Description

Sheetlet of 24 3p RSPB centenary stamps with a postally invalid label in the centre, issued by Lundy on 17 January 1989.

This is one of the rarest modern Lundy issues. Aitchison’s catalogue states that only 700 sheetlets were printed – some of which will subsequently have been broken up – with just 235 of this particular version produced. The example here is from the second printing (distinguishable by the puffin in the central label having only one “eyebrow hair”, rather than several), with no perforations through the top margin (type A), and the presence of the “crescent over eye” variety on the 12th stamp (i.e. the one immediately to the left of the central label).

This is the first time we have managed to acquire one of these sheetlets in all our years of trading, so we are sure it will not hang around in stock for long!

Listed in Jon Aitchison’s Lundy catalogue as number 273C(a).

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

About Lundy

Lundy is a three-mile-long island in the Bristol Channel, whose stamps are among the longest-established and most sought-after local issues.

Unlike many labels that bear the name of British offshore islands - such as Eynhallow or Staffa - Lundy's stamps have always performed a genuine local postal function. When the British General Post Office withdrew its services from the island in 1928, the then-owner Martin Coles Harman introduced the first Lundy stamps in 1929 to cover the cost of carrying mail to the mainland. Those and subsequent stamps are denominated in "puffins", with one puffin equivalent to one penny.

To avoid confusion, Lundy stamps initially had to be fixed to the reverse of any postal items. From 1962, Lundy stamps were allowed were allowed to be affixed to the address side of postcards - but still well away from the 'official' British stamp - with this policy extended to all mail in 1992. These days, mail from the island only requires a Lundy stamp, which now incorporates the Royal Mail charge - indicated by an additional metermark - alongside the extra "puffinage".

Since 1969, Lundy has been owned by the National Trust, but financed, administered and maintained by the Landmark Trust, who continue to issue Lundy stamps. As of 2024, over 400 Lundy stamps have now been produced over the past nine decades, and 40,000 items of mail are sent annually.

You can read more about the Lundy postal service on the Landmark Trust website.