This caused diplomatic problems because of the borders- can you guess why?
Peron's inaugural, 1946. Only his right hand is visible.
Evita's death, 1952
Perón falls, September 1955
Chile: using a 16th Century poem as the starting point for their Antarctic claim
Chile: Pinochet era stamp celebrating the 1973 fall of Allende
Allende (Pres 1970-1973): a post Pinochet era stamp
Pablo Neruda: Nobel prize-winning poet who died shortly after the 1973 coup
Cuba: Victory of the Castro Revolution, 1 January 1959
Cuban Revolution: landing of the Granma
Cuban Revolution: the Bay of Pigs, April 1961
Cuban Revolution: Camilo Cienfuegos
Che Guevara
Book description from the Publisher:
In Miniature Messages, Jack Child analyzes Latin American postage stamps, revealing the messages about history, culture, and politics that nations have encoded in the design and text of their stamps and disseminated to their populations and to the rest of the world. While postage stamps are a sanctioned production of official government agencies, Child argues that they accumulate popular cultural value and take on new meanings as they circulate in the public sphere. As he demonstrates in this richly illustrated study, the postage stamp conveys many of the contestations and triumphs of Latin American history.
Child combines history, political science, and philatelic research involving the collection and examination of nearly 40,000 Latin American stamps. He focuses on Argentina and the Southern Cone, highlighting stamps that indicated the consolidation of the Argentine republic and those produced under the Peronist regime. He describes how Argentine postal authorities have made ample use of slogans through their postmarks, delivering messages ranging from the patriotic ("San Martin consolidated the freedom of America with his sword"), to the nationalist ("Always ask for products made in Argentina"), to the public health notice ("To spit on the floor is to sow microbes"). Child considers postage stamps issued by dictatorial regimes in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, and Nicaragua. He compares Chilean stamps issued by the leftist government of Salvador Allende and by Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, and he studies how international conflicts have been depicted on the stamps of Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Child also covers the cultural and political history of stamps in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Grenada, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In Miniature Messages Child finds the political history of modern Latin America in its "tiny posters." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
"Miniature Messages is a trailblazing study that demonstrates how an unfamiliar approach can throw light on different aspects of Latin American history, politics, and culture."--David Bushnell, author of Simon Bolivar: Liberation and Disappointment
"The thoroughness and in-depth coverage of Miniature Messages are remarkable. Jack Child is probably the only person to possess the requisite knowledge and background to combine political science, history, and philately so well."--Frank Nuessel, author of Linguistic Approaches to Hispanic Literature --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
"Behind the Cover" article (why I wrote the book)
Behind the Cover (Behind the Book?) by Jack Child (this: 10 Aug 2008)
Miniature Messages: the Semiotics and Politics of Latin American Postage Stamps (Durham: Duke University Press, 2008)
The goal of this book was to take a theoretical approach (semiotics - the study of messages) and apply it using a multidisciplinary approach to the history and politics (national and international) of the smallest icons of Latin American popular culture: postage stamps.
Why bother? It seemed to me that this book would provide a fresh and useful way to see and illustrate various aspects of the field of Latin American studies. I am an interdisciplinary area specialist, and realize that some would say that is a confession of not having any discipline at all. But I have always felt, especially in my teaching enterprise, that anything that could help me understand my field, and communicate that understanding to my students, was worth exploring. Over the years this has included realia such as reproduction of pre-Columbian pottery, art objects, folk art, toys, film, music, and, of course stamps.
Why stamps? Here I confess a personal bias. I have been collecting stamps ever since I was growing up in Argentina in the Perón years, a dual Argentine-US citizen. I began during the classical boyhood "collecting years" between 5 and 10, when children love to put together accumulations of all sorts of things, such as seashells, special toys, sport cards, dead insects, and coins and stamps. Following the usual pattern I set my philatelic activities aside in my teen years when I discovered amateur radio, rugby, spelunking, swimming, fishing and ... girls. But not before realizing that the stamps of the Perón years were far more beautiful and interesting than the rather dreary and predictable ones of the earlier periods.
