CINDERELLAS
Mombasa Exhibition
Most of the British colonies rarely marked important local events with special postage stamps, writes Christer Brunström. Notable exceptions were the many overprinted stamps publicising the Malaya Borneo Exhibition held in Singapore in 1922 or the New Zealand 1906 and 1913 sets noting exhibitions in Christchurch and Auckland.
There were of course many other exhibitions throughout the British Empire which went unrecognised on postage stamps. Fortunately poster stamps were sometimes printed to advertise these events. They are non-postal labels which could be affixed to covers or invoices to inform about upcoming exhibitions.
In 1920 most of Kenya became a British crown colony. The exception was a coastal strip which continued its previous association with Zanzibar. This area, with the port of Mombasa, became a British protectorate.
Mombasa had and still has large port facilities serving not only Kenya but also Uganda and the northern part of Tanganyika. It is also the terminus of the Uganda Railway. This important city prospered as a hub for trade in East Africa and today it is Kenya’s secondlargest city.
Large exhibitions were organised in Mombasa showcasing trade, agriculture and industry in the region.
