Cape of Good Hope Triangular 'Woodblock' Stamp

Cape of Good Hope · 1861 · 1d

This iconic triangular stamp features a seated allegorical figure of Hope, leaning on an anchor with a vine and grapes to her right. The design, created by Charles Davidson Bell, is one of the world's first triangular postage stamps. This particular issue is known as a 'Woodblock' due to the emergency printing method used when new supplies from London were delayed.

Issued in the British colony of the Cape of Good Hope, the 'Woodblock' stamps were locally produced in 1861 by Perkins Bacon & Co. to meet urgent postal demand. Their crude printing and the famous color errors make them highly sought-after classics of philately.