Description

— New stock added —

Hard-to-find set of five Herm Island stamps issued on 26 July 1957, commemorating that month’s royal visit to Guernsey by the Queen and Prince Philip.

The earlier Neolithic Man set from May that year was overprinted (two values in red, and three in black) by the Guernsey Press Company, and was only on sale for postal use from 26 July to 1 August inclusive. The set features 4db, 8db, 2d, 6d and 1s stamps, all with a roulette perforation.

Listed in Backman & Forrester’s Herm catalogue as numbers 37 to 41.

U/M / Unmounted Mint / MNH / Mint Never Hinged.

About Herm Island

Herm Island, which is one of the smaller Channel Islands, and within the Bailiwick of Guernsey, produced its own stamps between 1949 and 1969.

Unlike many of the labels that appear to come from islands off the coast of the UK, those of Herm performed a genuine local postal function. Mail posted on the island, which did not have an official British post office, carried a Herm Island stamp for transport to the Guernsey mainland, and a UK stamp for the journey beyond. One publicity document, issued by Herm's tenant in 1962. reports that 150,000 pieces of mail were handled the previous year.

However, when Guernsey took over its own postal service in 1969, Herm was no longer allowed to issue and use its own stamps.