Here we have another of Finbar Kenny’s Dune stamps issued under the apparently misspelled name of the then Trucial State of Fujairah. The stamp trade calls them fake, but these little village states are interesting and why not relate the subject of the stamp back to the place however tendential. Kenny’s topicals were beautiful if fake and perhaps unfortunately evocative of the future of the hobby. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
This stamp is now over 50 years old and I am fascinated by the spelling discrepancy of the name. Even if you look at the Arabic the spelling is different. Does an Emir just decide to change or is it one of those things that just changes to better reflect local pronunciation?
Finbar Kenny’s stamp output is considered by the trade as fake. The stamp professes it’s value in Dirhams which puts it after 1966 when that currency replaced the Indian Rupee in the Trucial States. The area was annoyed by India’s devaluations. Join the club. Fujairah postage was handled by the UAE post 1971.
Fujairah was a small village of 50 houses that may have broken away from Sharjah around the beginning of the 20th century. The Bithnah Fort had been built there to protect a trade route that traveled up a wadi, (a usually dry creek bed)going inland. The original purpose was to protect from Wahabis but later control of the fort signified if the area was leaning toward Sharjah on one side or Muscat on the other.
The British had decided that Fujairah was a part of Sharjah which they had a protectorate deal with so it didn’t really matter who had the fort. That changed in 1952. A British oil company wanted to make sure the petroleum exploration concession stood up anywhere in the area so suddenly the British granted Fujairah recognition and protectorate status. Yay team another Emir gets paid! There wasn’t oil in Fujairah. The big current industry is a cement factory and the bulk of the population are guest workers from India. So much so that the schools follow the standard Indian syllabus. Perhaps the British oil company should have skipped the Emirs and dealt directly with by then independent India as successors to the British in the area. The oil wealth of the UAE pays for new development. Among them is a new beach resort near the Oman border called the Al Fujairah Paradise. The average high daily temperature is over 90 degrees Fahrenheit with summer months over 100 degrees. Paradise or Hell on Earth?
Spanish Painter Goya painted the Forge to show off strong workers dealing with molten hot iron. It is thought to be an allegory to the tough Spanish people dealing with the recent intrusion of Napoleonic era France. The iron forger is putting his strength behind an anvil to work the hot metal. The anvil of history at the time was a concept that would correct short term injustices. Perhaps the Indian toilers in hot modern Fujairah can relate to both Finbar Kenny and Goya.
Well my drink is empty and so I will have to wait till tomorrow when there will be another story to be learned from stamp collecting.