Editing Cachet

{{short description|Philatelic term}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:First Day Cover honoring George Washington Carver - DPLA - 8fc3090268283c59653ddc8832c02872.jpg|thumb|right|290px|A cachet (on the left) commemorating [[George Washington Carver]] on a [[first day cover]] issued in the [[USA]] ]]
[[File:Linn-FDC-1923-Harding.jpg|thumb|right|290px|George W. Linn's cachet (in the lower left corner) on Harding Memorial issue]]

In [[philately]], a '''cachet''' ({{IPA|fr|kaʃe}}) is a printed or stamped design or inscription, other than a [[Cancellation (mail)|cancellation]] or pre-printed postage, on an [[envelope]], [[postcard]], or [[postal card]] to commemorate a postal or [[philatelic]] event. There are both official and private (independent of postal authorities) cachets.<ref name="Bennett1978"/> They commemorate everything from the first flight on a particular route, to the [[Super Bowl]].  Cachets are also frequently made, either by private companies or a government, for [[first day of issue]] stamp events or "second-day" stamp events. They are often present on [[event covers]].

The first cacheted [[first day of issue|FDC (first day cover)]] was produced by prominent philatelist and cachet maker [[George Ward Linn]] in 1923, for the [[Warren G. Harding]] memorial stamp issue.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

Cachet-making is considered an art form, and cachets may be produced by using any number of methods, including drawing or painting directly onto the envelope, serigraphy, block printing, lithography, engraving, laser printing, attachment of photographs or other paper memorabilia, etc. Frequently, flight cachets (which have also been used in [[outer space|space]] and on the [[moon]]) are rubber-stamped.

The largest and best-known cachet-making companies, which typically produce thousands or tens of thousands of printed cachets for U.S. stamp issues, are ArtCraft (1939–2015),<ref name="DeVries2016"/> Artmaster, Fleetwood, House of Farnam, and Colorano.{{cn|date=April 2022}}

==See also==
*[[Cover (philately)]]
*[[Philatelic cover]]


==References==
<references>
<ref name="Bennett1978">{{cite book |author1=Russell Bennett |author2=James Watson |title=Philatelic Terms Illustrated |publisher=Stanley Gibbons Publications |location=London |year=1978}}</ref>

<ref name="DeVries2016">{{cite web |url=https://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps-postal-history/2016/february/demise-of-artcraft-first-day-covers-reflected-various-market-cha.html |title=Demise of ArtCraft first-day covers reflected various market challenges |author=Lloyd De Vries |website=Linns Stamp News |date=2016-02-13 |access-date=2019-01-30}}</ref>
</references>

[[Category:Philatelic terminology]]