When looking at a dromedary and wondering if it is a camel or a dromedary there is a double entendre jingle;
"The camel's night is never done,
He always gets two hump for one."
or something like that.
The dromedary is often called the Arabian Camel while the Camel is actually from the Gobi Desert area in Central Asia.
The "Dromedarius" stamp was first issued in 1926 and 1927 using two different printing presses.
A very interesting book (More like an extended monograph) was printed called "The Ship Stamp" details many of the variations in this issue. I have a copy around somewhere although I haven't seen it in years. Also some ship stamps were overprinted SWA(South West Africa) for use in what is now named Namibia. Studying those (that)issues was my first venture into the more involved part of stamping.
This stamp began life as South Africa Scott #48 in 1934. In 1941, when stamp supplies from London to K.U.T. were limited, the Pretoria government in South Africa printing office was tasked with over-printing the 1d, 3d, 6d, and 1s to be used by K.U.T. At that point the stamp became K.U.T. Scott #86. If anyone knows of any other stamp that shares two countries please add to this thread.
I am showing an unused South African stamp below the over-printed one to better view the design (just for fun depicting the St. Elmo's Fire variation. The Pink Flamingo variation is available upon request.)
On Dec 24 1651 Jan van Riebeek arrived at what would later be called Cape Town, on the ship Drommedaris. His mission was to set up a refreshment station between the Netherlands and East Asia. He became the first Commander of the settlement, and did a bang up job by all accounts, establishing many crops, building a fort, and not killing indigents.
Drommedaris means Dromedary -- yes the camel. A replica of the ship shows a carved camel (see photo), though I don't see it on the stamp. The oval containing the ship is wreathed with laurel -- you can't get away from laurel on stamps.
Cheers,
Eric
re: Strange Journey of the Drommedaris - One stamp, Two Countries
When looking at a dromedary and wondering if it is a camel or a dromedary there is a double entendre jingle;
"The camel's night is never done,
He always gets two hump for one."
or something like that.
The dromedary is often called the Arabian Camel while the Camel is actually from the Gobi Desert area in Central Asia.
The "Dromedarius" stamp was first issued in 1926 and 1927 using two different printing presses.
A very interesting book (More like an extended monograph) was printed called "The Ship Stamp" details many of the variations in this issue. I have a copy around somewhere although I haven't seen it in years. Also some ship stamps were overprinted SWA(South West Africa) for use in what is now named Namibia. Studying those (that)issues was my first venture into the more involved part of stamping.