About the inspiration for the Milford series : starting in 1990 and extending throughout the decade of the 1990s, Fred produced a series of Official Duck covers which were released by individual states, rather than the Post Office, and they instantly became popular among collectors who have never experienced such a well-conceived Hobby theme.

Not only that, but since individually provinces in Canada began issuing their separate duck-hunting stamps, Mr. Collins added several Canada stamps to his Milford series, such as the one offered in this particular auction.

As Mr. Collins, himself, explains in his 340-page book entitled, "Collins --- Hand Painted First Day Covers --- the First Twenty Years --- 1978-97," he chose the name Milford covers for this series as a shout-out to the town where he was raised . . . in West Milford, New Jersey . . . or to quote Mr. Collins, himself, “Because West Milford provided the roots of my life, it seemed like a good name to choose.” And he goes on to gloriously describe it thusly, “Numerous blue jewels of natural lakes dotted the large crown that encompassed 93 square miles. Apple orchards, dairy farms, and vegetable gardens made it a modern-day Eden.” (By the way, this defining book can still be purchased from Mr. Collins, himself.)  

About the feature stamp : on this  elegantly designed stamp, we see a pair of Canada Geese just “chillin” a bit, as they glide atop the surface of a glassy lake on a seemingly beautiful day. (And for his combo, Mr. Collins paired up with Canada’s Maple Leaf Flag stamp.)

About the hand drawn, hand painted cachet : as Mr. Collins, himself, explains his stunningly colored, all-over cachet, this one “. . . features a mother polar bear and her two yearling cubs. As the furry trio watches from an ice floe, a lone honker flies by over the open water of the spring thaw.” 

But actual imagery aside for just a minute, you just have to be impressed with Mr. Collin’s heavenly color scheme, especially the wat the colors of the Canada Goose and the bubbly blue waters, so brilliantly contrast with the white bears and the white snow, which almost creates a 3-D effect on the flying goose.

About the special cancel : and for this one, Mr. Collins obtained Canada’s flying goose pictorial cancel.

About the Scarcity Factor : please note that Mr. Collins made only 125 of these rarely-seen covers.

Accompanying this cover, as previously noted, accompanying this cover will be Mr. Collins’ approximately 121-ord insert which so perfectly complements his artistic brilliance. 

All factors considered , stunning artistry + a beautifully designed feature stamp + a truly spot-on cancel + a high denomination $6.00 feature stamp = yet another Collins Milford masterpiece.