WHAT MAKES A FIRST DAY COVER GREAT?

Have you ever seen a First Day Cover that really catches your eye? It might be the design, a special message, or a mix of artistic elements that create a unique and impressive presentation for a new stamp.

County Stamp Center is proud to present the artistic covers of cachet-maker, Nirlay Kundu.

Nirlay Kundu is an up and coming artist. He won the 2005 "Rookie of the Year Award" from the American First Day Cover Society (AFDCS) for his Swedish/US cover for Garbo. This is a prestigious award for a young artist to win. This cover was featured in numerous magazines in the U.S. and Europe.

Nirlay is a software engineer by profession and learned to draw from his father. He started stamp collecting at the age of five. He immigrated from India ten years ago and has since been extremely active in charity work for India. He was honored by Rotary International and received the Paul Harris Fellowship for his Indian charity initiatives.

Nirlay says,"all my covers are unique in the sense that I draw each one of them individually and then hand colorize each one uniquely. They are a labor of love. I use 100% cotton paper and cut my own envelopes."

Nirlay's covers are in demand in Europe with his Garbo covers being particularly popular in Sweden. He has an avid audience raptly awaiting his new releases.

Among the topics featured are Nirlay's cachets for the WWII Memorial, Children's Literature (Joint US/UK issue), Disney's Friends, and Hollywood greats John Wayne and Judy Garland.

We are fortunate to be able to offer our selection of First Day Covers on an exclusive basis from Nirlay Kundu. The selection can be viewed in entirety at www.StampCenter.com.