JKF First Day Cover Activity

On May 29, 1964 the United States Post Office issued a commemorative stamp for President John F. Kennedy. On that day, JFK would have been forty-seven years old. Upon the death of a president, the USPS issues a stamp, usually on his birthday. It is cancelled from a town that was significant to his life. JFK’s stamp was cancelled from what was considered his "hometown," Boston, Massachusetts. The envelope, or cover, is called a "first day cover" because it is cancelled on the first day the stamp goes on sale at that special location. Someone then adds the artwork, called a cachet, which depicts the topic of the stamp. The artwork may be hand drawn, colored or not, or it may be computer generated, and printed. The possible scenes are endless and limited only by an individual’s creativity.