August 2018 - Sneak Peek

Castries, where he eventually found
evidence of geological excavations
60 years earlier when the Ventine
Falls were demolished by a bulldozer.
In Dominica [Figure 14], a short
trip from the capital Roseau to view
Trafalgar Falls is a must. The two
falls, known locally as “mother” and
“father,” drop down a steep gorge
into a deep pool. Also worthy of
a visit is the legendry Freshwater Lake, reputedly bottomless and now harnessed for
hydro-electricity. For more experienced hikers, the awesome Boiling Lake lying within
a deep basin is reached after a gruelling hike through fumaroles of steam in the Valley
of Desolation. The lake, usually enveloped in a cloud, sometimes completely disappears
are featured on several stamps from 1938 to 1957.
Mount Liamunga (fertile land) at 3,792 feet is the highest
peak in the territory of St. Christopher Nevis Anguilla,
now called St. Kitts [Figure 15]. Until independence, it was
named Mount Misery, as inscribed on the 6-cent 1963 stamp
depicting a view of the crater on the summit. Nevis Peak, in a
on the 1957 bicentenary stamp (Scott 135), which marks the
birth in Nevis in 1757 of Alexander Hamilton, statesman and
a founding father of the United States. Interesting information
and video clips on both mountains and Hamilton can be downloaded.
A handful of Jamaican stamps [Figure 16] qualify for comment: The Llandovery
Falls, shown on 1p stamps issued in 1900, were reprinted with two colors in 1901. A striking
view of quirkily named Wag Water River appears on 2½p stamps
tive
view of the Jamaica’s Blue Mountains
could have been selected for the
1956 8p design. There are several hiking
trails across the ranges on which
the lower slopes produce some of the
A release of two 6p Jamaican
the second in 1938 (123) – show Priestman’s River where it joins the
sea [Figure 17]. These stamps present an interesting study in subtle design change, of
dition
in 1938 of the portrait of King George VI, who had ascended to the throne the pre-
style of the car on the road, the tunic of the man walking (sure looks like he gained a lot
of weight in six years!) and the ship at sea is starting to fade away by 1938. What other
Figure 14. Dominica, Scott 180, 108 and 106.
Figure 15. St. Christopher Nevis Anguilla, Scott 151 and 111.
Figure 16. Jamaica, Scott 32,
107 and 167.
Figure 17. Jamaica, Scott 108 and 123. (Enlarged to show detail.)
758 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / AUGUST 2018