Cape of Good Hope Triangular, Hope Seated with Anchor and Ram

Cape of Good Hope · 1853 · 1d

This is one of the world's first triangular stamps, featuring an allegorical figure of Hope seated on an anchor. To her side is a ram, symbolizing the colony's wool industry. The stamp's distinctive shape was chosen to make it easily identifiable by postal clerks, many of whom were illiterate at the time.

Issued by the Cape of Good Hope, a British colony at the time, this stamp is a landmark in philatelic design and history. It was designed by Charles Bell and engraved by William Humphrys.