Chemistry on stamps explained

The depiction of chemistry on stamps began in 1923 with the issue of a set of definitive French stamps commemorating the chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur.^[1] Another early chemical stamp depicted the botanist and chemist Herman Boerhaave.^[2] The depiction of chemistry on stamps contributes to chemical education^{[3] [4]} and to the public understanding of science.^{[5] [6]}

Scope

A chemical stamp has one or more of the following characteristics:

• It depicts a chemist, or a polymath who did significant work in the chemical field
• It depicts a chemical concept, such as the periodic table, or a chemical object, such as laboratory glassware
• It depicts a chemical element,^[7] atom,^[8] molecule, symbol or formula
• It commemorates a chemistry event, such as an international congress, or an international year in the chemical field^[9]
• It celebrates the jubilee of a chemistry institution, such as IUPAC or the American Chemical Society^[10]
• It depicts the process of chemistry education, or a building used primarily for chemistry research or education

Stamps may depict a specific area of chemistry such as physical, analytical,^[11] spectroscopic,^[12] organic,^[13] or inorganic.

The following types of material are excluded (although they may also be collected by chemical stamp enthusiasts):

• Postal stationery,^[14] e.g. a postcard depicting a chemist with a non-chemical stamp affixed
• Cinderella, local, private or personal issues, i.e. unofficial stamps
• Non-postal stamps, e.g. revenue stamps^[15]
• Stamps issued by non-existing/unrecognized countries and/or in excess of actual postal requirements

Examples

Chemists

Stamps depicting individual chemists are often issued by countries to commemorate the birth or death anniversaries of their significant national chemists,^[16] for example stamps issued by Russia celebrating Dmitri Mendeleev. Examples are illustrated in the gallery above. Some countries have also issued stamps depicting internationally famous chemists such as Marie Curie^{[17] [18]} or Alfred Nobel.

Chemical concepts and objects

Stamps depicting a chemical concept or object, sometimes combined with a portrait of the chemist responsible for inventing the concept or object, are generally issued as commemorative stamps rather than definitive stamps. Examples are shown in the gallery above: a 1951 American stamp illustrating chemical industry and also celebrating the diamond jubilee of the American Chemical Society,^[10] a 1971 Russian stamp illustrating Rutherford Scattering, a 1976 American stamp depicting Laboratory glassware, and a 1979 German stamp illustrating nuclear fission and also commemorating Otto Hahn's 1944 Nobel prize in chemistry.

Chemical elements, symbols, formulae, organisations and events

Stamps depicting a chemical symbol or formula are frequently depicted together with the chemist they are primarily associated with. Examples are shown in the gallery above: a 1964 German stamp illustrating the benzene structure associated with August Kekulé, a 1965 Russian stamp commemorating the 1965 IUPAC meeting in Moscow, a 2008 Uzbeki stamp illustrating the element gold, a 2011 Romanian stamp depicting the electron structure of Tellurium and the chemist F.J. Müller, and a 2011 Indonesian stamp issued for the International Year of Chemistry.

Publications

The chemists Edgar Heilbronner and Foil Miller published the book A philatelic ramble through chemistry in 1998 (reissued in 2004)^[19] which was well reviewed.^{[20] [21] [22] [23]} Prior to this, Foil Miller and George Kauffman had published a series of articles on Alfred Nobel, and on Nobel Laureates in Chemistry in The Journal of Chemical Education.^{[24] [25] [26] [27]}

Daniel Rabinovich is the current leading writer in the field having published articles on the International Year of Chemistry,^[17] the International System of Units,^[28] the International Year of the Periodic Table,^[29] Roald Hoffmann,^[30] and also making presentations on the subject to chemistry departments and at chemistry conferences.^[31]

The Chemistry and Physics on Stamps Study Unit (CPOSSU) of the American Topical Association has published a members' journal Philatelia Chimica et Physica since 1979.^[32]

Listings of new issues of chemical stamps are included in the monthly Scott Stamp magazine and in Linn's Stamp News; they are also available online from October 2010 to date in the Science & Technology section.^[33]

