Sir Joseph Banks Building, Kew Gardens, London, UK
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 51° 29.061 W 000° 17.605
30U E 687919 N 5707162
The Sir Joseph Banks building and a Cycad plant graced the low value of a 1990 set of Great Britain stamps celebrating the 150th anniversary of London’s Kew Gardens.
Waymark Code: WMYKG3
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/25/2018
Views: 4
The building pictured on the stamp was completed in 1985 and was relatively new when this stamp was issued in 1990. It is located near the Elizabeth Gate of Kew Gardens and was designed to house the garden’s Economic Botany Collection. It was named for eighteenth-century British naturalist and botanist, Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820). Banks accompanied Captain James Cook on his 1768–1771 voyage to the south Pacific and was instrumental in building the Royal Garden at Kew into a preeminent botanical collection.
One of the oldest plant specimens at Kew Gardens is an Eastern Cape Giant Cycad from South Africa. It was brought to London in 1775 by Francis Masson, an early plant collector. It’s currently located in the Palm House and is believed to be one of oldest potted plants in the world. Masson was sent on his plant-collecting trip by none other than Joseph Banks, the man after whom the building is named.
In addition to housing the Economic Botany Collection (in a climate-controlled area of the facility), the Sir Joseph Banks building can serve as a venue for social gatherings. The west wing (the side that’s seen on the stamp) can be rented for corporate events, parties, weddings and other social functions.
Stamp Issuing Country: Great Britain
Date of Issue: 5-Jun-1990
Denomination: 20p
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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