Australian Succulents
Attila Kapitany
Postage stamps background
We are very excited that Australia Post has released a set of four stamps with native succulents on June 20th 2017.
Please visit: https://issuu.com/stamps/docs/stamp-bulletin-346
A more detailed background and early draft images of our involvement in the production of two sets of stamps can be found in the history timeline below:
AUSTRALIAN SUCCULENTS ON STAMPS
SCROLL TO THE END FOR THE EXCITING CONCLUSION!!
2017 - We had been trying for about 10 years to get Australia Post to officialy produce a set of stamps with Australian succulents on them. A long drawn-out journey, with a small insight as to the journeys key elements below.
Australia Post has a ''Stamp Issue Policy'' with a section on ''How to Suggest Stamp Subjects'' as well as a list of all the criteria required for stamp selection: Click: https://australiapostcollectables.com.au/faqs/stamp-themes and happily the theme presented here meets most if not all of the criteria very well. Yet several letters to them with our suggestions failed. Why?
Two points of their criteria possibly may not have been reached in their eyes.
Firstly that the organisation is often overwhelmed with suggestions from the public and secondly that the subject may not ''enjoy popular acclaim'' (while I have no doubt that it does have popular acclaim, I hoped to foster this further through a stamp issue e.g. almost every Western Australian wildflower tour catalogue feature these plants on the cover, notably Calandrinia species).
We then tried a different approach by showcasing stamp draft ideas here (by a leading graphic designer Robert Tunnock of Chameleon Graphics) that may make this subject more appealing to the Australia Post administration. One of the draft formats below.
There is a list of approximately150 Australian plants already used on stamps, and the year of their issue, listed on www.anbg.gov.au/stamps/index.html
Until 2017 there were no succulent stamps, now there are .... at last!
After viewing this list, it is apparent that quite a number of plants have been repeated several times over the years and while these showier popular plants definitely deserve this exposure, most on the list represent historically popular ideas.
We though it would be a wonderful opportunity for something refreshingly new and different all together.
The above mentioned list did not include the Australian stamps with 'non-native' plants such as the ever popular rose which has also been used time and again, and while they have understandable ''popular acclaim'', a lot of our lesser known yet widespread Australian flora needs to be introduced to the Australian public.
2016 - Any suggestions or help on how to interest Australia Post in this theme would be greatly appreciated. Update 2017 - Success!!
(note: you may have to disable popup-blockers to enjoy these images)
Set Nine - click for larger image |
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Set Ten - click for larger image |
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Prior to 2006, we had made other submissions for stamp ideas to the relevant departments without success.
Still keen, in 2006 I sent the letter below to the department that designs future stamps, but it was also unsuccessful, and so I was asking everyone for any suggestions on how to build a more successful submission.
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The Manager
Philatelic Group
Australia Post
GPO Box 1777
Melbourne Vic 3001
Hello.
My name is Attila Kapitany and I wish to offer an idea for a set of stamps with the theme "Waterwise Succulent Plants".
Points to consider:
- Ten photos of 10 different plants
- All are native plants
- All the states are represented
- Culturally significant i.e. several have been traditionally used as a food source by aboriginal people. One is still harvested today.
- One of the above plants is among the earliest plants to be recorded by Europeans on the continent (by Joseph Banks).
- Some of these plants are common and well known, but most are new to the minds of the Australian public (this therefore offers an opportunity to introduce and educate).
- Succulent plants are becoming increasingly popular and have been on the rise for the past six years. Gardeners recognize and use mostly exotic succulents, and would be surprised that we had any so beautiful in Australia already.
- Succulent plants are low maintenance and are waterwise and in keeping with Government initiatives on water conservation. Australia is the driest continent geographically on earth. These plants that belong and suit our climate are hardly recognized.
- Water is a very big issue in Australia today and receives a lot of media coverage - as with the need to cut back in the garden.
- Introduced (exotic plants) which have escaped cultivation now pose a threat to the natural environment. Recent statistics and government policy is flagging that 65% of all pest weeds in the Australian environment originated as garden escapees. The focus will be to encourage more native plants.
A series of stamps would be most timely which reflect society's current situation and concerns, now and into the future.
This is not to discount the possibility of these stamps standing alone as a wonderful showcase of the greater diversity of the Australian landscape than the public is currently aware of.
If you'd like to know more, please contact me when convenient.
I have enclosed a CD of the ten proposed plant images.
In anticipation of your reply,
Attila Kapitany
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JANUARY 2008 - We posted a complimentary copy of our flagship book Australian Succulents: An Introduction along with further supporting data to excite!
2009 - onwards Almost annually, items and correspondence continued from me to the point where in 2016 I had prepared an hour long digital presentation I offered to give to their selection team to convince them of these plants' worthiness for use on Australian stamps.
APRIL 2017 - We are very excited to announce that Australia Post has published a release date for a small series of stamps featuring native succulents - JUNE 20TH 2017.
Please visit to see pictures and more information: https://issuu.com/stamps/docs/stamp-bulletin-346
JUNE 20th 2017 - Update: The stamps and associated stamp packs are now publically available. Very, very excited!
Interestingly we never set out on this journey to promote ourselves, but rather only the plants, however, seeing the stamps with all the credits to various people (on stamp related literature and marketing) who had some involvement in this stamp production, i realized that perhaps we deserve a respective measure of the same. Little mention exists on these for any credits to us and our major work on getting this project going. Only small photo credits can be found on official stamp paraphernalia where our names can be found. However, our major contribution and initiation of this whole project is expanded on and explained much further at Australia Post's link below, but even this officially acknowledged 'credit' to us is only a small part of the story. Of course we don't claim to 'own' these stamps, of course we don't claim to 'own' Australian succulents but we do claim ownership of this story of the stamps and their background research and preparation that took countless hours, days and even years!
JANUARY 2018 - Now available! You can now buy some of these stamps and our history and story behind the stamps, along with a CD of 50 further (high res) images of succulents that were part of early proposals, plus our personal touch, in our eBay store at:
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Australian-succulent-plants-books/Other-/_i.html?_fsub=1
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