Maps on Stamps

When I started this blog, nearly two years ago, my intention was to highlight my own scattered collections of map memorabilia. In fact, I have scanned many map postcards from my collection, as well as shirts, mugs, Christmas ornaments, advertising, etc. However, the one thing I haven't covered yet, in spite of being the first thing mentioned in my masthead, is stamps. I have a small collection (compared to serious stamp collectors) of stamps featuring maps. Unfortunately, I have not got around to scanning them.

However, this morning, while searching for something else (a simple way to compare the area of states and countries) I came across this image of a Mexican stamp, issued in 1977, to mark the resumption of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Spain:



On his website, Dan of Dan's Topical Stamps, points out that here is a difference in scale between Mexico and Spain. If Mexico were drawn to the same scale as Spain, it would be about four times larger. While it might have been a geographically correct stamp, it might not have been politically correct, nor as aesthetically pleasing.

While browsing through Dan's Topical Stamps, I found several other interesting map stamps.

Here is a drawing of Gandhi caricatured as India:



A Dutch stamp with a Frisian cow whose spots are maps of European countries, including the Netherlands, Great Britain, Ireland and Italy:



The first postal map stamp issued by the United States was issued in 1904 to commemorate the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase:



Hopefully in the next few months I'll get around to sharing some of my own map stamps.