Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by faraway islands. Where’s one of the most isolated inhabited places on Earth? It’s that 2-square-mile rock in the Pacific, the refuge of the mutineers of the HMAV (His Majesty’s Armed Vessel) Bounty, the (hardly) romantic Pitcairn Island (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Pitcairn, as islander Fred Christian saw it in the 1940s and a 1955 engraving of the island. The South Pacific island has about 50 permanent residents.

As an adult I began collecting the postal history of Pitcairn. This led to the development of a correspondence with islanders Reynold and Nola Warren. More recently I got to meet them in person, as well as other islanders. I got to visit the island twice, just briefly enough to get an idea of how tough the life must be (Figure 2). Finally, I have been an officer of the Pitcairn Islands Study Group, and serve as the current president.

Figure 2. The author’s second visit to Pitcairn was the subject of this cover.

I hope as you read these words that you become as interested in the philatelic history of Pitcairn as I have become. In fact, that history involves far more than just the stamp issues. For many years, some of the more esoteric areas of that philately were so rare as to be beyond the pocketbooks of most of us, me included. That’s still true in some areas. However, some recent finds have made early material relatively more accessible.

For me, there are four eras to Pitcairn philately. The first would be the stampless era, from the earliest known letters to, from or about Pitcairn. This period would be from the early 1800s to the end of World War I. From 1921 to 1926 there was a concession on the island that allowed islanders to send mail by paying a fee, but stamps were not available. This resulted in the use of a number of “No Stamps Available” markings. That could arguably be the second era.

In 1927, Pitcairn finally got a post office and an official postmark. It did not, however, get its own stamps. New Zealand stamps were provided. This was the third era.

The final era began in 1940, with the release of definitive series for the island. This set was very popular with collectors, and many thousands of covers were prepared. Island stamps were printed under authority of the Crown Agents and later by a philatelic bureau in New Zealand. In 2020, the proprietors of the bureau retired. The business was sold to Tower Mint in England.  

Stampless mail

Pitcairn Island was discovered in 1767, but not landed upon. At that time it was uninhabited, but historically the island had a small Polynesian population. Upon its discovery, someone made a mistake in plotting its location; it was placed on maps a number of miles from its true position. This was, of course, a boon to Fletcher Christian, the leader of the famous mutiny on the HMAV Bounty on April 28, 1789. After seizing that ship, he needed to find a place where the British navy could not find him and his followers.   

Having mutinied off the Tongan Islands, Christian and his crew attempted to settle where they would not be found by the Royal Navy, trying various inhabited isles. Eventually, Christian and some of the mutineers reunited with women they had formed relationships with during a five-month stay in Tahiti. Christian and five sailors, nine women and six Tahitian men (likely taken by force) vanished into the Eastern Pacific.

Nothing more was heard of them until 1808. An American sailor chanced upon Pitcairn Island, and to his surprise found his vessel being hailed by an English-speaking native. He found a colony of women and children, and one surviving mutineer, John Adams. 

The first reported letter in Pitcairn is believed to have come from Adams. It was reported by a Calcutta newspaper in 1819, but appears to have been lost. Surviving letters come in three categories: those from islanders, to Pitcairn, or about the island. They certainly classify as being rare, especially items in private hands from Pitcairn. Some may well have been faked.

The islanders (other than Adams) for many years had no one to write to. In the 1850s they emigrated en masse to Norfolk Island. A few eventually returned to Pitcairn, creating a split community. However, very few, if any, of their letters have survived.

I know of three islander letters in private hands. Two are mentioned in a catalog published in 1980 by Bill Hornadge. The first was written by Jemima Young to a British naval officer who had visited the island. Another was written by Benjamin Young to a former shipmate in 1875. Finally, there is an 1870 letter by Robert Buffet, chief magistrate, which tersely describes life for the 70 or so inhabitants. There is possibly a letter or two hidden away in family papers on Norfolk.

With that tiny amount of collectible material, it’s no wonder that at one time you’d need a large bankroll to own one. However, the same cannot be said about obtaining letters sent TO Pitcairn. Here’s the story.

Once discovered, Pitcairn became a stop for visiting whaling ships. Occasionally, a sailor or wanderer would join the community. In 1828 one George Hunn Nobbs landed. He soon married, and became a respected member of the community. When the time came to move to Norfolk, he settled there. He passed away in 1884, but his property remained. In the early 2000s a tin was discovered in the building. The contents were a trove of letters, a few with envelopes. Unfortunately many of these were severely damaged, being eaten around the edges by insects. On September 7, 2005, Stanley Gibbons Australia auctioned the material.

A total of 69 lots comprised the material. Some had several items. They were about evenly divided between Pitcairn- and Norfolk-related letters and envelopes. There were a number of letters from the U.S.— remembrances of whaler visits, letters to Mrs. Nobbs, mail from England concerning his becoming ordained, and from people curious about life on the island. The bidding, in Australian funds, was quite reasonable, ranging from $2,700 to several items at less than $100.

