Pitcairn Postcard Catalogue hits 500 scans

The new Catalogue gets ever closer! I have now produced over 500 scans of postcard fronts and backs, all in colour, for the new catalogue. I guess it is going to be a big catalogue (and therefore quite expensive!). My aim is to publish some time next year.

Shown here is a rather nice maximum card produced by Floyd McCoy on Pitcairn. Catalogued as T1.

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Fletcher Christian's House?

Does anyone know for sure that this was Fletcher Christian's House? It was certainly demolished before Fletcher's grandson's house. The upper postcard, issued by the Pitcairn Islands Study Group in the UK in 2002, used the same original photograph as the lower card. The lower, much older card was recently sold on eBay for £108. The description on the photograph used to print the PISG card was "Last of the Mutineers Houses and the oldest on the Island". Both these cards will appear in the new Pitcairn Postcard Catalogue which is currently in production (350 scans to date!).

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A piece of Thursday's house

This is an example of card "C3-2" (Pitcairn Postcard Catalogue number) which has the addition of a small piece of wood from Thursday October Christian's house on Pitcairn. Thursday was Fletcher Christian's grandson. In 2004, this house was sadly demolished because it had become unsafe after an attack by termites.

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John Adams seated at the Bounty's mess table.

I scanned this interesting postcard today, M28 (old catalogue number) was produced for Florida's first marine historical attraction on exhibit at Vinoy Yacht Basin adjoining the Municipal Pier in St Petersburg, Florida. It shows John Adams seated at the Bounty's mess table.

177 scans produced so far for the new catalogue. It is a good start but I know there is a long way to go.

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MGM cards - difficult to catalogue

The catalogue is finally beginning to take shape and my collection of scans is growing. I am scanning all my postcards, front and back, at 100% and am going to reduce them for the catalogue to perhaps 20 or 25%. This way it will still be possible to see their relative size and also work out their actual size when looking at the printed book.

The "fun" really starts when I get into variations of the same card. Here, for example, is one of my MGM postcards in several printings. You will see that the backs are all quite different, the trimming is either wavy edge or straight, and one view includes a telegraph pole which is not visible in the others.

Does this mean that you have to collect all the varieties? Well as with stamp collecting, that is entirely up to you! When I began collecting Pitcairn postcards I had no idea it would lead me to this . . .

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The old Pitcairn Church

It never ceases to amaze me that old Pitcairn postcards are still being discovered. I knew of the very rare "HGK" postcard of the two storey Pitcairn church (shown above, top, catalogued as K1-4) and didn't expect to find another card with a similar view. However, one was recently sold on eBay for the quite amazing sum of US$386.00. Have a look carefully in the dealers boxes at Postcard Fairs … you never know your luck!

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One-o-Clock - O1-21 to O1-23

Set of three postcards printed in 1999 from photographs by Pam Brown, taken in 1996 when she was working as Pitcairn's Schoolteacher.

O1-21 - Pitcairn Radio Station at Taro Ground. The envelope is an example of the famous 'Radio Cover' issued in 1938 to commemorate the establishment of 'The Voice of PITC the South Pacific' on Pitcairn.

O1-22 - Adamstown Square showing the Post Office and the anchor from the Bounty.

O1-23 - The Landing, Bounty Bay. First view of Pitcairn for returning Islanders or the few lucky tourists arriving by longboat. Great skill is required by the boatmen to pick the right moment to approach the harbour.

Sets of these postcards, in mint condition, are available to purchase from THE POSTCARD SHOP.

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One-o-Clock - O1-17 & O1-18

Two more "advertising" cards. Printed in 1998, O1-17 shows a replica of the 'Bounty' launch. Reproduced in black and white from a photograph taken at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. O1-18 is from a photograph by Pam Brown taken in 1996 when she was on Pitcairn working as the Schoolteacher. It shows the Pitcairn Co-Op Store.

These postcards, in mint condition, are available to purchase from THE POSTCARD SHOP.

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One-o-Clock - O1-9 to O1-16

This set of eight postcards was printed in 1997 - my first cards to be printed in full colour. The photographs were taken by Pam Brown in 1996 when she was on Pitcairn working as the Schoolteacher. The two cartoons are reproduced from original artwork by the artist John Giepel. John worked on the Captain Pugwash series of animated cartoon films and has included the Captain in the background of his representation of the Mutiny on the Bounty. The watercolour of the Bounty off the coast of Pitcairn was painted by the artist Jennifer Toombs, well known for her many stamp designs.

Complete sets of these postcards, in mint condition, are available to purchase from THE POSTCARD SHOP.

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One-o-Clock - O1-7 & O1-8 - Advertising cards

O1-7 is a photograph of exhibits in the Pitcairn Island Museum as it was in 1996.

O1-8 shows the Radio Station at Taro Ground, together with a 'Radio Cover'.

Both photographs by Pam Brown who was the Schoolteacher on Pitcairn. Printed in blue monochrome, both cards are now out of print.

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One-o-Clock - O1-6 - William Bligh's birthplace

This postcard, was previously withdrawn from sale due to genealogical errors on the back, however some surviving copies have now been found. It presents a montage illustration of St Tudy Church and Tinten Manor farm house in Cornwall. Printed 1996. Monochrome.

Available in mint condition from THE POSTCARD SHOP.

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One-o-Clock - O1-1 to O1-5

These were the first five postcards that I published in 1996. They show early views of Pitcairn reproduced from old black and white photographs.

O1-1 Shows a view of Pitcairn from one of the New Zealand Shipping Company's vessels.
O1-2 Is a view of the boat sheds in Bounty Bay.
O1-3 The 'Hill of Difficulty'.
O1-4 The graveyard on Pitcairn.
O1-5 Islanders in their long-boats about to trade with a passing ship.

It is not known for sure what dates the photographs were taken, but they could be from as early as 1916 up to the 1930s.

Complete sets of these postcards in mint condition are available to purchase from THE POSTCARD SHOP.

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Movie Postcards

Do you know of any postcards showing scenes from the Mutiny on the Bounty movies? They are all included in the Pitcairn Postcard Catalogue.

Please let me know if you have anything similar.

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D1-4 - Dexter Press - Who is the driver?

This "Dexter Press" American postcard from my collection has a small pin hole through one of the people in the boats. It is not some kind of voodoo, but shows which person the note on the back refers to when you hold the card up to the light. As you can see, the note says "my husband sitting on the launch he drives". I don't know who wrote the message or who the husband is. If you know, please put a comment on this Blog.

I'm not sure what year this photograph was taken, but there are other cards in the same series which might help to date it. One shows teacher Russell Henry outside the Pitcairn school with his pupils, another shows Fred and Parkin Christian and says they are both 85 years old. Yet another shows a group of Islanders with their handicrafts and states that in 1970 the population was 90.

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X43 - The oldest Pitcairn postcard?

This postcard (catalogued as X43 in the previous Pitcairn Postcard Catalogue) is the oldest Pitcairn card that I know of. It is not in my collection and I know of only one copy (in the UK).

The girl standing next to John Adams' headstone is Ruth Constance Petch, born Pitcairn 11th July 1878, only child of Walter Henry Petch and Elizabeth Maude Petch (nee Young). Thanks to Ron Edwards for the information.

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