Work Of Budding Artists Celebrated

Three student artists of the Isle of Man College have had their work recognised in a prestigious competition.
Bethany Gale, Paige Goldsmith and Sam Hurt each won cash prizes of £100 in the annual Norman Sayle Prize for Art competition ran by the Archibald Knox Society and sponsored by Isle of Man Post Office. Bethany, 17, secured the prize for the first year National Diploma award – overall body of work, Paige, 19, won the category for the overall Knox/Sayle prize for Manx inspired artwork and Sam, 19, clinched the prize for the Knox/Sayle future prize for innovative work.
Commenting on her award Bethany said: “I’m very happy to have won and to have my artwork recognised. It means a great deal to me and I’m delighted that all my hard work has paid off.”
Paige Goldsmith said winning came as a complete surprise. “I’m really proud of my work, it’s been a stressful time getting it all finished and ready for display but it has all come together in the end.”
Meanwhile Sam Hurt was equally delighted with his award especially as his artwork was about exploring new ways to display work and connecting with his audience. He said: “I’m so happy that people became a part of my work as it’s a situation not an object. I feel very privileged and really appreciate this recognition, it’s really inspired me to carry on.”
The work of all three artists impressed the panel of judges who were British sculptor and artist Michael Sandle, Calum Harvey, a former Isle of Man College student and menswear designer, Carol Jones, Academic Team Leader for Masters courses within the School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University and post lady Katie Netwon, a former art graduate of Dundee University and representing the competition’s sponsor Isle of Man Post Office.

A Royal Request For Isle Of Man Stamps & Coins!

Personal copies of the special commemorative first day cover for HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have been requested by Clarence House, following the couple’s royal visit to the Isle of Man last month.

To mark the prestigious visit which was part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Isle of Man Post Office produced a special commemorative cover. It featured the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee stamps and captured the essence of the day with a selection of photographs featured on a filler card with text.

Dot Tilbury, General Manager Isle of Man Stamps & Coins said: “We worked closely with Clarence House ahead of the visit to arrange permissions to have a photographer follow the couple during their whistle-stop tour, so we could obtain the variety of images we needed to produce the special cover. We sent a cover to Clarence House so they could see the final product and we were delighted to be contacted by them asking for copies for Prince Charles & the Duchess of Cornwall. This is fantastic feedback and we very much hope that Their Royal Highnesses will be pleased with the cover and that it will be a lasting memory of their trip to the Isle of Man.”

The first day commemorative cover is still available to buy at the price of £10 (ref number QB96). Please click HERE to find out more about our Jubilee stamps and products.

Harbour Lights – Minor Lighthouses of the Isle of Man: A Guiding Light…

The Isle of Man Post Office is pleased to present Harbour Lights, a set of six stamps depicting minor lighthouses around the Isle of Man. We commissioned local artist Tracey Dean to prepare new paintings which truly capture the elegance of the familiar landmarks.
Local historian Stan Basnett writes:
The principal Lighthouses around the Isle of Man are maintained by the Commissioners of Northern Lights and are not the only lighthouses around the Island. Each harbour being protected by minor lights erected on the extremities of piers and breakwaters many of which are also being fitted with an audible device such as a horn or bell for use in fog.

When built their purpose was vital to vessels entering harbour at night or in restricted visibility.
Their importance has since diminished through the use of modern equipment such as radar and GPS. They still however have a useful part to play as an aid to navigation. Prior to the Revestment Act of 1765 the responsibility for the Island’s harbours lay with the Duke of Atholland the Island’s Government. After that date the harbours came under the control of the Admiralty and the Crown. Ultimately they reverted to the Isle of Man Harbour Commissioners and still remain the responsibility of the Manx Government through the Department of Infrastructure
The outer harbour at Castletown is protected by a small breakwater on the end of which is a superb limestone built lighthouse. It carries an inscription that clearly states that it was built in AD 1849 at which time Castletown was the capital of the Island and the harbour was more important than now. The lighthouse displays an occulting red light every 15 seconds and is visible for 8 miles. The approach to the inner harbour carries a smaller “pepper pot” lighthouse displaying an occulting red light every 4 seconds visible for 4 miles.

