates,
came out to just $4.00 an acre!!! And the significance of this purchase is
undeniable, for it resulted is the of what would later become 15 American
states. At the time the purchase agreement was signed, the area involved
consisted of 6 complete future states, as well as 9 portions of future
states. (Please see "Interesting Tidbit"
below.) All in all, this
historic more than doubled the size of 1803 America, and paved the
for the Louis and Clark Expedition, which was then followed by
the Westward Expansion Movement.
About the feature stamp, itself : this stamp spotlights
the actual signing of the Louisiana Purchase. On the stamp are future
president, but then-U.S. foreign diplomat, James Madison, President Thomas
Jefferson's Secretary of State, Frank Livingston, and French representative,
Barbè Marbois.
About the multicolor cachet : on this absolute gem
of a hand painted cover, Dr. Knoble checks out a Louisiana steamboat, barreling
along down a rippling river which, thanks to the Louisiana Purchase, became
part of a quickly growing America.
About the condition of this envelope : also worthy of note is
that this 70-year old envelope is in top-notch shape . . . very clean, and with
no distracting flap marks, creases, or anything of that nature. (The envelope's reverse flap
is tucked inside the envelope and partially sealed within and with a blank
stuffer card inside.)
All in all, an impressively designed cover which puts us in touch with part of our nation's roots.
INTERESTING TIDBIT : the
1803 Louisiana Purchase consisted of the present-day states of (in alphabetical order) Arkansas Colorado,
Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico,
North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.
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