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| 1938-1954 Definitive Stamps (Design RC Luck) |
The postal systems of Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda were brought together in 1933 with an issue of definitive stamps of local scenes featuring King George V, on the succession of his son the stamps remained the same except as can be seen with a portrait of George VI.
The stamp designs were done by numerous designers each with their own touches. The 15c on the right designed by G Gill-Holmes introduces a figure who seems to be holding a scroll (unfortunately Mount Kilimanjaro is hidden under the postmark).
R C Luck obviously had a love of bulrushes or stretches of water and their bird life.
RN Ambasana must have been a bit of a royalist as the portrait dominates the Jinja Railway Bridge over the Ripon Falls(constructed in 1926 with some cracking photographs
here)
The three countries gained independence in the early 1960s, Kenya being the last in 1963. All the Star Trek fans out there will recognize the word uhuru (Uhura) as meaning freedom. I'd forgotten about Prime-Minister and President Joma Kenyatta's fly whisk until seeing this stamp. I always thought I would like one of these as buzzing things like me a lot but it has a dual purpose in this context for it is also a mark of authority in Maasai society.
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| 1993: Birds Definitive |
Here is something that likes insects which in Swahili is called the keremkerem (bee-eater). in particular this is the cinnamon-chested bee eater.
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| 2017: Europa - Castles |
Lastly every king needs a castle and Kosova shows a dramatic one on top of a hill which I think may be a re-imagining of the layers of history of the Kalaja Fortress, the castle on the hill overlooking
Prizren.
An entry to Sunday Stamps II prompt of the letter K for - Kenya, King, Kenyatta, Kosova and keremkerem - keep clicking to
See It On A Postcard
