400th Anniversary Dutch Cottage Overprint Stamp

The first CILP stamp was issued in November 2010 and featured the historic Dutch Cottage on Canvey Island. Built in 1618, the cottage celebrates its 400th Anniversary this month.

The event almost passed CILP by and I have to admit I took my eye off the ball and forgot all about it! But I could not let the occasion pass by without celebrating the birthday in some way.

© Canveypost.org

As I do not have a dedicated stamp prepared for the occasion, I have overprinted 25 copies of the original 2010 Dutch Cottage stamp with 1618 and 2018 in red ink. 

Crude as the overprint is, the stamp will be available for direct sale to collectors from Alpha Thematics from 4 October, and also used by the Postmaster on official CILP mail until stock is exhausted.


CILP Postmaster

Have You Got Your RAF Centenary Stamp?

Have You Got Yours?

On 1st April 2018, we released a very limited overprint of our 2010 RAF Hurricane stamp to celebrate the centenary of the formation of the Royal Air Force.

Only 22 copies of the 2010 'Salute to the Few' Hurricane issue were overprinted in red 'RAF 1918-2018', and sold through Alpha Thematics on eBid UK.

Some of our regular collectors only buy outstanding CILP issues once or twice a year. If you still have a gap in your collection where the RAF Centenary overprint should be, get yours quickly!

© canveypost.org

Low Stock and High Demand

CILP stock of this stamp is now below 6 copies and Alpha Thematics have been forced to restrict sales to one stamp per transaction and modestly increase its price to better reflect the market for this item. This is to ensure a fair distribution to our regular collectors and to reduce the speculation of at least two multiple buyers of this and other issues recently.

Record Price on eBay Italy

On 27 August 2018, an auction of an RAF Centenary overprint on eBay Italy, was sold for the silly price of £20.99 (23.45 euros). This is a record price as far as we know and there were no shortage of bids for the item!

If only the buyer and bidders had searched the Internet for CILP, the buyer could have saved themselves a fortune and bidders could have got an inexpensive copy for their collection!

Value for Money

We are not against others making money from our products, but we are not in the game of maximising profit at the expense of our hard won collectors. 

CILP produces faux postage at a sensible price that meets our production expenses. This enables us to continue to produce varied and interesting cinderella stamps and help support this website. 

We appreciate our regular and occasional collectors and look forward to serving you all for a long time to come!

Don't hang about, get over to Alpha Thematics and get your copy today!

Last of the Summer: Update

Goodbye Summer

There is a hint of autumn in the air and the nights are drawing-in fast. The garden has passed its glory and the swallows have already migrated back to Africa. All signs of a hard winter to come? 

But with the last of the summer wine and coming of dark nights, the time for stamp collections will be with us again - and boy do my collections need some work!

Postmaster's Update

The summer months are usually quiet in relation to stamp sales. There is still the odd collector sitting at his computer buying the odd stamp or two to fill gaps in their collection,  but nothing to get excited about. 

But in the past week something curious has happened. I've had multiple large orders for CILP stamps. Some have been from collectors I recognise, but satisfyingly most are new names and I'm all the grateful for that.

Not only does it make my efforts worthwhile, the revenue has provided enough resources to put the next stamp designs into production.

Planned Stamp Issues

I have three stamp designs in their final draft stages. I had planned to have at least one of them 'on the street' by now, but time and tide waits for no man...etc. Normal life sometimes has to take priority! Here are the three designs planned for release in November:

National Health Service 70th Anniversary 1948

Having missed the official anniversary date of this fine and invaluable national institution, it is currently planned to include this stamp release with the two other national event stamps mentioned below.

Women's Suffrage Centenary 1918

The story of women's suffrage in the United Kingdom is an inspiring yet shameful episode in Britain's history. 

The courage and determination of many unsung women who campaigned for the right to vote is an inspiring story, and one young women should not forget when they decide not to vote today. 

Shameful in the establishment's contempt, violence and torture brought down upon women (and men supporters) of  the Suffragette and Suffragist movements. 

First World War Armistice Centenary 1918

The slaughter came to an end in November 1918, at least in western Europe, but the dying and suffering continued. 

Not only the suffering of those men who struggled with their mental health for the rest of their lives, but also the physical hurt that many had to bear. And let us not forget the families everywhere who struggled to understand.

New(ish) Domain Name

From 28 August 2018, Canvey Island Local Post will again be found on the Internet under our old domain name www.canveypost.org.

There will be no need to change your computer bookmarks as you will be redirected to our new domain automatically - clever isn't it?

Until next time, happy collecting!

CILP "Missing Colour" Variant Found

The "Chapman Lighthouse & Yacht" stamp released in April 2015, has been found to exist in two versions. The new "missing Yellow" variant of this stamp was discovered this month.
The CILP did not discover this printing omission until a recent franking of mail revealed the two versions side by side.

A check of remaining stock indicates that the last three sheets received from the printer were affected by the "missing yellow" colour. It is estimated that around 75 copies probably exist, and around half have already been issued as mint stamps to collectors or used on local and international mail.

For full details see our article Chapman Lighthouse "Missing Yellow" Variant