I managed to snare a few of these. One is just a fragment. It was sent by a New England whaler in the 1850s and involves the gift of a pair of spectacles (Figure 3). Another was sent to Norfolk in the 1870s, but the author has many questions about Pitcairn. Even then, the story of the mutiny had become well known around the world.

Figure 3. A fragment of an 1851 letter from New England to Pitcairn (Nobbs correspondence). Also, an 1878 letter in Nobbs’ correspondence with questions about Pitcairn.

In 1890, the missionary vessel Pitcairn began sailing to and from the island. Letters are known carrying a two-line cachet with the island name. There also are a number of items dating from that period with a similar-worded marking. These are suspect.

I do not believe the islanders used stamps or had any sort of formal post office until 1927. Before 1921, letters were carried free or with the writing of “no stamps available” on the envelope. There are two markings, each believed to be unique. One was applied on the vessel Australplain, while the other came from the Panama Canal Zone postmaster.   

No stamps available

Pitcairn did not have a post office even after World War I. In June 1921 the UK and New Zealand governments agreed to handle island mail. Senders would pay, and the mail was sent with a cachet noting that no stamps were available on the island. This concession was available until March of 1926.

 This period is perhaps one of the most interesting in Pitcairn’s philatelic history. That’s because of the rarity of material (and resultant high prices), and the number and variety of cachets. Some varieties may have two or three, or even fewer examples.

How many cachets are there? Several lists have been consulted. The Stanley Gibbons Eastern Pacific Catalogue Third Edition lists 16 varieties. The last one is valued at 3,000 pounds, and the rest at slightly less.  South Africa’s David Hume listed no fewer than 21, including one from 1920. 

Unfortunately, that list is not illustrated. Cy Kitching published a monograph also showing 21. Hornadge only shows 13. A possible reason for the disparity is the mentioned scarcity. When some of these listed were compiled, perhaps fewer than 30 covers were known. More have been discovered since the 1980s.

When the islanders converted to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the late 1800s, a number of correspondences were begun. The islanders also found a good friend in Gerald Bliss and his wife. He was the postmaster in the Canal Zone. Many letters were addressed to either or both of them. Bliss would fulfill merchandise orders and otherwise be of help. The correspondence has been preserved.

Most of the markings were in two lines, usually with the “No Stamps Available” wording and the island name. Sometimes, a year was added. One also may have been created by Bliss. It is doubtful that any of the markers survived very long in Pitcairn’s tropical climate.

Considering the scarcity of material, a truly remarkable collection came up for auction at Phillips in 1999. This was the Humphrey Norvill collection. No fewer than eight such covers are illustrated. 

For many years it was believed that no handstamps had survived. However, one is now known to exist.

In the early 1990s, I began a correspondence with islanders Reynold and Nola Warren, buying the occasional curio and enduring up to a year in receiving mail. I learned to my surprise that their son lived about an hour’s drive from me, and they were going to visit. We arranged a time, and I eagerly drove to the address. Reynold handed me a bag and asked me about the object inside. I found a wooden handstamp. Inking it up, I found to my great surprise that it was one of the island’s handstamps. Reynold explained that some years before, he had helped demolish one of the old abandoned houses. These become abandoned when owners die or emigrate.

In the wall he found the handstamp, which must have slipped into a crevice. This handstamp was manufactured in one piece; it was not of the type where words could be made separately (Figure 4). 

Figure 4. A certificate of authenticity for strike of a “No Stamps Available” cachet from the original discovered by Reynold Warren.

In 2006, I took the handstamp to the Washington International, where it was sold to a fellow collector for a nice sum in the low four figures. The funds helped finance the Warrens’ travels.

The New Zealand postal agency, 1927-40

Until 1927, there was no official post office on Pitcairn. There was, however, a postmaster, Richard Edward Christian. He was also the island magistrate. Christian and the Rev. Nield were responsible for obtaining the special handstamps used on the mail.

On June 7, 1927, a postal agency under the direction of Christian opened. New Zealand stamps were available for purchase, and a single ring datestamp reading “Pitcairn Island N.Z. Postal Agency” was provided. (Some experts have stated that two devices were used, one with a double ring design. I’ll leave that argument for the flyspeckers).

During the agency period, New Zealand stamps were available (Figure 5). Stanley Gibbons lists no fewer than 73 varieties, and there are probably more. However, covers are known with canceled stamps of a number of other countries including Cook Islands and Great Britain. These were probably created by passengers on visiting ships or by philatelists.

Figure 5. An island postal agency cancel on a cover from the RMS Ruahine.

