The William Farquhar's unique collection of Natural History Drawings consists of 477 drawings that he had commissioned and compiled during his years as Commandant and Resident of Melaka from 1803 - 1818. He was the Commandant and Resident of Singapore from 1819 - 1823.

The drawings were done by unidentified Chinese artists who may have moved to Malacca and other areas in the Malay world from Guangdong, China. The Farquhar Collection is unique as the drawings are a combination of a high degree of scientific detail and accuracy (as demanded by European botanists) and traditional Chinese painting aesthetics.

In 1995, Mr Goh Geok Khim donated the entire collection to the Singapore History Museum where it is now displayed.

We have specially selected 40 drawings from the Collection on fruits, plants, animals, reptiles and fishes to be featured on our stamps and released over two issues, hence allowing collectors to own miniature pieces of this beautiful Collection.

In the first issue (to be released on 20 Feb 2002), 10 drawings from the collection on "Animals & Reptiles" and another 10 on "Fruits & Plants" will be featured. A se-tenant sheet of 10 designs as well as First Day Cover are available for each theme. The sheets come in self-adhesive version as well. A presentation pack with both se-tenant sheets can also be purchased.