(Above) St Lucia (1984). © Museum of London
Exhibition: Post Abolition: Commemorative stamps from around the world, Museum of London Docklands, London, until January 30 2010
A unique exhibition opens today at the Museum of London showing how the huge issue of slavery has been depicted in small-scale artworks.
Post Abolition will show stamps from the 1930s onwards, designed to commemorate the abolition of slavery. It will also kick off the year-long London Festival of Stamps.
USA Post Abolition (1963). © Museum of London
Key pieces in the exhibition include a 1965 Jamaican stamp marking Paul Bogle and the Morant Bay uprising.
The Black Heritage series of stamps, launched in 1978 by the US postal service, feature Harriet Tubman, a woman known as "the Moses of her people" for helping men and women escape from the American slave states.
"The great thing about these stamps is that they are not just miniature works of art," says Tom Wareham, curator at the Museum of London Docklands.
"They also convey what the abolition of slavery has come to mean to people in different parts of the world. This display highlights the subtle messages and symbolism often contained within the designs."
Admission £5/£3 (allows unlimited re-admission for a year, free for under-16s and students.)
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