A Gallery of Graphics Stamps
Many of these pages are still under construction, as noted; please check back again later
"A Gallery of Graphics Stamps" is a page that will never be complete or completely up-to-date.  It
represents the breadth of three interrelated topics: graphic communications, the history of the book, and
printing history, from prehistoric cave paintings to the latest graphics technologies.  The story of how
humans have communicated graphically is a long and fascinating one, and virtually every stage has
been represented by postage stamps. What follows is a selection to represent the following categories.

Please click on any entries that are underscored and blue to view thumbnails of postage stamps
representing that topic.  Click on the thumbnail to see enlarged views of each stamp.
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1. Primitive records, including cave paintings
2. Early writing media, excluding paper (See #9)
  1. Clay tablets
  2. Papyrus
  3. Parchment and vellum
  4. Others (e.g., Stone, Wax)
3. Manuscript books and written documents
  1. The Bible Dead Sea Scrolls  
  2. The Holy Bible (including Missals and people holding
    Bibles and Missals)
  3. The Holy Koran
  4. Other books in manuscript (including production
    sites, such as monasteries)
4. Writing and calligraphy (including implements and
    tools)
5. Alphabets and languages
  1. Jean-François Champollion
  2. Trajan Column and other Roman inscriptions
  3. Other alphabets and languages
6. Book formats (non-codex)
  1. Braille
  2. Scrolls
  3. Asian formats (such as palm leaf books)
  4. Other formats (such as horn books)
7. People and graphics history
  1. Scribes (including Petrarch, Cyril, and Methodius)
  2. Johann Gutenberg
  3. Benjamin Franklin
  4. Other printers (including first country printers,
    printers' devices and marks, and those who developed
    the technology of printing and related technology)
8. Graphics equipment and technology
  1. Woodblock printing  
  2. Printing presses
  3. Type composition
  4. Other printing-related equipment
  5. Printing plants and buildings      
9. History of papermaking
10. Printed books
  1. The Holy Bible (printed) and Missals
  2. The Holy Koran (printed)
  3. First books printed in a country
  4. Manuscripts with their authors
  5. Books with their authors
  6. People with or near books
  7. Other famous printed books

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11. Book publishers and publishing
12. The book as symbol and motif  
  1. Literacy campaigns
  2. Freedom to Read
  3. International Year of the Book (1972)
  4. Book Day(s) and Book Week(s)  
  5. Other campaigns and programs
13. Libraries, archives, and postal museums
  1. International Library week
14. Reading and writing
  1. People reading
  2. People writing
15. Job printing
  1. Advertising
  2. Posters
  3. Maps
  4. Other job printing
16. Illuminations and illustrations
  1. Illuminations
  2. Illustrations
  3. Albrecht Dürer
17. Newspaper and periodical publishing
  1. Actual newspapers and periodicals
  2. Journalists and press associations
  3. Generic or symbolic newspapers
  4. Philatelic publications
18. Graphic and type design
  1. Slania
  2. Others
19. Stamps on stamps
  1. Roland Hill
  2. Stamp designers
  3. Stamp and post day celebrations
  4. Philatelic exhibitions
  5. Post office buildings
  6. First stamp issues in a country
  7. Other significant stamp issues
  8. Stamp collecting
  9. Stamp innovations (e.g., holograms)
20. Bookbinding
21. Book fairs and exhibitions
Last updated on 5 January 2018