My First Tin Can Mail

This is my very first Tin Can mail cover. it was given to me from a friend of mine in our local club.

I know it is philatelic in nature but I am not sure if you can even buy any of these that would be considered commercial mail?

Lovely cover nonetheless and I'm glad to add it to my collection.

Chimo

Bujutsu

I have several tin can mail envelopes. Although they were heavily marked with just about every conceivable marking as possible, most if not all are logit.
Initially, since Niuafo'ou did not have a natural harbor in which ships could berth, the mail was thrown overboard in a watertight where a swimmer picked it up. The swimmer also brought out mail to the ship. I personally have not heard of any cover which was not commercial, meaning it was stamped, marked and canceled, then handed back to the recipient. They were actually mailed, although I am sure many were for philatelic purposes. This would be like a first day cover which was actually mailed - although an FDC, it was was mailed so is would be a true commercial cover.

This was a true mail service which became a novelty.

Interesting ncbuckeye

I have seen articles on them and know that they are quite popular.

I am sure that there are enough types of cachets and cancellations of them to make a study of them.

Chimo

Bujutsu

These are fun, even if they are philatelic.

Were they not a concoction primarily for the tourists, and using the philatelic medium as the way to separate the tourists from their money? If the tourists had been able to come ashore, it could've just as easily been Queen Salote bobble-heads or Bakelite coconut icebox magnets.

I've read that tourists used to line up at the rails of the ships as the swimmers (until the 'shark' year of 1931) and canoes (thereafter) came out to meet them.

No doubt the covers got pretty gaudy as time went on. I still think they're fairly interesting, especially 'pre-shark.'

And if someone was to insist that they're philatelic, I guess I wouldn't argue the point.

In 1882, I don't think the island held much of a tourist interest, but when Walter George Quensell arrived in 1928, he saw and exploited the philatelic aspect of tin can mail.. I would surmise that until 1928 when Quensell saw the $$$ side, the mail was not nicknamed "tin can mail". In other words, I think that one would need to differentiate between tin cans used to get the mail to the ships prior to 1928 with the exploitation of tin can mail after 1928.
Here is a web site for tin can mail.

http://www.bettybillingham.co.uk/TCM.html

Really cool.

No water stains?

:-)