This stamp depicts the lighthouse on the end of the Battery Pier at Douglas, which was completed in 1876 and formed the outer breakwater for the harbour. The light exhibited alternate white and red lights every 15 seconds and had a bell fog signal of one ring every 2 seconds. When a new breakwater was completed in 1983 a new light was erected on an unpretentious metal mast and as a result the original light now displays a considerably reduced quick flashing red light.
The harbour at Laxey owes its origin to the lead mining industry. Responsibility for it passed to the IOM Harbour Commissioners in 1890 who then commenced work on the construction of a breakwater which was completed in 1893. The stone built lighthouse on the seaward end exhibits an occulting green light every 3 seconds visible for 7 miles. The smaller inner light on the end of Rowe’s Pier displays an occulting red light every 3 seconds also visible for 7 miles.

Peel harbour is protected by five lights and the one depicted on this stamp is the oldest and located on the outer breakwater which was completed in 1896. It is an elegant octagonal cast iron structure erected on the raised head at the extremity of the breakwater. It displays a white occulting light every 7 seconds and is visible for 11 miles. It did have a fog signal in the form of a bell giving 4 rings every 12 seconds.
The harbour entrance at Ramsey has a channel trained between two piers. The South Pier was extended in 1876 and the stamp depicts the hexagonal cast iron lighthouse erected at its seaward end. It displays an occulting red light every 5 seconds and is visible for 8 miles. As the channel is effectively a navigable channel the North Pier exhibits a green light as an aid to ships entering the port. In the background is the Ramsey Queen’s Pier, now disused, which was built as a low water landing pier.
The harbour at Port St Mary has two piers. The Alfred Pier completed in 1886 protects the outer harbour and until recently carried one of the elegant hexagonal cast iron lighthouses but a severe storm washed it off the pier and it has been replaced with a light on a steel post. The drying inner harbour is protected by the Quay which is a much earlier structure and carries its original lighthouse, depicted on the stamp, which exhibits an occulting red light every 3 seconds visible for 8 miles.
Please visit our website at www.iomstamps.com to find out more about our stamps and products.

The Island Meets The City

The Island Meets City - L to R Dot Tilbury, Chief Minister Allan Bell, Lord Mayor Alderman David Wootton and Geoff Corkish MHK.

During his recent visit to the Island, to promote good relations between the Isle of Man and the City of London, Lord Mayor Alderman David Wootton met with IOM Stamps & Coins Manager Dot Tilbury, Chief Minister Alan Bell and Geoff Corkish MHK (Chairman of the IOM Post Office).
The Lord Mayor believed the partnership between the Isle of Man and the City would be crucial in helping to create wealth and economic well-being. For the UK and the City he shared Chief Minister Allan Bell’s vision for the Isle of Man of maintaining a prosperous and caring society based on fairness, opportunity for all, social cohesion and quality of life.

‘We are both small in size – but punch well above our weight in the global economy. We can be justly proud of the standards and governance we demand. And we are also well placed and well able to meet the challenges of the future – and play our part in creating jobs and growth.’

We, at IOM Stamps & Coins, feel that we “punch well above our weight” in the global stamp world and were pleased to present Alderman Wootton with a framed collection of our London 2012 Olympic Games stamps designed by Sir Paul Smith. He received the collection enthusiastically, praising their high quality of design and print and his belief that they stood a very good chance of being the best Olympic product of the year!

William Hoggatt – Almost a Manxman

Hoggatt Set

The issue date for this collection is Feb 20th 2012.You can now pre order the collection here.  Please see the terms and conditions for pre ordering here. The collection will be available to order on our eBay Store from Monday 13th February 2012. Please also note that items will be dispatched from the issue date onwards. The Isle of Man Post Office is pleased to present a set of five stamps which feature the artwork of William Hoggatt (1879 – 1961).  Alan Kelly of Mannin Collections writes: William Hoggatt was born 1st September 1879 at 10 Garnett Street, Lancaster, son of James Hoggatt, a joiner, and Margaret Ann Hoggatt née Stalker. Hoggatt was educated in Lancaster, where his artistic talent won him a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, London, which he declined on the grounds that ‘he wanted to work freely’. He then worked as an apprentice for a local firm of stained-glass manufacturers, but also continued his art studies at the Storey Institute, Lancaster. Whilst there Herbert L. Storey, the son of the founder of the Institute, noticed the quality of Hoggatt’s work and paid for him to study art at the L’Academie Julian, Paris, from 1901-1903, under Jean Paul Laurens.