And so, when I left Argentina at age 18 to attend college in the US (and avoid being drafted into the Argentine Army) I decided to bring my stamps with me as a souvenir of my youth. They sat in a closet until my grad school years when, at the urging of my friend and mentor the late John Finan, I wrote a paper on the stamps of the Perón years. The technology was primitive: the actual stamps or their photocopied images were imbedded in the text along with identifying captions. I did do some semi-serious research at various institutions in the DC area, including the Library of the OAS and the Library of Congress. Upon starting my doctoral work some years later I began to dig more deeply, spending time at the Library of the National Postal Museum and the American Philatelic Society. It also dawned on me that from a legal U.S. perspective, stamps were considered government documents in the public domain, and thus copyright-free unless they were specifically copyrighted, such as when the US Postal Service copyrighted all its images since 1978 in order to be the exclusive outlet for stamp key chains, coffee mugs, etc.
The primary data base for the book was the corpus of some 40,000 Latin American stamps since Brazil issued the first one in the 1840's. Most of the 19th Century ones were easily and quickly examined, since they generally included many versions of the same national heroes and symbols such as crests and flags. But in the 1920's things began to change as nations around the world realized that the postage stamp could deliver original and inexpensive messages to their own citizens and to the people of other nations. The era of the colorful and semiotically rich commemorative stamp had begun, and it was my pleasure to explore and chart those messages.
Armed with this array of copyright-free images I began to prepare 35mm slides of many of my stamps, and to use them in lectures and articles. I also made them available to my students for their presentations and papers. The technology of the computer, the color scanner, and manipulation software (Photoshop) was a giant leap forward, since now it was very simple to produce a digital image of a stamp, size it, and use it in publications and presentation software such as Power Point.
I gratefully acknowledge a debt to a British academic, David Scott, who in 1995 published a pioneering work: European Stamp Design: A Semiotic Approach to Designing Messages (London, Academy Editions). His work was an inspiration, and essentially my book is an attempt to apply his methodology to a different geographic area, using a more interdisciplinary approach.
A secondary goal of the project was to assemble an easily available collection of digital images for use by others. In the process of researching and writing the book I accumulated some 5,000 digital images of the stamps of Latin America (to include South American Antarctica and the Malvinas/Falklands). One hundred and fifty six of these color images were used in the book, and the Duke University Press editors are to be commended for the excellent treatment of my original 300 dpi images. I placed over 2800 of these images on a CD-ROM in a couple of formats: JPEG Photoshop, and Microsoft Word. It was not feasible to include the CD with the book, so in the Introduction I offered to send a free copy of the CD to anyone who purchased the book. My intent is to continue adding images to subsequent versions of the CD. Although the CD is free shareware, we asked that a contribution to cover reproduction and mailing costs be made to The Language and Foreign Studies Department at American University.
For me, this 60-year project has been a labor of love which allowed me to bring together a hobby, computer skills, and professional interests, as well as the hope that the work will be useful to other academics, educators, and students, both as a scholarly monograph as well as a rich source of copyright-free digital images.
Here is the Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION
1. SEMIOTICS, POPULAR CULTURE, POLITICS AND STAMPS
2. AN OVERVIEW OF LATIN AMERICAN POSTAGE STAMPS
3. INTERNAL POLITICS AND LATIN AMERICAN STAMPS
4. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND LATIN AMERICAN STAMPS
5. ARGENTINA
6. THE FALKLANDS/MALVINAS
7. SOUTH AMERICAN ANTARCTICA
8 OTHER MINIATURE MESSAGES OF NOTE
CONCLUSIONS
Color plates: 16 color plates with 156 stamp images.
