Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha stamps

P=have O=don’t have it

Tristan da Cunha is a group of remote islands in the South Atlantic Ocean and also the name of its main island. The other major islands of the group include Inaccessible Island and the Nightingale Islands. Tristan da Cunha, together with the Gough Island, which is located 395 km away from the group, is a dependency of St. Helena, from which it is 2,000 km distant. In 1961, a volcanic eruption on the island resulted in the bulk of the population (a few hundred people) being evacuated to Britain, though most have since returned. It is extremely difficult to access the island, due to both its remoteness (the island is one of the most isolated in the world) and the fact that the island is surrounded by cliffs over 600 meters (2000 feet) high.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_da_Cunha

Scott: #153-6P

Issued: 1.6.1971

50th Anniversary, Shackleton - Rowett south Atlantic Expedition

Inside #155: G.B. #167aP

#206-8

Scott: #206-8P

Issued: 27.5.1976

Festival of Stamps

Inside #206: Tristan da Cunha #1O

Inside #207: Tristan da Cunha #13O

Scott: #208aO

Festival of Stamps 1976

See Tristan da Cunha #208a for S/S that contains one each of Ascension #214, St. Helena #297 and Tristan da Cunha #208

Inside #208a (in margin): Pseudo Stamp - logo

Inside #208a: Ascension #214P

Inside #208a: St. Helena #297P

Inside #208a: Tristan da Cunha #208P

Scott: #260-2P

Issued: 27.8.1979

Death Centenary of Sir Rowland Hill

Inside #260: Tristan da Cunha #12O

http://colony.ru/british/tristan5.html

Inside #261: Tristan da Cunha #26O

http://www.bird-stamps.org/species/43037.htm

Overprints on St.Helena stamps 13v Inside #262: Tristan da Cunha #58O

Thanks to Jan Van Lin for the scan

#263-1

Scott: #263P

Inside #263: Local Potato StampO

#348-351

Scott: #348-51P

Issued: 3.1.1984

St. Helena Colony Sesquicentenary

Inside #348: Tristan da Cunha #7O

Inside #349: Tristan da Cunha #9O

Inside #350: Tristan da Cunha #10O

Inside #351: Tristan da Cunha #12O

Scott: #663O

Issued: 22.5.2000

Stamp Show 2000 Exhibition

Inside #663: In margin of sheet (in show logo): G.B #1 [R-M]

#702

Scott: #701-4O

Issued: 1.1.2002

50^th Stamps Anniversary

#1-12

Inside #701-5: Tristan da Cunha #1-12O

http://colony.ru/british/tristan5.html

#705

Scott: #705O

Scott: #789O

Issued: 1.6.2006

500^th Anniversary Celebration (Part 3)

Inside #789: Local Potato StampO

The first Potato stamp 1946 – designed by Allan Crawford

Inside #789: Tristan da Cunha #5O

Scott: #844-9O

Issued: 1.8.2008

Alan B. Crawford

Inside #845: Local Potato Stamp (1946)O

sos tristan da cunha 263 from ss, 1979--on book cover Inside #848: Tristan da Cunha #263P

crawford book cover

Lou wrote: On Tristan da Cunha #848 is a book by Allen Crawford about his experiences on Tristan;

On the cover is a "cut out" from the 1979 s/s, Tristan #263 with his essay of the 4 Potatoes penguin stamp.

2010

Scott: #901O

Issued: 08.05.2010

King George V Centenary

#159 Inside #901: G.B #159P

Thanks to Lou Guadagno

Scott: #960O

Issued: 10.10.2010

Volcanos Pt 1, 50th Anniversary Volcano Eruption and Island Evacuation

Inside #960: Tristan da Cunha #46O

Inside #960: Tristan da Cunha #48O

Thanks to Lou Guadagno

The 'Potato Essays' petition for postage stamps

Scott: #1038O

Issued: 08.04.2015

The 'Potato Essays' - A Petition for Postage Stamps / London 2015

Inside #1038a-i: Local Potato Stamp (1946)

Inside #1038j: Tristan da Cunha #1-3O

Inside #1038 (in show logo): G.B #1

The 'Potato Essays' petition for postage stamps: First day cover

Allan Crawford first went to Tristan da Cunha in 1937 when he joined the Norwegian Scientific Expedition whilst on a trip from Southampton to South Africa.

