Amusing Stamps From Prc

Hi,
I am sorting through so stamps from the Peoples Republic of China from the 1960s and 70s. My wife and I were really amused by this one so I thought I would share.

Here is the stamp:



This stamp is called "Athletes Studying Theory of Dictatorship of the Proletariat".

What? How would anyone get that from the stamp? How would you know they were athletes? They are not dressed in anything I would
associate with athletes - but maybe only athletes wore western clothes then? Also how would you know what they were studying? I would imagine that
the Dictatorship of the Proletariat would be pretty heavy reading. But these two are grinning like they are reading Sports
Illustrated. And what is up with all the sunflowers in the background?

I think what I like best about this is that it is such a complicated concept to try to get across on a postage stamp - but that didn't stop the designers from trying.

John Paul

very interesting...hmmmmmmm

Interesting John Paul:

Thanks for sharing. I guess that's why they call it propaganda.

KirkS

The stamp was designed to be used by mainland Chinese, who would readily recognize what it depicted.

Remember the stamp was issued in 1975. Think about the clothing worn by tennis players of that time (Ashe, Conners, McEnroe...), and you will see it is not really too far off the beaten path.

Of course, the book title is in Chinese, not English (that's probably why you didn't recognize it)

Grinning while reading the political books -- yeah it's funny, but that was the art style then. It's the equivalent of political "spin" here in the states.

As far as the sunflowers -- agreed, that's really weird! A little too happy happy.

By the way, some of the PRC issues of the late 1960s and early 1970s have a pretty decent premium. You might have some, so handle them with care!

Thanks for sharing this with us John Paul.

khj thanks for enlightening us.

Dianne

Here is another one:



This one is called "Former 'slave' lead into battle by criticism of Lin Pao and Confucius"

I like that the stamp is not emphasizing that the communist government freed the man from slavery, but rather that it exposed him to works of political/literary criticism. In the US the government propaganda would be more inclined to cite basic values - liberty or justice or whatever. In this and the athletes stamp, however, the emphasis is more on exposure to academic works.

Also, I like that the battle he is being lead into is apparently taking place in some kind of stadium.


John Paul

Oh no! He's going to shoot those athletes...

And here the athletes thought the dictatorship of the proletariat was all fun and games. No more laughing for them.

By the way, these were from the Cultural Revolution. It's really hard to find stamps from this era and in this condition because most were destroyed after everyone woke up after 1976.

Here is another one:




It celebrates successful arm reattachment surgery. If you look closely you can see that there are marks on his arm which represent where it was severed and reattached.

wd1040: I had wondered if they were rare based on their Scott Catalog values. Unfortunately most of what I have is hinged into an album, but they are nice stamps nonetheless.

Great Observation.

I wonder if John Bobitt deserves a stamp , I think Ecuador Correos could issue the stamp in Lorena's honor..........................LOL

Are they really high? My mom has at least 50 of these hidden in her high school notebook.

I assume you are referring to the "reattached arm" stamp. The 2009 Scott catalog has it valued at $3 for MNH.

I love the art style, which can best be described as "Chinese propaganda poster"...

As a collector of worldwide stamps, I always find it interesting how collectors perceive stamps of our own countries, and then that of other countries.



In principle, it's actually not too much different from several US stamps of the same era (i.e., the Bicentennial issues); consider the simple quotations of the First Continental Congress Issue, the Contributors to the Cause, the famous (in the US/Canada) paintings of the Battle Anniversary Issues...

As you noted, there is a significant art style difference. Ironically, the perception of propaganda poster goes both ways! I find that rather amusing. It's not always just an issue of geopolitics, but I would say cultural background differences contribute significantly to perception. I know I tend to lump things into the term "propaganda" when I am unfamiliar with the event/person/concept being commemorated and the other government has different ideals. But sometimes, one person's propaganda is another person's culture, and vice-versa. Just like I enjoy butterfly stamps from other countries, I enjoy understanding other cultures through their stamps, propaganda or not.

One other major difference. The PRC stamps of that era are currently far more valuable than the same US stamps of that era. How long that will last, I don't know. Relatively speaking, the US market has been far more stable, which can either be a good thing or bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

Enjoy your stamps, everyone!

k

You make a good point, KHJ.

KirkS