Well, Alderney knows how to start a year off right. Their stamp program began with a Valentine to the beloved post boxes that dot the landscape. 

Post boxes, pillar post, mailboxes, whatever you want to call them have a fascinating history themselves. And images of them are equally collectable. I try to snag photos of interesting designs when I can, such as this magnificent one still in use in downtown Toronto.

However, nothing is as iconic as the British pillar boxes.  According to good folks at Guernsey Post (who are responsible for Alderney’s stamps by the way), the boxes … or rather pillars, are woven into the history of mail delivery:

Prior to the ground breaking reforms introduced by Rowland Hill in the Victorian period, the British postal service was cumbersome and expensive.  Hill believed that if it were cheaper to send letters, more people would do so, whilst also boosting communication and trade.

Hill’s vision was realised in 1840, when the Penny Postage Act passed into law, paving the way for affordable postage and easy-to-use adhesive stamps.  However, for many communities, the nearest letter-receiving office was miles away.  It was Anthony Trollope – then a General Post Office official who went on to become a Victorian author – who is credited with their introduction of the post box, having observed road-side letter boxes in use is France and Belgium. Alderney Post Boxes (guernseystamps.com)

SEPAC posted a fascinating little writeup on the history of post boxes in the UK, and the Islands:

The design of post boxes has evolved over time. They were initially painted green to blend in with the countryside, before being painted red in 1874 to make them more visible. In 1980, Alderney’s post boxes were painted a distinctive blue colour to complement Guernsey Post’s new branding and have remained so ever since. Alderney’s post boxes depicted on Bailiwick stamps | SEPAC Stamps

The article goes on to discuss the history of the royal cypher on the various boxes. Well worth the read and a great Valentine’s gift to collectors.  Alderney issues a small but impressive number of stamps, and for lovers of history and local art, they are one of the best (along with Jersey) to focus on. 

Enjoy the year. 

February

Alderney Post Boxes

6 stamps, 1 stamp on souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, First Day Issue (FDI) postcard, 2 presentation packs, 6 sheets of 10 
offset
unstamped postcard also available

• 65p stamp: Alderney Airport
• 88p stamp: Whitegates
• £1.20 stamp: Route de Picaterre
• £1.36 stamp: Victoria Street
• £1.68 stamp: Route de Braye
• £1.74 stamp: High Street

Designer/artist: Nickie Shales
This set of stamps represent Alderney artist Nickie Shales’ debut into the stamp design world. She specialises in water colours of her beloved island home.  

Release date: February 14, 2024

July

50 Years of Bagpuss

topics: children’s entertainment | cats

4 stamps, souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, presentation packs, 4 sheets of 10
offset

“The Most Important, The Most Beautiful, The Most Magical, Saggy Old Cloth Cat in the Whole, Wide World”.

• 65p – Bagpuss with Professor Yaffle and Gabriel
• £1.20 – Bagpuss with Madeleine and his friends
• £2.71 – Bagpuss with Madeleine and the mice
• £4.31 – Bagpuss with Professor Yaffle and a mouse

Bagpuss was a 13 episode animated children’s series about a raggedy old toy cat and  6 mice who lived in a lost and found/repair shop. Bagpuss and his mice friends would spin tales about the items that were dropped off to entertain each other. 

The short series aired in 1974 on the BBC. Bagpuss lived on in a series of books released over the decades. 

Bagpuss appeared on a Royal Mail stamp in 2014 as part of the Classic Children’s TV set.

Designer: Chloe Sarre
Guernsey based designer Chloe Sarre has also created stamps for 2 sets of stamps Guernsey Post, including this year’s 150th Anniversary of the GSPCA 6 stamp set and their EUROPA stamps (with underwater photographer Sue Daly, and natural history illustrator, Wendy Bramall). 

Release date: July 25, 2024

October

Alderney Christmas – Snowman

7 stamps, FDC, cancel, presentation pack
offset

60p – Christmas Postings, High Street, St Annes

65p – Shooting Star, Bonne Terre Watermill

88p – Christmas Party, Roc a l’epine dolmen, Tourgis

£1.20 – The Christmas lookouts, Monk’s Chair, Clonque Beach

£1.36 – Is it a snowman? Navigational beacon, Old Jetty Braye Harbour

£1.68 – Lovebirds at Essex Castle

£1.74 – Festive dancing, Allees es Fees, Hauteville

Designer: Penny Dawes
Penny wrote “Once Upon an Island – A Treasury of Guernsey Folklore” which was also a special exhibit by the National Trust of Guernsey. She lives and works on Guernsey and loves to explore island folklore through her art. 

Release date: October 30, 2024