On later visits to the island as a meteorologist he realized there was a demand for stamps from philatelists and passing ships from the so called Loneliest Inhabited Island in the world. So he decided to develop and produce a stamp or "sticker" for the islanders to place on the outside of their letters. Due to the fact he had little work to do in the peace time weather headquarters he enlisted the help of the departments draughtsman Sgt. Jimmy Brown and they worked together to produce some rough designs. As they did not have permission to use the King George head on them they used the British Union Flag. The islanders also had no money so would not be able to purchase them. They had however during WW2 used potatoes as currency with 4 potatoes equalling 1 old penny (1d) so this currency was added to the designs.

They came up with 9 designs and Allan had 20,000 penny sheets made, each stamp depicted a penguin and its value was 4 potatoes printed in red in sheets of 35 stamps by Hortors Ltd of Johannesburg. The stamp/sticker soon achieved fame as a souvenir from passing ships and collectors throughout the world and was nicknamed the potato stamp.

It also became a misconception that as they were called potato stamps they were produced using a cut potato like children at schools did to make patterns.

The 9 designs in black and white were used later in 1946 as part of a petition for stamps for Tristan da Cunha which was submitted to the UK Postmaster General for consideration as a legitimate postage stamp. The petition for stamps however was refused and it wasn't until 1952 that overprinted Tristan da Cunha on St Helena definitive stamps were used as the islands first postage stamps.

This 2015 stamp sheetlet has been produced using Allan Crawford's black and white designs submitted as part of the petition together with Tristan's first official stamp, the overprinted St Helena definitive. The border of the 2015 sheetlet depicts some of Allan Crawford's early designs. The issue is designed to align with the 175th Anniversary of the Penny Black and launched at the Europhilex Stamp Exhibition London 2015.

Allan Crawford went on to design many stamps for Tristan and was awarded an MBE in 2002 for services to the island.

Thanks to Lou Guadagno

[The 150th Anniversary of the Visit of Prince Alfred, 1844-1900, type AUL]

Scott: #1113O

Issued: 05.08.2017

The 150th Anniversary of the Visit of Prince Alfred, 1844-1900

[The 100th Anniversary of the Visit of the First Duke of Edinburgh to Tristan da Cunha, type CF1] Inside #1113: Tristan da Cunha #110O

Scott: #1131O

Issued: 12.03.2018

70th Anniversary of the Tristan Venture

Inside #1131: Tristan da Cunha #14O

Scott: #1133aO

Thanks to Komlóssy Zoltán

Scott: #????O

Issued: 28.04.2025

The Visit of Submarine Hr. Ms. K XVIII

Inside #???? (in margin):

USA #732P, #720P and #720 (shade)P

Portugal #497P, Uruguay #C32O, Argentina #92O

South Africa #25aP, #25bP, #27bP

Lou wrote: The Hr. Ms. K XVIII. Dutch submarine was on a 23,000 mile world tour and visited the island in March 1935.

In the margins are reproductions of covers from the U.S, Argentina and South Africa that were carried on the voyage, to be delivered and rerouted on arrival on Tristan.

Two covers have an imprinted inscription stating they were cancelled on the submarine while at sea; the South Africa cover has Paquebot cancels added in Capetown on arrival there, and the Argentine cover (obviously sent by a collector with odd stamps on hand since he used an Argentina stamp from 1892 as well as stamps from Uruguay and Portugal) received a mute Tristan da Cunha hand stamp on arrival.

The third cover, with Return to Sender hand stamps, was sent from the U.S. by a physician who used an envelope advertising his practice, and added two different shades of the 3¢ Washington issue for postage.

These covers are unusual and rarely seen on SoS, as are some of the stamps used.

I especially like the South Africa pair with the dual languages, English and Afrikaans.

Thanks to Lou Guadagno

Best website related:

The Tristan da Cunha Website

http://www.tristandc.com/postoffice.php

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