External links

• Rabinovich, Daniel (2020). The world of chemistry on postage stamps

Notes and References

1. Klickstein. Herbert S.. Leicester. Henry M.. Philately - A Chapter in the History of Chemistry. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. 1947. 2. 3. 337–378 . 10.1093/jhmas/ii.3.337. 20266807 .
2. Schaeffer. H.F.. Philately serves chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education. May 1934. 11. 5. 259-266. 10.1021/ed011p259. 1934JChEd..11..259S .
3. Rappoport. Zvi. Chemistry on Stamps (Chemophilately). Accounts of Chemical Research. 1992. 25. 24-31. 10.1021/ar00013a004.
4. Schreck. James O.. Postage Stamps as a Teaching Tool in Chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education. April 1986. 63. 4. 283-287. 10.1021/ed060p128.
5. Book: Yardley. Christopher B.. 2015. The representation of science and scientists on postage stamps. ANU Press. Canberra. 978-19250-2178-3.
6. Krall. Madison A.. Parks. Melissa M.. Krebs. Emily. Mann. Benjamin W.. Maison. Kourtney. Jensen. Robin E.. Chemistry in the mail: Stamps from around the globe and public science communication in the twentieth century. Public Understanding of Science. 2022. 31. 2. 136–151 . 10.1177/09636625211032465. 34319183 .
7. Norkus. Povilas. Norkus. Eugenijus. Vaitaitis. Albert P.. Chemistry in philately 1. Symbols of chemical elements. Chemija. 2007. 18. 4. 21-33.
8. Morgan. Michael A.. A Postage Stamp History of the Atom, Part II: The Quantum Era. Philatelia Chimica et Physica. 2006. 28. 1. 35-43.
9. Rabinovich. Daniel. The International Year of Crystallography (2014): A Philatelic Celebration. Chemistry International. 2014. 36. 6. 39-42. 10.1515/ci-2014-0636. free.
10. Web site: American Chemical Society Issue . Lovell . Jeffrie H.. Smithsonian National Postal Museum . 13 August 2024.
11. Ullman. Alan H.. Analytical Chemists on Postage Stamps. Analytical Chemistry. June 1982. 545. 7. 780A–785A . 10.1021/ac00244a001. 7049000 .
12. Miller. Foil A.. The History of Spectroscopy as Illustrated on Stamps. Applied Spectroscopy. May 1983. 37. 3. 219-225. 10.1366/0003702834634488. 1983ApSpe..37..219M .
13. Schreck. James O.. Organic Chemistry on Postage Stamps. Journal of Chemical Education. August 1989. 66. 8. 624-630. 10.1021/ed066p624. 1989JChEd..66..624S .
14. Web site: Postal stationery offers collecting variety . Rick . Miller . . 14 January 2012 . 8 May 2024.
15. Book: Philatelic Terms Illustrated . Mackay . James . 4th . Stanley Gibbons Limited . 2003 . 170 . 9780852595572.
16. Caswell. Lyman R.. American Chemists and Physicists on Postage Stamps. Journal of Chemical Education. October 1990. 67. 10. 842-847. 10.1021/ed067p842. 1990JChEd..67..842C .
17. Rabinovich. Daniel. An IYC Philatelic Tribute to Marie Curie. Chemistry International. 2011. 33. 6. 44-45. 10.1515/ci.2011.33.6.44. free.
18. Web site: Marie Curie on stamps. 26 November 2018. 2024-08-12. allaboutstamps.co.uk.
19. Book: Heilbronner. E.. Miller. F.A.. A philatelic ramble through chemistry. Wiley-VCH. 2004. Zürich. 268. 3-906390-31-4.
20. Rabinovich. Daniel. Book & Media Reviews: A Philatelic Ramble through Chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education. August 1998. 75. 8. 958. 10.1021/ed075p958. free.
21. Doumas. B. T.. A Philatelic Ramble through Chemistry by E. Heilbronner and F.A. Miller. Clinical Chemistry. 11 November 2004. 51. 1. 279–280. 10.1373/clinchem.2004.035626. free.
22. Craig. Peter J.. Book Review: A philatelic ramble through chemistry. Applied Organometallic Chemistry. 2005. 19. 220. 10.1002/aoc.769.
23. Sharkey. John B.. Book Reviews: A Philatelic Ramble through Chemistry. Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. American Chemical Society. 2005. 30. 1. 51-53.
24. Miller. Foil A.. Kauffman. George B.. Alfred Nobel and Philately: The Man, His Work, and His Prizes. Journal of Chemical Education. October 1988. 65. 10. 843-846. 10.1021/ed065p843. 1988JChEd..65..843M .
25. Miller. Foil A.. Kauffman. George B.. Nobel Laureates in Chemistry - A Philatelic Survey. Part I. 1901-1910. Journal of Chemical Education. June 1990. 67. 6. 451-456. 10.1021/ed067p451. 1990JChEd..67..451K .
26. Miller. Foil A.. Kauffman. George B.. Nobel Laureates in Chemistry - A Philatelic Survey. Part II. 1911-1934. Journal of Chemical Education. July 1990. 67. 7. 569-574. 10.1021/ed067p569. 1990JChEd..67..569K .
27. Miller. Foil A.. Kauffman. George B.. Nobel Laureates in Chemistry - A Philatelic Survey. Part III. 1935-1988. Journal of Chemical Education. September 1990. 67. 9. 774-781. 10.1021/ed067p774. 1990JChEd..67..774K .
28. Rabinovich. Daniel. A Philatelic Tribute to the SI. Chemistry International. 2010. 32. 6. 4-5. 10.1515/ci.2010.32.6.4. free.
29. Rabinovich. Daniel. IYPT and The Mother of All Tables. Chemistry International. 2019. 41. 4. 60-62. 10.1515/ci-2019-0433. free.
30. Rabinovich. Daniel. Roald Hoffmann: Around the World in Eighty Years. Philatelia Chimica et Physica. 2017. 38. 4. 144-148.
31. Web site: Hydrogen to Copernicium: Postage Stamps as Cultural Icons in the IYC. Rabinovich. Daniel. 2011.
32. Web site: PCP Index to Volumes 1-20 (1979-1998). 2024-08-12. CPOSSU.
33. Web site: Stamp programs: by topic. August 2024. Linn's Stamp News.