Compared to the first two periods, this era of philately has a variety of mail pieces that are relatively reasonable in price. Commercial covers continue to be scarce, but there are several interesting special covers that can usually be obtained without breaking the bank.

Ship passengers often sent souvenir letters with the cancellation. An early ship cover was sent from the passenger liner Rangitoto, which made a regular stop on the England-New Zealand line. Islanders could also sell letters they autographed.

In the 1930s it had become apparent that the island needed more advanced communication than shipping provided. In early 1938, an expedition was sent to the island to introduce a powerful ham radio. That included training an islander in its use. That expedition created some very collectible items. One is known as the Radio Cover (Figure 6). 

Figure 6. Pitcairn’s first QSL card, acknowledging radio reception.

A Providence, Rhode Island dealer had a nice color cachet printed and added a circular cachet commemorating the event. Unfortunately, many of these are stained with water. A story was circulated that this was due to immersion in salt water, but more likely they were damaged in a flood in Rhode Island. There are a number of varieties from this event, including covers from expedition members and QSL cards from the island operator, Andrew Young.  

In December 1939 the North Star, Richard Byrd’s Antarctic expedition ship, stopped at the island to replenish supplies on the way to New Zealand. While there, members of the crew fashioned a rather crude cachet to note the visit. As many as 794 may have been prepared. There were so many requests that the stamp supply ran out. Many covers to the U.S. were simply canceled and initialed by island postmaster Roy Clark or Christian without stamps.

As early as 1904, a proposal was made that Pitcairn issue its own stamps. During the 1930s islanders began to appreciate what this could mean to their economy, and the idea began to seem more reasonable to the British and New Zealand governments. This idea was soon accepted and a definitive set designed.

The last day of the New Zealand Agency was October 14, 1940. Some covers were prepared with a famous Hands Across The Sea cachet. October 15, 1940, was the day Pitcairn stamps first went on sale.

Stamps and more, 1940 to present

October 15, 1940, was truly a red-letter day for Pitcairn philately. On sale for the first time was a definitive set for the island (Figure 7): eight colorful stamps, including some controversial ones showing portraits of mutineers with that of the king. Two more stamps were added in 1951.

Figure 7. Pitcairn’s first stamps, 1940.

During the first 17 years of stamps, Pitcairn issued only 31. There were two definitive issues, while the rest were omnibus releases. Including these issues, the total of stamps reached 869 Scott numbers to the end of 2019. Considering that’s a period of almost 80 years, the number released each year is a very reasonable fewer than nine stamps. The subjects also have been (with a few exceptions) aligned with the island. A number of stamp issues deal with the mutiny on the Bounty and with the ship (Figure 8).

Figure 8. Several of Pitcairn’s stamps, such as this one issued in 1940 on a 1957 event cover, deal with the mutiny on the HMS Bounty.

Considering how tiny the island is, there have been a large number of stamps with island views. There’s even a set showing the glorious night sky. (That’s believable, considering that the island is so far away from large artificial light sources). In recent years there have been a number of stamps for famous islanders, as well as plentiful issues for flora and fauna. (Pitcairn is a very fertile place, which means there are lots of flowers; the honey produced from their pollen is world-famous). The waters around it teem with fish, including whales and dolphins, all shown on stamps.

Island life is important. The inhabitants do much basket weaving and curio carving, many of which are on the stamps (Figure 9). I have an example of the premier carving, a model of the Bounty. When a tourist ship visits the able-bodied population comes out to the ship, laden with bags of items for sale.

Figure 9. A 1969 first day cover showing island handicrafts.

There is more to philately than just stamps. Pitcairn has issued several booklets. The first was released in 1940, made using one stamp each of the first definitive issue inside a small green cover. Few collectors knew about it; most didn’t learn about it until after WWII. Today Stanley Gibbons catalogs examples at 3,250 pounds. A crude booklet was created in 1990. It has two varieties. A more recent one, however, is very colorful as well as reasonably priced. In 2016 a pictorial booklet was created with beautiful photographs by Pitcairner Andrew Christian. It has six $2 value pictorial stamps. It was designed for use by ship tourists. 

Collecting first day covers and commercial mail is popular. You should know that recent first day covers were produced in New Zealand due to the difficulty of a reasonable turnaround time from Pitcairn (Figure 10).  Commercial covers are more of a challenge due to the small population. However, such mail can be found as many islanders maintained correspondences with friends and customers. During World War II this was censored, making yet another collecting specialty (Figure 11).

Figure 10. Pitcairn is small in size but has some beautiful views, such as those shown on the 1981 stamps of this first day cover.

Figure 11. A WWII censored cover from Roy Clark to the United States. 

Back in the 1940s and 50s, Postmaster Roy Clark created all sorts of collectible mementos. Pieces of the Bounty would be glued on cards and covers and sold to ship passengers (Figure 12). Lots of things – even leaves and coconuts – could get a cancel. Postcards were often mailed by passengers as well.  

