Show Us Your Turkey's On Stamps

Wisconsin Wild Turkey Stamps
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issues Wild Turkey, Waterfowl, and Pheasant stamps for hunting permits and species management projects. A few examples of Wild Turkey stamps (with their designers) are shown here.
Two Toms and Flowering Tree (Arthur Anderson)
Two Turkeys in Snow (Doug Moore)
Turkeys Walking in Fall Forest (Terry Doughty)
Three Turkeys in Snowy Field (Robert Leum)

In Ghana the turkey has also become quite common on poultry farms; 1993)



(Hi Kuol, Beautiful additions; I admire the skill of such wildlife artists in creating pictures with atmosphere. K.)

The Norfolk or Spanish Black was developed in Europe from the Aztec turkeys originally brought from Mexico by Spanish explorers. Black turkeys were a relative rarity among New World flocks, but Europeans heavily selected for this trait until it became predominant. The "Norfolk Black" is generally considered the oldest turkey breed in the UK. One stamp in the set of 10 farm animals, 2005.

This (most likely white) turkey appeared as part of a large set of stamps depicting Bulgarian farm animals in 1991.

Arkansas Wild Turkey stamps
Issued by Arkansas Wild Turkey Trust
1998 - Turkey Mountain Gobblers by Eddie LeRoy
1999 - Miller Point Gobblers by Robert Hautman

The famous French artist of the 16th century, Pierre Gourdelle, did the turkeys pictured on the Portuguese stamp of 2007. The original is in a museum in Paris. The stamp honors the heritage of plants and animals from the Americas in a set also showing potatoes, corn and cocoa. And another rendition by Gourdelle for good measure. Perhaps he even saw live birds, but then he surely would have included the "beard" in his drawing.



(Kuol, Beautiful Arkansas turkeys! K.)

Sao Tomé and Principe issued a stamp showing a small family of turkeys that look as if they were out in the wild. Maybe in the national forest, which makes up a major part of the southern island; on the other hand poultry farming is an important segment of agriculture.

John James Audubon again. Wouldn't it be nice if the USPS were to put out a real set in his honor?



(Buriatia is a real place, and this is a real scan of a real stamp I found on the web, but Buriatia doesn't have a real licence to issue stamps, and thus such stamps can only be used as a decoration or to make money on unsuspecting collectors. But it was fun finding out where that Russian province lies. Probably too cold for turkeys there anyway. K.)

This stamp of Benin illustrates the raising of turkeys. It's one of the few turkey stamps that depicts hens and chicks, not to mention an egg.

Another illustration of a turkey family; USSR 1990 .



(one of the final years in which stamps with CCCP were issued before ROSSIJA was introduced in the spring of 1992, followed by RUSSIA sometime in 2006; Alexey will know more detail of that, K.)

A New Zealand tom turkey in the barnyard. One stamp in a set of 10 illustrating domesticated animals, 1995.

Minnesota Wild Turkey stamps
Issued by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Turkey Tom and Hen in Woods
1997 - by Jim Hautman
1998 - by Michael Sieve

The Ukraine issued a colorful sheet of stamps for Christmas in 2013. One is a plump tom turkey in his seasonal finery.

The newest (2017) portrait of a gobbler. The Bronzé d´ Amérique breed of turkey is dark but has bronze highlights in his plumage. Note that also France no longer prints the denomination on some issues for normal national letters.

Another Guinea Bissau poultry barnyard with a turkey.