Islander Membership Cards

While it’s little-known outside of inner circles here on Prince Edward Island, each bona fide Islander is issued an “Islander Membership Card” in the hospital at birth. The card entitles one to experience the benefits afforded only to Islanders — things like exemption from Anne of Green Gables-related activities, discounts at Swiss Chalet, and access to the special version of Compass where the real news is delivered.

While not technically secret, Islanders aren’t exactly encouraged to tell others about the cards. And for many so-called “people from away” like us, getting access to a card — or even confirming that the cards exist — is a hard-fought battle.

So you can imagine my delight when I found, in a collection of letterpress cuts passed to me by an Islander just before Christmas, the original coat of arms of Prince Edward Island used to make the cards. As you might expect, my first action was to immediately run some off:

These are prototypes only — the ink impression on the Parva sub ingenti needs so work — but I’ll be able to run these things off by the thousands in a week or two. Prince Edward Island will never be the same.