Chinchen Collection facts for kids
The Chinchen Collection is a special group of items related to the stamps of Lundy Island. It includes stamps, special printings called proofs, original artwork, and covers (envelopes with stamps). Barry Chinchen gave this collection to the British Library Philatelic Collections in 1977. It is now kept safe at the British Library.
Contents
Discovering the Chinchen Collection
Barry Chinchen put this amazing collection together. He was the person in charge of stamps for the people who managed Lundy Island, known as the Landmark Trust. In 1969, he wrote a book called "A Catalogue of Lundy Stamps." This book described what he called the "basic collection."
What's Inside the Catalogue?
The catalogue included black-and-white pictures of many things. It showed cancelers, which are marks used to show a stamp has been used. It also had images of the postage stamps themselves. There were pictures of overprinting marks, which are extra designs printed on stamps. The book also showed postage labels and examples of forgeries (fake stamps).
The postage labels were printed in rolls that you could tear off. People often called them "tram tickets" because of how they looked. The catalogue also had detailed pictures. These helped collectors spot different types of stamps, small mistakes, and fake stamps. It even came with a guide showing how much stamps were worth to collectors.
The Story of Lundy Stamps
The main post office, called the GPO, stopped its service on Lundy Island at the end of 1927. After that, a man known as "King" Harman handled all the mail. He sent mail to and from the island for free.
The First "Puffin" Stamps
On November 1, 1929, "King" Harman started issuing his own private postage stamps. These stamps had a value shown in "Puffins." He did this to help cover the costs of sending mail. These special stamps need to be placed on the bottom left corner of an envelope. This helps the mainland sorting offices process them correctly. The price of these stamps includes the regular Royal Mail charges for sending the letter further.
What are "Puffin" Stamps?
"Puffins" are a type of stamp that stamp collectors, called philatelists, know as a local carriage label. This means they are used for mail that travels only a short distance, like from the island to the mainland. Over the years, new stamps were made with higher values. Some even covered air mail. Many of these stamps are now very popular with collectors. Because they are so valuable, some people try to make fake ones.
See also
- List of people on stamps of Lundy
- Landmark Trust Lundy Island Philatelic Archive
- Lundy stamps
