First day cover issued January 20, 1978, in Honolulu for the Captain James Cook stamp pair, marking 200 years since the first recorded European contact with Hawaiians. Gerry Adlman's GAMM cachet shows Cook, ships, and a palm tree, with period wording that calls the encounter a 'discovery' and reduces his 1779 death at Kealakekua Bay to an argument with 'the natives.' The joined 13-cent stamps (Scott 1732-1733) connect Cook's 1778 Alaska and Hawaii voyage.
Claude
The cachet features a colorful illustration of Captain James Cook seated in 18th-century naval attire (blue coat with gold buttons, yellow breeches) with a sailing ship and palm tree in the background, rendered in blue, yellow, and green tones. Text reads '200th Anniversary of the Discovery of Hawaii' with a biographical paragraph about Cook. Two 13-cent stamps are affixed: one depicting Cook's portrait (blue/teal) and one depicting his ships at Hawaii in 1778 (green). The machine cancellation reads 'FIRST DAY OF ISSUE' with a circular postmark from Honolulu, HI dated January 20, 1978.
Mistral
This First Day Cover celebrates the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook's discovery of Hawaii. The cachet features a detailed, full-color illustration of Cook in his naval uniform, seated with a quill pen in hand, alongside a sailing ship and palm tree. Biographical text describes Cook's discovery of Hawaii in 1778 and his death in 1779. Two 13-cent stamps are affixed: one depicting Cook's portrait and the other showing his ships at Hawaii. The circular postmark reads 'HONOLULU, HI JAN 20 1978' with additional text 'FIRST DAY OF ISSUE.' The cover is in excellent condition with clear, bold postmark and vibrant cachet colors.
(The automatic summaries sometimes misidentify the postmark as part of the cachet artwork.)