Preface
This book is in a sense the culmination of a project begun six decades ago in Argentina. Or as a colleague put it, "a sixty-year old hobby gone pedantic." I grew up in Argentina during the Perón years as a dual U.S.-Argentine citizen. Like others in early boyhood I collected stamps, and remember being fascinated by the changes from the older and rather undistinguished pre-Perón stamps to the larger, more colorful and far more interesting ones of the 1945-1955 period. Typically, when I entered high school my interest in philately diminished as I discovered rugby, swimming, fishing, amateur radio, and girls. But I never got rid of my stamp collection and it accompanied me to the United States as I began college (and evaded being drafted into the Argentine Army).
My philatelic interests remained dormant until I began graduate school at American University's School of International Service, where as something of a lark, and with the encouragement of my friend and mentor the late John Finan, I wrote a term paper on "Argentine Politics through its Postage Stamps" (it never got published so there is no formal citation). The technology was primitive: the actual stamps were mounted on paper with brief captions below. The last semester of my M.A. program the paper was expanded, and more serious research at the Library of Congress and the Columbus Library of the Organization of American States began. The second paper used more sophisticated technology (photocopies of stamps) and some analytical tools picked up in graduate seminars. I began to make connections between the stamps and historical and socio-political events in Latin America. In some cases, such as the conflict situations described in Chapter 5 of this book, it was evident that the stamps themselves were potential contributors to international tension. Further, contrary to what I had been taught in Argentina, the rest of the world did not necessarily agree that the Malvinas Islands and a big piece of Antarctica belonged to Argentina, and there were stamps available to show these differences of opinion on both sides.
In subsequent professional activities and doctoral work (also at American's SIS) I continued to develop linkages between postage stamps and events in the Hemisphere, and used 35mm slide technology to make presentations at various conferences and other events using postage stamps as illustrations. Interestingly, most postage stamps, being government documents, are in the public domain and are thus not subject to copyright limitations. This moved me to use them as illustrations in several books and articles. Editors were not always understanding or helpful, and the quality of some of the reproductions was embarrassing: one article printed several of the stamps upside down; the editor responded that "well, they are in the Southern Hemisphere, aren't they?" Another editor mutilated the stamp photographs by trimming off the perforations and showing the stamps against a white background, making it difficult to perceive that they were postage stamps.
My tenure-track academic career at American began just as the 1982 Anglo-Argentine War broke out, and in a number of presentations and publications relating to the conflict, stamps were used as illustrations of the positions and goals of Argentina and the United Kingdom. By now the technology had shifted to the computer and a break-through combination of digital scanning, graphic manipulation software (Photoshop), and computer-assisted teaching tools on the Web such as Blackboard. Although my 3,000 plus 35mm stamp slides are now increasingly obsolete, their replacement by digitized scanned images is well underway, and their use has now extended to class lectures and presentations by students.
The Malvinas/Falklands stamp lectures soon included others linking Antarctica to the islands of the far South Atlantic, and this is turn led to some dozen trips to Antarctica and the Falklands/Malvinas as a guide and lecturer on board expedition cruise ships in which lectures used stamp slides extensively. Membership in key philatelic associations soon followed: The American Philatelic Society, The American Society of Polar Philatelists, The Falkland Islands Philatelic Study Group, and the Carto-Philatelic Society.
About five years ago these various pedagogical, academic, and philatelic threads came together with an analytical framework focusing on semantics and semiotics. Serendipitously, I ran across David Scott's work dealing with a semiotic approach to European stamp design, and wondered if something similar could be done for Latin America. I also was exposed to the use of fake postage stamps for political, satirical and humorous goals by authors such as Garry Trudeau and the Michael Thompson-Michael Hernández de Luna duo. In the Latin American context the work of author-philatelist Ríus , provided the answer that yes, this was a fruitful field of study.
And so began extensive research in the OAS Library, the Library of Congress, and the Libraries of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum and the American Philatelic Society. There were some setbacks: the University's Research Committee turned down a request for funding on the grounds that while the approach was interesting, it fell short of their funding criteria. A sympathetic dean (Kay Mussell of the College of Arts and Sciences) stepped in with funding for a week-long visit to the American Philatelic Society's extensive library in State College, which also was basis for a research note in the Society's Philatelic Literature Review.
