Loading . . .



Philately
Goes Bananas



Stamp collectors may go bananas when they receive a piece of mail with a stamp that has been defaced with an ugly mark from a pen, crayon or marker. On a more positive note, the same collectors may "go bananas" when they discover unexpected rarities in their stamp collections. But, putting aside figurative uses of this expression, this website will explore a more literal version of stamp collectors "going bananas": building a collection of stamps and covers on the theme of bananas. Such an undertaking can take the collector around the world exploring botany, geography, history, politics, technology, nutrition and popular culture as they relate to this popular fruit and the many stamps on which it appears.


Contents

Banana Stamps from Around the World

The banana "tree" - an imposter

Where did these suckers originate?

Over a thousand varieties

The banana trade is focused on varieties

Cuttings from earliest domesticated plants carried by migrants

According to a February 2020 report of FAO ...

Given the fragile and perishable nature of the fruit ...

There had to be a downside ...

One would not expect the darker side ...

The United Fruit Company: a pioneer in the use of the public relations

Many other stamps highlight the importance of bananas

In Vaudeville theatre ...

The study of bananas on stamps ...


Sources

"Banana Consumption (Total)." HelgiLibrary. 9 Apr. 2021. Web. 21 Aug. 2021.
     www.helgilibrary.com/indicators/banana-consumption-total/.

Banana Link. ALL ABOUT BANANAS And Why Bananas Matter.... Norwich, U.K.: BananaLink, n.d. Web.
     15 Aug. 2021. www.bananalink.org.uk/all-about-bananas/.

Campbell, A.F. "Bananas on Stamps." Gibbons Stamp Monthly. Nov. 1954: 34-35.

Chapman, Peter. Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2007. Print.

Charlebois, Sylvain. "Going bananas for a threatened fruit." Telegraph-Journal. Saint John, N.B. 20 Sep. 2019: A7.

Filippone, Peggy Trowbridge. "The History of Bananas." The Spruce Eats. 5 Aug. 2020. Web. 8 Oct. 2020.
     www.thespruceeats.com/history-of-bananas-as-food-1807565.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "Bananas." Markets and Trade. 2020. Web. 16 Oct. 2020.
     www.fao.org/economic/est/est-commodities/bananas/en/.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "February 2020 Snapshot." Banana Market Review.
     Feb. 2020. Web. 16 Oct. 2020. www.fao.org/3/ca9212en/ca9212en.pdf.

Garrison, Laura Turner. "How Did Slipping on a Banana Peel Become a Comedy Staple?" Mental Floss 9 Jul. 2012. Web
     8 Oct. 2020https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31135/how-did-slipping-banana-peel-become-comedy-staple.

"Going Bananas with Stamps (covers, postmarks, etc.)!" Stampboards.com. 4 Aug. 2021. Web. 18 Aug. 2021.
     stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=93872&start=100.

Haavardsrud, Paul. "Yes, we have no bananas � but if we did, we�d sell �em cheap." Cost of Living. 5 Sep. 2021.
     C.B.C. Web. 6 Sep. 2021. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-379-cost-of-living/clip/15864354-yes-bananas
     -did-wed-sell-em-cheap.

Horticulture Innovation Australia. Australian Bananas Make Your Body Sing!. 2021. Web. 22 Aug. 2021.
     australianbananas.com.au/.

Koeppel, Dan, Banana - The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World. New York: Plume, 2008. Print.

"L'épopée maritime de la banane." Extra ordinaire Banane. 2020. Web. 12 Oct. 2020
     extraordinairebanane.fr/2019/01/23/lepopee-maritime-de-la-banane/.

Morris, Evan and Kathy Wollard. "Go Bananas." The Word Detective. 2020. Web. 8 Oct. 2020.
     www.word-detective.com/2015/04/go-bananas/.

"Plantains And Banana Crop Producing States in Nigeria." Finelib.com. 2017. Web. 21 Aug. 2021.
     www.finelib.com/about/nigeria-cash-crops/plantains-and-banana-crop-producing-states-in-nigeria/148.

Ploetz, Randy C., Angela Kay Kepler, Jeff Daniells and Scot C. Nelson. "Banana and plantain--an overview with emphasis
     on Pacific island cultivars." Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry. Feb. 2007. Web. 18 Oct. 2020.
     http://www.bananenzeug.ch/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/banana-plantain-overview.pdf.

Shahbandeh, M. "World production of bananas 2019, by region." Statista. 12 Jan. 2021. Web. 10 Feb. 2021.
     www.statista.com/statistics/264003/production-of-bananas-worldwide-by-region/.

"Stamp Scent: Banana 2020." Philatelic Centre of French Polynesia. 2021. Web. 25 Sep. 2021.
     www.tahitiphilatelie.pf/details_timbres.php?annee=2020&id=372&chglangue=us.

"Things to do in Madeira: Visit a Banana Farm." Portugal Farm Experiences. nd. Web. 24 Sept. 2021.
     www.portugalfarmexperience.com/blog/things-to-do-in-madeira-visit-a-banana-farm/.

Workman, Daniel. "Bananas Exports by Country." World's Top Exports. 2021. Web. 21 Aug. 2021.
     www.worldstopexports.com/bananas-exports-country/.

"World Banana Production by Country." Atlas Big. 2021. Web. 21 Aug. 2021.
     www.atlasbig.com/en-ie/countries-by-banana-production.



Visit this external site to read about Fair Trade Canada's
Campaign to Promote Fairness in the Banana Industry


Go to the Grose Educational Media Home Page.


© Derrick Grose, 2021