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Ethnographic Series Two

One solution to runaway inflation in 1994 was to print definitive postage stamps with "floating" values, which could be adjusted to current postage rates. This second ethnographic series continued to be used for the rest of the decade. These are the stamps that I used in creating the Ukrainian Stamps banner on these web pages.

Tavrian shepherd (A value) Chumak salt traders (V value) Women reapers (B value) Hay cutters (G value)
Plowmen (D value) Fisherman (Zh value) Beekeepers (E value) Potter (Ye value)

The stamps represent:

  • "A" - Shepherd from Tavria Region playing a reed pipe called a sopilka.
  • "B" - Women reapers (zhnitsi) harvesting grain
  • "V" - Chumak-salt traders from Sloboszanka Region transporting goods
  • "H" - Hay-cutters (kosari) from Bukovyna Region
  • "D" - Plowmen from the Poldillia region in south-western Ukraine. There are three different plows, drwan by one, two and three pairs of Ukrainian longhorn cattle. Except the the blades, the plows were made entirely of wood.
  • "Zh" -Fisherman on the Dnipro, a river to the Black Sea. The fish is a giant catfish called a "som." The fisherman would beat the water with a flat stick called a "klokusha."
  • "E" - Beekeepers. From ancient times, Ukraine was known as a land of honey. The beehives are made from round tree trunks.
  • "Ye" - Potter or ceramics maker, called a "honchar," from the Poltava region, which is renowned for its fine clay. The various pottery shapes all have special names and uses.