In mid 2003 the waters of academic legitimacy were tested with the submission of an article on the semiotics and politics of Latin American postage stamps to the premier journal in the field, the Latin American Research Review of the Latin American Studies Association. To my delight their response (and that of their referees) was quick and encouraging, and I very much appreciate the support of Editor Peter Ward and Managing Editor Shannon Halley. After some relatively minor changes, it was published in February 2005, and became the first LARR article with color illustrations. The12 stamps featured were prepared using scanning and graphic manipulation technology. The linkage to Latin American popular culture was also significant in that starting in Fall 2003 we have taught a course each semester on the subject, using postage stamps as one element of popular culture which is available for analysis. In preparing the LARR article I discovered something that is also true for this book: the process of finding, analyzing, scanning and manipulating the stamps and their digitized images can be more time-consuming that the actual writing of the manuscript. To paraphrase my friend and colleague Richard Millett, we don't enjoy writing, but we enjoy having written, and spending time with the stamps involved.
One by-product of this project is a CD-RoM containing approximately 2,000
images of Latin American postage stamps, including all the ones cited in
this book. They are available in JPEG format (Macintosh or MS-DOS) as well
as on Power Point slides which provide a brief note on the historical, political
and cultural significance of the stamp. As explained in Chapter 1, these
images are copyright-free since they are government documents in the public
domain, and are thus available for use in lectures, publications, and student
presentations. The CD-RoM is available on a no-charge shareware basis from
the author: Dr. Jack Child, Department of Language and Foreign Studies,
American University, Washington, DC, 20016. Tel: 202-885-2385; email: jchild@american.edu.
Although there is no charge for the CD-RoM, we request that a small donation
to support reproduction and handling of the CD-RoM and updates be made to:
Spanish-Latin American Studies Restricted Fund, Department of Language and
Foreign Studies, American University, Washington, DC, 20016.
The book's purpose and scope
Stamps can have impact. In late June 2005 the Mexican Post Office released a set of five postage stamps portraying the classic comic book character Memín Pinguín, a small and mischievous Black boy with pronounced Sambo-like features. The stamps were immediately perceived as portraying a racist stereotype and were harshly denounced by many in the United States, much to the amazement of the Mexicans. President Vicente Fox stated that he was baffled by the indignant reaction across the border and said that he, like many Mexicans, had known and loved this character since he was a boy. Despite comments from the White House that the stamps were offensive, he rejected a request from the Reverend Jesse Jackson that Mexico repudiate the stamps and withdraw them from circulation. In the U.S. Congress a resolution was introduced condemning the Mexican government for "printing and distributing blatantly racist postage stamps." In Mexico there was something of a backlash as Post Offices were crowded by Mexicans anxious to buy the stamps, and defend their cherished comic character, refusing to be pushed around by their northern neighbor (as they saw the situation). On eBay the asking price for the set of stamps, which had a face value of around $3.00, rose to $200, although it is not clear if anyone actually paid that price; after a month the price on eBay had dropped to the high $30's. Mexican intellectuals came to the defense of their Government's position, arguing that the character was not racist and was deeply cherished, especially among poorer Mexicans who identified with him. Several web sites and blogs were launched to address the issue, generally from a viewpoint critical of the U.S. reaction. Although this was an extreme case because of cross-cultural misunderstanding and the sensitivity of race in the U.S.-Mexican relationship, it does serve to illustrate the power that the message on a postage stamp can have. Postage stamps, after all, are official government documents, and their release implies approval by responsible officials. In the Mexican case an Advisory Commission headed by the nation's postmaster general makes design recommendations, which must be approved by the Office of the President.
A less volatile but also powerful message was contained in the 1997 release of a postage stamp of Che Guevara by Argentina on the 30th anniversary of his death in Bolivia. Guevara, a hero to the Latin American left, was reviled by conservative sectors, and especially the military, who in Argentina reacted strongly to the postage stamp. The stamp was denounced by political groups opposed to the government of Peronista Carlos Menem as a ploy to gain favor from the left.
