To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower, Isle of Man Post Office is to issue a new set of stamps. The six stamp collection pictorially depicts the tale of the famous ship, key events in the history of the voyage and its crew, one of whom was the Manxman Myles Standish and his wife Rose.
2020 marks 400 years since the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, UK and on to discover the New World, now known as the United States. It is regarded as a key moment in the development of the modern world and more than 30 million people are able to trace their ancestry back to the 102 passengers and approximately 30 crew members aboard the ship.
Isle of Man Stamps and Coins General Manager, Maxine Cannon said ‘The Mayflower voyage is one of the most influential journeys in history, so it is important for us to commemorate this event and its great cultural importance. To be able to highlight a significant Manx link within the voyage of the Mayflower makes it particularly special’.
The collection was designed by Ben Glazier and his team at Glazier Design, a creative agency in London, and includes a Set, Presentation Pack and First Day Cover. The EU stamp ‘The Landing at Plymouth Rock’ also forms the Isle of Man’s Europa stamp entry for 2020.
The stamps are designed to reflect the time period during which the pilgrimage occurred, using a woodcut style to create historical authenticity. Each design contains symbols and secrets including co-ordinates of key locations, a compass, or a symbol relating to the artwork featured. Caleb Johnson, the author and historian behind the website MayflowerHistory.com, has written the fascinating text for the issue.
Caleb said ‘As a direct descendant of Myles Standish and a Mayflower historian, I greatly appreciated the opportunity to contribute to the 400th anniversary commemorative stamp release from the Isle of Man, and the associated informative text. Descendants of the passengers on the Mayflower can be proud of the events and legacies their ancestors have left’
The issue date for the Mayflower stamp collection is the 22nd April 2020 and is available for purchase via our website – www.iompost.com/mayflower, postal order or telephone (+44 1624 698430), all complete with free worldwide delivery.
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