The Local Carrier Stamps / Cinderella Stamps of Great Britain

You've probably heard about Lundy stamps - the famous Puffin stamps used to offset the cost of local delivery from the Island of Lundy (located off the Devonshire coast) to "mainland" England.

They are essentially private postage stamps, with a value expressed in "Puffins." They began in 1927 and continue to be printed and used today. They are to be affixed to the bottom left hand corner of the envelope, so that the mainland sorting offices can process them. Their cost includes the standard Royal Mail charges for onward delivery.

The Lundy Puffins are a type of stamp known to philatelists as "local carriage labels," "local carrier stamps" or "local delivery stamps." Although the Lundy stamps are probably the best-known of the local stamps used in the United Kingdom, there are several others.

These include:

Bernera Islands, a group of islands off the coast of Scotland.

Davaar Island, also off the coast of Scotland

Eynhallow, also known as Holy Island. Also located off the coast of Scotland

Gairsay Island, a Scottish local post in the Orkney Islands

Herm Island, located near Guernsey

The Isle of Jethou, a Channel Island 3 miles east of Guernsey

St. Kilda, an island 100 miles off the coast of Scotland

Sanda Island, another Scottish island

Staffa, yet another Scottish island

the Isle of Stroma, off the north coast of Scotland

These local stamps can be fascinating to locate and collect. Some other countries also use similar stamps, including the famous Rattlesnake Island stamps used in a remote area near Sandusky, Ohio, United States.