A third example of the political impact of a postage stamp concerns the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, to be discussed further in Chapter 2. In July 2001 the U.S. and Mexican postal authorities issued a dual stamp of one of Frida's self portraits, with the same design on both the Mexican and American stamps. The Frida stamp was released in Arizona amidst comments from Hispanic groups in the U.S. that it was a symbol of diversity which honored one of their own. To the surprise of many in Mexico (and a few in the United States), the stamp was loudly denounced by conservative sectors in the U.S., who argued that it was a travesty to put such an American-hating, militant Communist on a U.S. stamp. The fact that she was an avowed bisexual who indulged in drugs, and had had an extra-marital affair with Leon Trotsky, did nothing to endear her to the U.S. critics.
The purpose of this work is to examine some of the semiotic messages and the politics (national and international) involved in Latin American postage stamps such as these three examples. The argument will be presented that postage stamps, which can be called the smallest icons of Latin American popular culture, frequently carry miniature messages. The case will be made that many of these messages conveyed by Latin American postage stamps are frequently political in nature, involve national cultural identity, and have impact on a country's citizens as well as on the image that is projected abroad of a country.
This use of the academic discipline of semiotics to analyze postage stamps follows the pioneering work of David Scott in his European Stamp Design: A Semiotic Approach to Designing Messages , although this present work focuses more on the politics involved, and is confined to a different geographic area. The semiotic approach relies on the typology first set up by the noted American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, and considers the postage stamp to be a unique kind of sign, with an impressive capacity to convey a number of messages in a very confined space. The use of Peirce's typology, as adapted to postage stamps, is explained in the following chapter. The use of semiotics to analyze advertisements, as epitomized by Berger and others, will also serve as a model of how the study of messages and signs can be useful in a variety of fields.
The humble postage stamp, introduced in England in 1840, has evolved over the years to the point where an initially secondary function of the stamp deserves serious study. This secondary function is the use of the postage stamp as advertisement or propaganda (domestic or international), with themes as far ranging as nationalism, history, politics, economics, art, culture, etc. In the particular case of Latin American stamps, the Pan American Union had this to say in 1944:
Postage stamps have long since advanced beyond their original purpose of denoting the prepayment of postal charges. For many years they have been used by the governments of the Americas as publicity media to invite attention to illustrious sons, national beliefs, scenic beauties, and economic opportunities. Selected by the governments themselves, the nationalistic subjects act as windows through which others may view the culture, accomplishments, and ambitions of distant lands.
The postage stamps of Latin America demonstrate an extraordinary variety and range of themes, formats and design characteristics. Although originally strongly influenced by trends in European (and later U.S.) stamp design, Latin American stamps in the last several decades have developed their own strong identity which increases their value as a source of information about the area. Particularly noteworthy in this connection are the stamps of Argentina (especially during the Perón era), Mexico, and Revolutionary Cuba and Nicaragua.
The value of considering postage stamps as a fresh and different window into Latin American reality can be demonstrated by the work of the inimitable Mexican humorist, Ríus (Eduardo del Río García), who frequently uses postage stamps to illustrate his work, and who has written a delightful and entertaining guide to them. Ríus notes that up until recent times there was a tendency to make fun of stamp collectors as "locos maniáticos" ("crazy maniacs"), but that this pejorative approach has been replaced by a grudging acceptance of the cultural and educational value of stamps, even by organizations such as UNESCO. Ríus' use of postage stamps to illustrate many of his works brings out an additional aspect of this project: the systematic search for postage stamps as illustrations in the teaching of Latin American studies. With some few exceptions (current U.S. stamps being the most prominent), postage stamps are in the public domain since they are government documents. Thus, they may be reproduced for educational and academic purposes without infringing copyright laws. The Index to this work contains a list of Latin American postage stamps which can be used to illustrate a wide range of themes important in studies of this region. With the advent of the computer and the digital scanner, it is now easy to reproduce these stamps, and the CD produced as part of this project contains several thousand such illustrations, with appropriate indexes and commentary.