Hoggatt First Day Cover

On his return to England, Hoggatt rented a cottage at Caton, near Lancaster, and started to paint full-time. In 1906 he worked for a period of time at the Tate Gallery, London, and whilst there met a young man called Leonard Archer who invited Hoggatt to stay at his home at Chalfont St. Giles. It was there he met Leonard’s sister, Dazine, and by the time Hoggatt left she had agreed to marry him. Both their parents were opposed to the intended marriage so the couple decided to elope to the Isle of Man – a place Hoggatt had heard much about in Lancaster. Early in 1907 he arrived in the Island and moved into ‘Glendown’, Port St. Mary. He then sent for Dazine and shortly after her arrival they were married on 20th April, 1907 at Kirk Christ, Rushen.

Hoggatt Stamp Sheet

Working in oils, watercolours and pastels Hoggatt spent the next fifty-four years painting scenes throughout the Island. He exhibited from 1904 at the Royal Academy, Royal Institute, Royal Cambrian Academy, Glasgow Institute and at many other art institutions, including overseas. In 1925 he was elected a full member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours and was later a member of the Liverpool Academy and the Royal British Colonial Society of Artists. His first one-man exhibition was held at the Hampstead Art Gallery, London in 1920 entitled Tone Harmonies and contained sixty of his paintings of the Island. Most of the pictures were sold at the exhibition, including six which were purchased by a collector from South Africa. After this exhibition Hoggatt started to receive the recognition he deserved and his work was reproduced in all the leading art journals, including The Studio and The Connoisseur. The Studio magazine said of him – ‘William Hoggatt has chosen the artistic solitude of an Island full of natural beauty. His work shows a constant passionate striving for the wonders of light, colour, texture and the whole overpowering poetry of landscape’.

Hoggatt Presentation Pack

Oh What A Night!

Aalin George / Dot Tilbury / Kirsten George

Sir Paul Smith’s Isle of Man 2012 London Olympic stamps launched on the first minute of January 2012 at the Regent Street Post Office in Douglas.

The O'Sheas Enjoy The Evening's Proceedings

Regent Street Post Office opened its doors on New Year’s Eve to launch the Isle of Man’s 2012 London Olympic stamps which are designed by Sir Paul Smith, the iconic British fashion designer and great friend of cyclist Mark Cavendish.

Policemen Paul Cubbon and Juan Killip

Dot Tilbury General Manager of IOM Stamp and Coins welcomed all the guests which included British National Archery champion Aalin George and her sister Kirsten, Olympian Marie Morgan (formerly Purvis) Tom Black (cycling) and Stewart Bennett (cycling training partner for paralympian Ian Sharpe) Red Cross chairman, Peter O’Shea who will be on first aid duty at the Games together with his daughter Sadhbh who is a volunteer at the Olympic cycling road races.
An enthusiastic crowd turned up to launch the stamps and the staff were kept going till 1.00am.

Stuart Bennett / MarieMorgan / Tom Black

Happy New Year – Here’s to a fantastic 2012!

Happy New Year everyone!  We hope you’ve had a brilliant Christmas and New Years Eve. We wish all the health and happiness in the world to you for a prosperous 2012! We are so happy that our London 2012 Olympic Games collection is proving such a hit already at this pre-release stage and give our warm thanks for your support. Designer and our good friend Sir Paul Smith  is so happy about the collection he created for us, so he sent this video greeting to post to you.

Sir Paul says ” Hello, I’m Paul Smith. It’s the new year and it’s time for my lovely Olympic stamps to be launched and I hope you like them! Bye!”

Don’t forget you can by the stamps online from 12.01am News Years Day 2012 from our website here, or our eBay shop or our eBay tab on our Facebook page

We hope you enjoy the video and once more Happy New Year!!! 🙂