Figure 12. A Roy Clark souvenir:  a chip of wood from John Adams’ house, survivor of mutiny, attached to a postcard.

Obviously, most of us can’t travel to the island. However, islanders can sell items via the internet. If you buy souvenirs the packages can come with high values attached. My model came with more than $42 in postage and I have seen parcels with more than $70 in stamps. You can buy bottles of Picairn’s honey for considerably less. 

If you buy something, you need to be aware that there is only one ship every three months, and Pitcairn has never had an air service. Patience! There were several airdrop experiments conducted, but they had problems, losing mail and more (Figure 13).

Figure 13. A first airdrop cover from 1983. Pitcairn never sustained a regular airmail service.

Another interesting sidelight is local mail. For many years it didn’t really exist, as there was no need. However, in the early 2000s several men were placed on trial, and sentenced to up to several years in jail on the island. The men wrote and received many letters from the other inhabitants. These letters only traveled a few hundred feet from the jail to the post office (Figure 14). 

Figure 14. Local covers are very familiar. This was sent from the prison to Nola and Reynold Warren who live just a few hundred yards away.

In early 2010, I received a parcel with more than 160 of these envelopes. I sold most of these in England, with the result that the islander was able to afford a new roof.

In 2020, the proprietors of the Pitcairn Island Philatelic Bureau retired. They had been responsible for the productions of island stamp issues in New Zealand. The business was sold to the Tower Mint of England. It would seem that the primary interest of this firm is the issuance of commemorative coins, and no stamps were issued for a while. But in 2021 and again this year, Tower Mint issued several stamps showcasing the Britain᾿s royal family. New Pitcairn stamps were released for the queen’s 95th birthday and her Platinum Jubilee, a memoriam issue for the Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Phillip) and the Prince William’s 40th birthday. New Pitcairn stamps can be ordered on their website.

A new post office building has been opened. Mailings are being made, albeit with the usual delays.

Pitcairn collectors can look forward to continuing new issues, hopefully with island themes. Pitcairn collectors can be assured of fascinating and varied collecting interest - and with the stamps at least, one well within a modest budget.

Pitcairn Islands Study Group

I hope this article encourages you to find out more about what is known as “The Island of the Bounty.” There are actually two specialist societies for this area: the Pitcairn Islands Study Group in the U.S. and the Pitcairn-Norfolk Philatelic Society in the UK.

The PISG has been in existence since 1973. It has about 200 members in the U.S. as well as many overseas. Both societies have periodicals. The PISG publishes an all-color quarterly, the LOG. It contains many philatelic articles but in addition carries many articles about the mutiny, island life and general news about both Pitcairn and Norfolk. The society runs some substantial auctions. It has several excellent books for sale which are noted in the magazine and on the website.

Dues are quite reasonable. U.S. applicants pay $20 a year including the LOG. A PDF version is available for $15 per year. Applications can be made to the Secretary, Dr. Vern Kisling Jr., P.O. Box 1511, High Springs, FL 32655

Resources

Foxwell, Frank. Pitcairn Islands Stamps and Postal History (Taunton, Somerset, England: Frank Foxwell, 1970).  

Hornadge, Bill. Pitcairn Islands Stamp Catalogue (Dubbo, Australia: Masterpaint, 1980).

Hume, David. Pitcairn Islands Philately (Rusenburg, South Africa: Martin Designs, 1999).

Kirk, Russell. Pitcairn Island; The Bounty Mutineers, and Their Descendants (Bee Hill, N.C.: McFarland, 2007).

Kisling, Vern. Pitcairn Islands Postal History and Stamps 1782-13 (Hudson, Maine: Moosehead Communications, 2018).

Phillips Auctioneers. Humphrey Norvill Pitcairn Islands Catalogue (London, England: November 1999).

Stanley Gibbons. Australia Auction Catalogue (Sept. 7, 2005).

Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth Stamp Catalogue  Eastern Pacific, 3rd Edition (London, England: Stanley Gibbons, 2015).

For Further Learning 

Recommendations from the APRL research staff:

Pitcairn Islands Postal History and Stamps 1790-2015 by Vernon N. Kisling Jr. (n.l.: Pitcairn Islands Study Group, 2018). [G9661 .P856 K62p 2018] 

The Pitcairn Islands Specialized Stamp Catalog by Vernon N. Kisling Jr. (Greenville, ME: Moosehead Communications, 2010). [G9660 .A1 K62p 2010] 

The Pitcairn Islands Stamp Catalogue: The Stamps, Postal History, Postal Stationery, Postal Markings by Bill Hornadge. (Dubbo, Australia: Review Publications Pty. Ltd, 1976). [G9660 .A1 H813p]