National Stamp Day 1992
South Africa, Roggebaai · 1992-05-09
Official first day cover (FDC) · South African philately
Click any photo to see it enlarged.
front
This cover is postmarked on 9 May 1992 in Roggebaai. It marks National Stamp Day for that year. The issue tells the story of postal stones. These were rough markers that sailors on Dutch and English ships left behind at the Cape long before any formal post office was established there. The five stamps trace this history in sequence. Merchant ships arrive at Table Bay. Sailors go ashore at what was then known as Aguada de Saldanha to trade with the Khoikhoi for fresh water and provisions. One panel shows sailors discovering a stone near the mouth of the Versse Rivier. This is a nod to one of the oldest surviving examples. It was carved by Anthony Hippon of the English ship Dragon in 1607 and again in 1609. What makes this cover particularly interesting is that the cachet illustration is based on an actual postal stone. It still sits in a Cape Town museum today. The stone carries the names of five ships. The Nassau, Frederik Hendrik, Nimmegen, Wesel and Galias all anchored in Table Bay in April 1632 under Commander Dirk van der Lee. It is a rare case of a commemorative envelope depicting an artefact you can still go and see in person.
Description of the Cachet
The cachet shows a hand rendered illustration of a postal stone. This was one of the earliest forms of ship to shore communication used at the Cape long before a formal post office existed. The rough hewn stone sits among coastal scrub and fynbos. Its surface carries a Dutch inscription recording the arrival and departure of five ships under Commander Dirk van der Lee in April 1632. This kind of cachet design is a favourite among collectors of South African first day covers. It ties the stamp issue directly to a real historical object rather than a generic illustration. The lettering on the stone is rendered in a worn engraved style that mimics the look of the original relic. Today that relic sits in a Cape Town museum. Above the illustration runs the strip of five 35c stamps that make up this Postal Stones issue. Each one depicts a different stage of the story. Ships round the Cape. Sailors go ashore. A stone is discovered on the beach. Together the cachet and stamps make this a strong example of thematic postal history from the early 1990s RSA period.
Information Card
POSTAL STONES Postal stones are a unique part of the South African postal history. Mariners who visited the Cape before the founding of a victualling station at Table Bay, often left a stone behind on which the name of their ship, and of the captain or an officer, as well as the dates of arrival and departure were engraved. They also often left letters under these stones. A few of the postal stones were preserved and are on display in several museums. Stamp B1.5 depicts three Dutch merchantmen at the Cape of Good Hope. In the background, Lion's Head, Table Mountain and Signal Hill can be seen, the characteristic sight welcoming voyagers of all times to the Cape. On the long voyage to and from the Orient, the sailors went ashore at Aguada de Saldanha (watering place of Saldanha), as Table Bay was previously known, to take in fresh water and barter fresh provisions from the Khoikhoi (B2.5). Stones with inscriptions were usually left on the beach near the estuary of the small fresh-water river, the Versse Rivier (B3.5), the stamp shows a group of sailors discovering a postal stone while sailing ashore. One of the oldest stones found, bears two inscriptions by Anthony Hippon, Master of the English ship, the Dragon. The first inscription was made when Hippon went ashore at Table Bay in December 1607 on his voyage to the East. The second inscription was made in June 1609 when the Dragon again dropped anchor in Table Bay on the return voyage. This stone is now in the South African Museum in Cape Town. The letters left under the postal stones were wrapped in sailcloth or coarse linen and then covered with tar or even lead to keep them dry. From these letters, sailors could gather valuable information on the movements of other ships and on circumstances in the fatherland and elsewhere