100th Anniversary Kansas Statehood
Over at Virdian's Postcard Blog the theme for this week's Sunday Stamps meme is "flowers" and she has posted a gorgeous Chinese stamp featuring a sunflower. Sunflowers are one of my favourite flowers too – whilst on family holidays in France as a child I remember being amazed the first time I saw fields and fields of them growing and was delighted to discover that sunflower cultivation is also widespread here in Italy too, where I now live. With that in mind I thought I would share this 4 cent Kansas Statehood Centennial commemorative stamp issued on 10 May 1961 and featuring a sunflower, with an early pioneer couple standing in front of a stockade in the background.
Kansas, for anybody who lives outside the United States, is familiar to us from popular culture. I only really know three things about Kansas: the first is what I've gleaned from the lyrics of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune (I'm in Love with) a Wonderful Guy from the musical South Pacific that famously begins with the line I'm as corny as Kansas in August; the second is that young Superman, back when he was still Clark Kent, grew up in the fictitious Kansas town of Smallville; and last, but by no means least, that Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, lived in the tornado prone state – Judy Garland's line Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more, is a part of cinema history.
I really like this stamp – it is printed in a limited palette on yellow paper, but the image is striking and very stylish. This year, of course, the state of Kansas is celebrating its 150 years and the US Postal Service released another stamp in January celebrating the development of wind power in Kansas.
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 US 1183 Statehood Kansas 4c single 1 stamp MNH 1961 $1.10 Time Remaining: 48m Buy It Now for only: $1.10 Buy It Now |
 KANSAS STATEHOOD FDC 1961 COUNCIL GROVE KS ONLY ONE MADE PRONGHORN $6.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 5h 10m |
 US SCOTT 1183 MNH 4 CENT PLATE BLOCK OF 4 1961 KANSAS STATEHOOD $1.25 Time Remaining: 1d 6h 6m Buy It Now for only: $1.25 Buy It Now |
 P08 599 1961 USA FDC Mi 809 Geography Urban Planning Kansas Statehood $0.66 Time Remaining: 1d 22h 29m Buy It Now for only: $1.10 Buy It Now | Bid now |
 1183 KANSAS CENTENNIAL STATEHOOD 1961 AB First Day Cover $6.00 Time Remaining: 2d 1h 3m Buy It Now for only: $6.00 Buy It Now |
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Since I’m a Kansas girl, I think I need this stamp. Love the images on the stamp. You should visit my blog—everything is (almost) Kansas inspired on the background.
That is a very good looking stamp. The colors are great, and I love sunflowers.
I have a pne of the new KS stamps – old style windmill and newest electricty-generating windmills. thanks for participating!
It is a nicely balanced stamp. Like you the first time I saw fields of sunflowers was in France. Wonderful sight. I always imagine Kansas as being huge, didn’t bison use to roam there, so perhaps the fields it will be on an even bigger scale.
A lovely stamp! Sunflowers always bring Van Gogh to mind. There really isn’t anything quite like a field of sunflowers, all facing the sun.