REL1948
Member 
Posts: 584 
What I collect: 1840-Pre-Decimal, GB and Colonies, 1840 1 penny reds, Postal Histories
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Post by REL1948 on Mar 28, 2021 15:09:19 GMT
Jamaica-1923-Are any of you familiar with this 5/ Jamaican stamp from 1923 (Scott 189, SG 105)? I've owned this copy since the late 1950s. It was one of my first "Hi Value" stamp purchases. What attracted me was the unusual vignette, a Satyr, a constellation in a pastoral setting entitled "Isle of Wood and Water". It struck me early on as a very weird, very cool stamp. I've owned most of the Crown Colony definitives for KGV and KGVI over the years. There's a certain familiarity about all of them, they either depict royalty or local interest but this stamp always stood out to me for its distinct strangeness among its peers. Somewhat out of context for the typical themes witnessed on other colonial stamps of the time. More Shakespearean London than Caribbean Jamaica (in my humble opinion). I've long wondered about the background for this issue, the rest of the set is just regular local color and history stuff making this value stand out from the rest of the set. I haven't found anything in depth so far that describes the selection process. Intriguing....  |
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cjd
Member
Posts: 1,107
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Post by cjd on Mar 28, 2021 17:40:12 GMT
It's Pan playing his pipe, and there is a bit of a story behind it. As is often the case with these sorts of things, Easton's British Postage Stamp Design has some backstory.
It's a short drive away, and I'll run and get it, rather than try to remember names and dates from memory.
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REL1948
Member
Posts: 584
What I collect: 1840-Pre-Decimal, GB and Colonies, 1840 1 penny reds, Postal Histories
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Post by REL1948 on Mar 28, 2021 18:10:33 GMT
Hello cjd,
That would be awesome. I'm not familiar with that title but it sounds interesting. I have US references for US stamp histories but have never found the titles that would provide the same information on Colonial issues. Very nice to meet you.
Rob
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cjd
Member
Posts: 1,107
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Post by cjd on Mar 28, 2021 18:22:38 GMT
Nice to meet you, too.
First off, Easton says that the full story of the issue is best found in a 1928 SG publication, Jamaica: It’s Postal History, Postage Stamps and Postmarks. At least, that was the best place as of the time of publication*, seventy years ago.
He attributes the sad state of Jamaican postage stamps (when compared to her neighbors) to official indifference among the successive governments of Jamaica. After World War I, a new governor, Sir Leslie Probyn, decided to ramp up the effort that was put toward Jamaica’s stamps.
A Mr. Frank Cundall shepherded the project and, long story short, from a combination of drawings and photographs, he came up with the pictorials that we now know. The Governor insisted on an additional stamp depicting the spirit of Jamaica, as well as a blockbuster depicting the king. Thus, we ended up with a 5sh showing Pan in sylvan surroundings typical of inland scenery, with the constellation Aldeboran overhead. (And the 10sh, which is one of the great KGV stamps of all time.)
Easton doesn’t mention this, but the original name for Jamaica, Xaymaca, translated to "land of wood and water" in the language of the indigenous Taino people.
*eta: the time of publication of Easton's work, that is, which was first published in 1943. I have the fourth edition, from 1946. Yes, that's one edition per year. During World War II.
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cjd
Member
Posts: 1,107
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Post by cjd on Mar 28, 2021 20:13:25 GMT
Here is the 10sh, just so no one has to go look for it:
(I originally posted this here in January, 2014, so it shouldn't cost any bandwidth to drop it here, too.)
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Mar 28, 2021 21:21:57 GMT
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REL1948
Member
Posts: 584
What I collect: 1840-Pre-Decimal, GB and Colonies, 1840 1 penny reds, Postal Histories
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Post by REL1948 on Mar 28, 2021 21:31:51 GMT
I found a nice used copy of Easton's book on Amazon and just ordered it. Thank you for the insight. Great explanation especially the original name of the island.
Rob
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cjd
Member
Posts: 1,107
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Post by cjd on Mar 28, 2021 21:52:53 GMT
Nice find, Ryan. I wonder if that was the first time that the author and Mr. L.G.R. Jones had disagreed on a point of Jamaican philately? Methinks not. For those following along and wondering if Aldeboran was an old name for Aquarius, Easton referred to the constellation as Aldeboran. Aldebaran is the name of the brightest star in Taurus.
Rob, I see from your profile that Africa interests you. You'll find lots of material in Easton.
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Post by dgdecker on Mar 28, 2021 22:53:34 GMT
Great story. Now I have to find my Jamaica “collection” abs see what I have.
David
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kgvistamps
Member
Posts: 201
What I collect: British Colonies - King George VI from all countries and King Edward VII & King George V from the West Indies.
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Post by kgvistamps on Mar 29, 2021 13:13:23 GMT
There were several printings of the 5/ value in addition to the two watermarks (Multiple Crown CA - MCA and Multiple Script CA - MSCA). Here is a chart I put together showing the various options as described by the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue.
In the research you mentioned - was there any explanation why the reprinted the Queen Victoria stamps after her death? They are listed as SG 46-56 or Scott 42-54. The Scott numbers are not inclusive because they include some of the earlier issues.  |
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REL1948
Member
Posts: 584
What I collect: 1840-Pre-Decimal, GB and Colonies, 1840 1 penny reds, Postal Histories
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Post by REL1948 on Apr 12, 2021 20:42:34 GMT
British Postage Stamp Design by John Easton
My first post on TSF was a scan of an old favorite stamp, Jamaica SG105. I asked if anyone knew anything about its background. One of the replies came from cjd who shared some facts about the stamp but more importantly shared the source of his information; "British Postage Stamp Design by John Easton". This sounded like my kind of philatelic book. I searched out a very nice used copy on Amazon for $15 and ordered it. The book arrived a few days ago in excellent shape. If it ever had a dust-jacket, it was long gone. A 6 inch x 9 inch hardcover with 384 pages of the thinnest paper I've ever seen. Thin? Yes, but incredibly there isn't any bleed through of the page behind, each page is clearly legible. The good news is that thin pages make for a dense book and that means a lot of information. This copy is a Third Edition MCMXLV (1945). A small touch that spoke to the romantic in me was the Booksellers stamp inked in purple on the inside front cover, it reads: "The Rising Sun, St. Mawes, Cornwall". What other treasures were inside this Bookstore back then? cjd said it would be a page turner, that would be an understatement. For me it's a treasure that I will long read and cherish. One of my strongest interests in philately is knowing the story behind certain stamps. The history of its design, the steps to finalization and then examples of intended use. For those of you who collect pre-fifties British material (this includes me), this is one of the finest books I've ever seen describing the design process of the stamps we are all so familiar with. I've scanned a few different pages including the Contents and List of Plates. This should give you some idea of the broad range of design information contained in this wonderful book. I wish I had known about this book 50 years ago but I'm thrilled to have it now. I saw several copies available on abebooks as of today's date. Rob        
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cjd
Member
Posts: 1,107
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Post by cjd on Apr 21, 2021 0:33:49 GMT
Yep, it's worth owning.
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Post by petersmith5 on Jul 6, 2022 10:06:51 GMT
Liked your enthusiasm for the book so ordered one - I'm sure I'll find it interesting!
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brightonpete
Departed
Rest in Peace
On a hike at Goodrich-Loomis
Posts: 5,110
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Post by brightonpete on Jul 6, 2022 15:32:20 GMT
I too, just ordered the book, which was incredibly cheap from Abe Books. Hopefully I'll receive this one. The last book I ordered from them never arrived.
Fits with me, as I am finally printing out album pages and mounting my British stamps.
Peter
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