in the world (B4.5 and B5.5). The commemorative envelope depicts a postal stone with a Dutch inscription reading: Hereunder lie letters from the Commander D van der Lee and Vice-commander P Croock who arrived here in the ships Nassau, Frederik Hendrik, Nimmegen, Wesel and the Galias from Batavia on 9 April 1632 and departed the 15 ditto. Five ships, the Nassau, Frederik Hendrik, Nimmegen, Wesel and Galias, departed under the command of Commander Dirk van der Lee from Batavia for the Netherlands on 6 January 1632. The fleet stopped over in Table Bay from 3 to 20 April. The date on the stone, 9 April, is probably just a mistake, and the date 15 April was most likely the planned date of departure. The reverse bears an English inscription: LONDON (1631). This postal stone is now in the South African Museum of Cultural History in Cape Town. POSKLIPPE Posklippe is 'n unieke deel van die Suid-Afrikaanse posgeskiedenis. Seevaarders wat voor die stigting van 'n ververssingspos aan die Kaap by Tafelbaai aangedoen het, het somtyds 'n klip waarop die naam van hul skip en van die kaptein of 'n offisier, sowel as die aankoms- en vertrekdatum gegraveer was, agtergelaat. Hulle het ook dikwels briewe onder die klippe gelaat. 'n Paar van hierdie posklippe het behoue gebly en word in verskillende museums uitgestal. Seël B1.5 toon drie Hollandse koopvaarders by die Kaap die Goeie Hoop. Op die agtergrond is Leeukop, Tafelberg en Seinheuwel, die kenmerkende gesig wat seereisigers van alle tye aan die Kaap verwelkom. Op die lang reis na en van die Ooste het die matrose by Aguada de Saldanha (waterplek van Saldanha), soos Tafelbaai vroeer genoem is, aan land gegaan om vars water in te neem en vars voedsel van die Khoikhoi te ruil (B2.5). Klippe met inskripsies is gewoonlik op die strand naby die monding van die varswaterrivertjie, die Versse Rivier, gelaat (B3.5). Die seël toon 'n groepie matrose wat 'n posklip ontdek toe hulle kom water gegee. Een van die oudste klippe wat gevind is, dra twee inskripsies deur Anthony Hippon, kaptein van die Engelse skip, die Dragon. Die eerste inskripsie is gedoen toe Hippon op sy reis na die Ooste in Desember 1607 by Tafelbaai aan wal gegaan het. Die tweede inskripsie is in Junie 1609 gedoen toe die Dragon op die terugreis weer in Tafelbaai anker gegooi het. Dié klip is tans in die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum in Kaapstad. Die briewe wat onder die posklippe gelaat is, is in seildoek of growwe linne toegedraai en dan met pik of selfs lood bedek om hulle droog te hou. Uit die briewe kon die seevaarders waardevolle inligting kry oor ander skepe se bewegings en oor omstandighede in die vaderland en elders in die wêreld (B4.5 en B5.5). Die gedenkkoevert toon 'n posklip met dié inskripsie: HIER ONDER LEGGEN BRIEVEN VAN D(e) COM(m)AND(eur) D. V(an der) LEE EN VICE COM(man)D(eur) P CROOCK MET DE SCHEPEN NASSAU FRE(derik) HENDRIK NIMMEGEN WESEL EN DE GALIAS ALHIER DEN 9 APRIL 1632 VAN BATTAVIA GEAR(r)IVEERT V(er)TROCKEN DEN 15 DITTO. Vyf skepe, die Nassau, die Frederik Hendrik, die Nimmegen, die Wesel en die Galias, het onder bevel van kommandant Dirk van der Lee op 6 Januarie 1632 uit Batavia na Nederland vertrek. Dié vloot het van 3 tot 20 April in Tafelbaai vertoef. Die datum 9 April op die posklip is vermoedelik bloot 'n fout en die datum 15 April was waarskynlik die beplande vertrekdatum. Op die keersy is 'n Engelse inskripsie: LONDON (1631). Dié posklip is tans in die Suid-Afrikaanse Kultuurhistoriese Museum in Kaapstad. N.W.
Theme: National Events
Condition: Very FineVery attractive. Clean and crisp, no discolouration, only the slightest signs of handling.
Addressed: No
Signed: No
Stamp denomination: R1.75 (ZAR)
SG reference: 745-749
SAPO serial number: 5.19
Estimated value: ~US$0.31
This is a high-level, subjective estimate only, not a professional appraisal.
This first day cover (FDC) is part of Southern Covers, a private collection of 216 first day covers documenting the postal history and philately of South Africa and the homeland states. New to first day cover collecting? Read the guide to learn about cachets, postmarks, and stamp collecting terms, or browse the whole collection of Southern African FDCs.
