'A Rural Post Office' Postage Stamp, Kenya 1986

In June 1986, the Kenya Post Office produced a set of commemorative stamps to mark the 1986 EXPO which took place in Vancouver, Canada. The theme of the event was transportation and communication and Kenya's set reflected the nation's progress in the field. 

As part of my occasional exploration of the telephone box in design and popular culture, I will focus on the lowest denomination stamp of the set, which depicts 'A Rural Post Office', lovingly created by Kenya's philatelic designer Hameed Moghul. 

This is a beautiful piece of work by the Nairobi-based artist who was responsible for designing much of Kenya's philatelic output at this time. It would be very interesting to know more about his life and work, and also whether this painting was an imaginary scene or based on a photograph of a rural post office.

A year later, Kenya issued another stamp with a telephone box as part of the image. This time it was the 5/- value in a triangle-shaped set that commemorated 10 years of progress of the Kenyan Post Office. 

These two stamps are my all-time favourites depicting a telephone box in use, at a time when no-one could have anticipated the near-obsolescence of the public payphone as a result of the global impact of the smartphone.

Close-up of the 1/- value on the First Day Cover, issued on 11th June 1986

A page from the special insert issued with the FDC

The 4 higher values from the 1986 EXPO set

Another Telephone Box on a Kenyan stamp - this time issued in 1987 to mark 10 years of progress of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPATC).