Southern Rhodesia Philately: 1964 Definitive Series – 1/3d Aloe

Kodachrome transparencies and a coloured picture from a tourist brochure, Aloes and Cycads, provided a guide to this formalized interpretation of the extraordinary Aloe excelsa, which in some districts grows tree-like to a height of 20 feet, but usually to 10 or 12 feet. The brown-red “pinnacles”, not unlike the corncob on the 1d, have overlapping petals similar to a fir-cone and these tend to open out rather more than is shown in the artwork. The artist’s ghostly suggestion of the leaf form is, however, most effective as a background. Note the spikes or thorns which fringe the thick, cactuslike leaves. The succulent leaves grow at the apex of the stem to a length of 3 feet and spread over the ground like enormous octopus-tentacles. Aloes grow widely throughout Southern Rhodesia—there is a unique collection in the Ewanrigg National Park—and they flower during the winter months of June, July and August.

Details
  • Subject: Aloe
  • Designer: Victor Whitely
  • Printer: Harrison & Sons Ltd, London
  • Process: Photogravure
  • Paper: White paper
  • Watermark: None
  • Perf: 13.5 x 13 (comb)
  • Cylinders: 
    • 1A (Yellow-green), 1A (Violet), 1A (Vermilion)
    • 1B (Yellow-green), 1BA (Violet), 1B (Vermilion)
  • Sheet: R10 x 6
  • Quantity: 2,521,000
  • Reprints: 1965
Cylinder Numbers
Sheet Numbers
Varieties

Shift in colour cylinders

Perforation shifted to right

Maximum Cards (Unofficial)
References
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