St Lucia, Banana Tallies, CASTRIES, Antilles Products Ltd, uniface red fibre, c. 1953, stamped ap, 29mm, 1.38g (Lyall 454; Devaux type 1; Ford 688; Tankersley 382). Very fine, rare £30-40

Provenance: Gift of Major Thompson (a director of Geest) 1965.

Antilles Products Ltd, established as banana exporters in Dominica in October 1948. Despite the company’s uncomfortable relationship with the Colonial Development Corporation, Antilles began shipping bananas from St Lucia in 1951, although it continued to have difficulty chartering regular ships for the purpose. John van Geest, the Dutch entrepreneur, acquired a shareholding in the company in December 1952 and, after the majority Irish owners decided to sell the company to Lord Vestey, head of the Blue Star Line, intervened as a white knight and took it over in June 1954, changing the name to Geest Industries Ltd