Literary Stamp Collecting

Marie-Henri Beyle (1783-1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a French writer known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology. He is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism, as is evident in the novels Le Rouge et le Noir ("The Red and the Black," 1830) and La Chartreuse de Parme ("The Charterhouse of Parma," 1839). Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Stendhal, his books, and scenes from his novels, designed and engraved by Yves Beaujard, and issued by Monaco on April 8, 2008, Scott No. 2494, plus an image of an oil portrait (1840) of the author painted by Swedish artist Johan Olaf Södermark (1790-1848).

- nethryk

Alain-René Le Sage (aka Lesage, 1668-1747) was a French novelist and playwright best known for his comic novel Le Diable boiteux (The Devil upon Two Sticks, 1707), his comedy Turcaret (1709), and his picaresque novel Gil Blas (1715-1735). Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Le Sage, designed and engraved by Jean Pheulpin, and issued by France on May 4, 1968 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the author's birth, Scott No. 1211, Y&T No. 1558, plus an image of an 18th century engraved portrait which may have been the model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk

Amalie Skram (1846-1905) was a Norwegian author and feminist who gave voice to a woman's point of view in her naturalist novels. Here are images of the two stamps in a set designed and engraved by Sverre Morken, and issued by Norway on November 21, 1996 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Skram's birth, Scott Nos. 1139 & 1140, Facit Nos. 1270 & 1271, plus a photo of the author which was the model for the first stamp's design.

- nethryk

Portrait of Amalie Skram as a young woman


Scene from Skram's tetralogy Hellemyrsfolket (The People of Hellemyr, 1887-1898)

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890-1960) was a Russian novelist, poet and literary translator. Outside Russia, Pasternak is best known as the author of Doctor Zhivago (1957), a novel which takes place between the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the Second World War, and which was subsequently made into an epic drama–romance film (1965). Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Pasternak and depicting characters from Doctor Zhivago, designed by Monaco-based Russian artist Gueorgui Gueorguievitch Chichkine (1948- ), engraved by Pierre Albuisson, and issued by Monaco on April 8, 2008 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Pasternak, Scott No. 2495, plus a photo of the author.

- nethryk

Here is an image of a stamp featuring an illustration for The Crimson Coach (1913), a novel by Hungarian author Gyula Krúdy (1878-1933), designed by Hungarian artist János Kass (1927-2010), printed by lithography, and issued by Hungary on October 21, 1978 to commemorate Krúdy's birth centenary, Scott No. 2549, plus a photo of the writer.

- nethryk

Here are images of the six semi-postal (charity) stamps in a set featuring portraits and autographs of French literary greats, designed and engraved by Jacques Jubert, and issued by France on February 23, 1985, Scott Nos. B567-B572, Y&T Nos. 2355-60.

- nethryk

Jules Romains, born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule (1885-1972), poet and writer.


Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (1905-1980), existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic.


Romain Rolland (1866-1944), dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915.


Roland Dorgelès (1885-1973), novelist best known for his book Les croix de bois (Wooden crosses, 1919), a moving study of World War I, in which he served.


Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885), poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. Outside France, his best-known works are the novels Les Misérables, 1862, and Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831 (known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame).


François Charles Mauriac (1885-1970), novelist, dramatist, critic, poet and journalist, and laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1952).

OK, Nethryk; you can't have this thread all to yourself!! I don't read as much as I should, but I'm going to start watching. Where you come up with some of these authors is a mystery! I'll make an inane coment to start - I think Amalie Skram is someone I would have liked to meet - I'm going to do some research on her!! The stamp is an engraving gem, don't you think?

NBSTAMPER - The more the merrier, says I. Amalie Skram seems to have led a troubled personal life. As for the Skram portrait stamp, I would agree that it is beautiful engraving work by one of the world's top living engravers, Sverre Morken. Here is a post about yet another notable Nordic writer:

Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1880-1964) was a Finnish novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1939 "for his deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature." Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Sillanpää, a rural home, and some daisies, designed by Finnish artist Eeva Oivo, printed by lithography, and issued by Finland on April 28, 1980, Scott No. 644, Facit No. 870, plus a photo of the author which was the model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk

Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was a popular French novelist and playwright, best known for his sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Balzac, designed and engraved by Claude Andréotto, and issued by Monaco in 1999 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the writer's birth, Scott No. 2129, plus a daguerreotype portrait of Balzac in 1842 by Louis-Auguste Bisson. Note: Judging from the location of the part in the author's hair, Andréotto's design seems to be a mirror-image of the original model.

- nethryk

Minna Canth (born Ulrika Wilhelmina Johnsson, 1844-1897) was a Finnish writer and a social activist for women's rights. Her play "The Pastor's Family" is her best known. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Canth, designed by Swedish graphic artist Signe "Ham" Hammarsten-Jansson (1882-1970), engraved by Alexander Laurén, and issued by Finland on March 20, 1944 to commemorate the author's birth centenary, Scott No. 244, Facit No. 286, plus a photo of Minna Canth.

- nethryk

Happy Birthday to Auguste-Maurice Barrès (1862-1923), a French novelist, journalist and politician who attained prominence in French literature with the release of his trilogy Le Culte du moi ("The Cult of the Self") in 1888. Here is an image of a semi-postal (charity) stamp featuring a profile portrait of Maurice Barrès, designed by French artist André Spitz (1883-1977), engraved by Jean Pheulpin, and issued by France on June 9, 1956, Scott No. B307, Y&T No. 1070, plus a photo of the author in 1923.

- nethryk

Anna, Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles (1876-1933) was a Romanian-French writer who was popular among the intellectual, literary and artistic elite of the day. She wrote three novels, an autobiography, and many collections of poetry. Here is an image of a semi-postal (charity) stamp featuring a portrait of Anna de Noailles, designed by Pierrette Lambert, engraved by Eugène Lacaque, and issued by France on November 6, 1976 to commemorate the writer's birth centenary, plus an image of a portrait (1913) of Anna de Noailles by Hungarian painter Philip Alexius de László (1869-1937).

- nethryk

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, poet and cleric. Here is an image of a stamp depicting a scene from one of Swift's most popular works, Gulliver's Travels (1726), in which Gulliver presents the enemy fleet to the diminutive King and Queen of Lilliput, designed and engraved by Pierre Forget, and issued by Monaco on November 9, 1976 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the publication of the book, Scott No. 1042, plus an image of the title page from the first volume of the original edition. Note the misspelling of Swift's first name on the stamp!

- nethryk

Here are images of the four stamps in a set illustrating scenes from the Chinese epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, printed by photogravure, and issued by China (People's Republic) on November 25, 1988, Scott Nos. 2176-79.

- nethryk

The Three Heroes (Guan Yu, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei) in sworn brotherhood.


Lü Bu's Battle with the Three Heroes at Hulao Pass.


The struggle at Fengyi Pavilion.


Guan Yu at the Battle of the Five Passes.

Happy Birthday to French philosopher, art critic, and writer Denis Diderot (1713-1784), a prominent figure in the Enlightenment, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the Encyclopédie. Here is an image of a semi-postal (charity) stamp featuring a portrait of Diderot, designed and engraved by Eugène Lacaque after an 1767 oil on canvas painting by French painter Louis-Michel van Loo (1707-1771), and issued by France on March 17, 1984 for Stamp Day, Scott No. B565, Y&T No. 2304, plus an image of van Loo's portrait of the writer.

- nethryk