The following collection of stamps is from the personal collections of Ismail Abdallah Mohammed Yousif. Ismail, a teacher and journalist, lived in Omdurman and had turned his house into a museum for the community. He also frequently participated in festivals and exhibitions to showcase his collection which includes over 1,000 magazines, many of which date from the 1950-70s, and over 1,000 objects including newspapers, stamps, objects such jewellery, antique kitchenware, gramophones, film projectors and much more.

These stamps, as well as many of the items in his collection, are published on the Sudan Memory site.

Sudan has a long history of stamps going back to pre-independence and the famous camel postman design. Stamps commemorating momentous events such as the country’s independence from British rule received prime position in the media. “Newly formed cabinet holds its first meeting. Sudan independence commemorative stamps go on sale,” is the headline of The Sudan Times in 1956 (National Records Office collection of newspapers on the Sudan Memory website). Since then, stamps have become a record of the different interpretations of national identity throughout Sudan’s history.

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Cover picture © Sudanese stamps commemorating the centenary of the Karari Invasion - 150 dinars. (National Records Office collection of manuscripts on the Sudan Memory website).