Description

Lundy’s 2023 ‘Puffins on Coast’ definitive set, issued on 13 May, and featuring the iconic John Dyke design from 1991 and 2002 with new colours and values.

This lot is the full set of seven, including 20p, 75p, 100p and 300p denominations, as well as 1st (105p), 2nd (75p) and “Rest of the World” (“ROW”, 225p) non-value indicators.

In a rather lovely gesture, the design has been reused this time to celebrate the centenary of Lundy artist John’s birth, and acknowledge his lasting contribution to island life.

Listed in Jon Aitchison’s Lundy catalogue as numbers 405-411.

For stamps of the same design but in different colours and/or values, see the 1991 and 2002 definitive issues.

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

About Lundy

Lundy is an 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.

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 alongside the extra "puffinage".

Since 1969, Lundy has been owned by the National Trust, and financed, administered and maintained by the Landmark Trust, who continue to issue Lundy stamps. As of 2023, 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.