After Klatch had rejected the idea of sharing an Offler design for a stamp with Djelibeybi, Teemer and Spools had to come up with a design that would please the Serif. They design team came up with a phoenix in a suitable ethnic frame.
It has been supposed that a 6 Anna Iraq stamp from 1930 may have acted as the model for the Klatchian stamps. But a close look reveals several significant differences such as the light and dark diamonds being reversed to dark and light. I put it down to one of those coincidences caused by quantum leakage between the two universes.




The Klatchian stamps have little behind to show their development. The exception to this is a rather busy colour options sheet (click it to see a larger image). This shows the range of colours that may have been chosen for the stamps - perhaps with the exception of the sky blue, which clearly would not work. Colour schemes used for the issued 50 Wol and 10 Wol are present on the sheet.

The sheet layout is much as the released stamp sheet, down to the near-indecipherable text in the margin. I reckon there is a PhD from the University of Buggerup waiting for someone who can translate the text used on the sheets from Klatch, Djelibeybi and Tsort.

This print out shows some of the colour combinations considered with some of the bicoloured variations, and the original file name. Sheets like these would have been submitted for choice and approval. Included is the artwork from which the phoenix image was adapted. It probably had Masonic origins before being used for the Klatchian stamps. Note that the colours deepen as they progress down the stamp design. This is a reflection of the fact that Klatch rarely has a cloud in the sky, and so there is some sun-induced colour fade!

The phoenix stamps were released during the Year of the Three Roses.The 10 wol tamps were printed in a sheet of 36 with one sport per sheet. This sport is unusual in that there are two slight design changes, The phoenix`s eye is squinting and there are slightly less feather at the wing joint. The 50 wol stamps are slightly larger and printed on sheets of 32. Again there is one sport on the sheet and again it is difficult to spot. There is an extra small lick of flame under the phoenix`s wing.

During the Year of the Complicated Monkey a 2 wol value was added to the Klatch stamp list. The sport has the lower part of the phoenix’s beak missing.

The Year of the Backward-facing Artichoke saw the first airmail stamp from Discworld, made only possible by Klatch`s magic carpet post. The 20 Wol stamp has a sheet sport, with the postman being extra careless with his letters. Note the selvedge inscriptions.