This Artmaster cachet First Day Cover celebrates the 100th Anniversary of Mail Order with an 8¢ U.S. stamp issued September 27, 1972, in Chicago, Illinois. The striking black-and-white cachet depicts an open mail-order catalog on a desk beneath an oil lamp, highlighting the “Mail Order Business” theme.
The stamp and cover mark a century of mail-order commerce that transformed American retailing after Montgomery Ward’s first catalog in 1872. By the early 1970s, mail order remained a vital link for rural customers and a growing segment of the U.S. economy.
A notable detail is the cachet’s clever visual pun: the open catalog page shows period clothing and the words “MAIL ORDER BUSINESS,” while the stamp itself illustrates a bustling 19th-century general store filling orders.
Collectors will appreciate the clean Artmaster design, crisp Chicago postmark, and strong topical appeal for postal history or advertising-theme collections.
