Suriname issued in 1968 a set of three stamps, two stamps have watercraft on it, the 25c depict the Joden (Jews) Savanna Synagogue in 1685, and some craft.
The first group of Jews already settled in Suriname in 1639, some from Holland others from Portugal and Italy, they settled down in a settlement about 40 kilometers south of Paramaribo. And there they lay out some sugar plantations.
In 1652 an other group of Jews arrived together with the Englishman Lord Willoughby, who settled down on the savannah situated near the Cassipoera creek. This area is nowadays known as “Jodensavanne”.
On the 25c stamp in front of the synagogue streams the river and on the river there are three inland waterway vessels.
A few years ago I bought a box of maritime magazines in an auction in Hamilton, nobody wanted it, so I got it very cheap. In this box there were a lot of Sea Breezes from around 1970. At that time Sea Breezes did have every month articles by the late E.W. Arglye on Ships on Stamps.
Some I have copied, with some additional info I found on this type of craft on the web.
The stamp has clearly been based upon a painting of this settlement on the Suriname River, dating from ca 1830.
In 1831 a large fire destroyed almost the whole of the village.
In front of the stamp, is a “tent-boat”, a most unusual type of craft. According to Stedman, in his book dating from 1749, the “tent-boat” was often abundantly decorated, sometimes carried musicians aboard, and was equipped with all kinds of features. Lightly built they could be very fast-moving.
In the middle of the 19th century they usually had a cabin on the stern and were mostly propelled by six or eight oars. About 40 feet long, the cabin had windows with blinds to shade the passengers from the sun.
Around 1970 Mr Arglye gives there may be still one “tent-boat” around in Suriname.
During the days of the slave trade the plantation owners for their transport along the rivers used them.
The other two craft shown on the stamp is a boat covered by a sail, but she is not the tent-boat (as Arglye was thinking) and a vessel having two tall sails which almost looks like a Chinese junk.
The 20c stamp depicts the Jodensavanne, and Suriname River with some sailing craft on it.
The 30c a Jews tomb-stone.
Suriname 1968 25c sg?, scott?