It can be argued that postage stamps frequently are taken for granted, with the general public paying only passing attention to their design and messages. But the messages are there, and the postage stamp is one form of art which is seen on a daily or frequent basis by almost all citizens. The messages carried may be subconsciously and subtly conveyed, and it can be argued that the process of repetition (i.e., seeing the same design many times) further consolidates the process of delivering the message.
Furthermore, the esthetic and design features of postage stamps merit our attention and respect, for a well-designed stamp represents the creative effort of one or more specialists who have to be carefully attuned to a number of sometimes competing factors: the legal requirement that the stamp show how much postage has been prepaid; the country of origin; the typography; the graphic element (since almost all postage stamps now carry some kind of image); and the artistic presentation of something that is both useful and attractive, all the while working in the confines of a very small surface area.
The sheer numbers of different designs and visual images are staggering. Stamp catalogs list approximately 600 different stamp emitting "entities," "authorities," or "stamp issuers" (including countries, colonies, dependencies, offices abroad, etc.) which over the last century and a half of stamp usage have produced an estimated 250,000 different designs; in one recent year an estimated 10,000 different new stamps were issued world-wide. For Latin America alone the total since the first stamps in 1843 is over 50,000 with around 20,000 different designs. Almost every conceivable theme and image has appeared in some form on a postage stamp, and the variety of forms, styles and themes is very large. The range of printing methods and typography adds to the total volume of different varieties. A number of basic technical problems inherent in the printing process have been resolved, and even the less sophisticated stamp-emitting countries have in recent years improved their product, although blunders, errors and esthetic disasters still occur.
The methodology employed in researching this book had two main facets. The first was to do a thorough literature review to identify Latin American postage stamps with significant messages. The literature was located using appropriate web search engines and the catalogs of several university libraries, as well as the Library of Congress, the specialized libraries of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, the Organization of American States, and the American Philatelic Society. The first three of these libraries are located near the author's home institution (American University) in Washington, which greatly facilitated on-site access to the sources. In the case of the American Philatelic Society, located near The Pennsylvania State University, a week-long visit was made with support from American University's College of Arts and Sciences. Most of the materials in these libraries consisted of secondary sources, but available government decrees and explanations of why certain stamps were issued were important primary sources. One key set of sources were the publications of philatelic associations of the larger countries, mainly Argentina, Mexico and Brazil; these frequently contained analyses of the historical and political significance of stamps issued by the nations of Latin America.
The second aspect of the research methodology dealt exclusively with postage stamps as primary source materials, and consisted of examining a significant number of the approximately 20,000 different varieties of Latin American postage stamps since the first ones appeared in the mid 19th century. One could question whether or not these postage stamps are truly primary documents, but they are produced by the governments concerned, are usually designed with specific political and esthetic considerations in mind, and as such do meet criteria for primary documents. Examining was done using the author's personal collection and the 2006 Scott Catalogue of Postage Stamps, which is the authoritative source of information for philatelists. Although the examination of this many postage stamps might seem daunting, it was made easier by the fact that most 19th century stamps have few variations in themes and can be visited rather quickly. For 20th century stamps the process was much more time-consuming, although it was facilitated by the brief descriptions of the stamps' subject contained in the Scott catalog. The initial survey turned up a number of stamps which would be candidates for inclusion in the color plates of this book. Many of these were already in the author's personal collection, and for those which were not, an order was placed with specialized stamp dealers who in most cases were able to provide them. In the case of Argentina, Mexico, the Falkland Islands (British), South Georgia and the British Antarctic Territory, the author for some years has had a standing order for all new issues, and this greatly increased the number of stamps available for analysis.
This work is organized as follows: Chapter 1 ("Semiotics, Popular Culture, Politics and Stamps") lays out some general considerations, beginning with a brief discussion of semiotics as applied to postage stamps across the board, with an emphasis on the work of Peirce. Next we attempt to answer the question "Yes, but is it popular culture?" arguing that even though postage stamps are produced by governments, they are important symbols of national identity in which citizens have an input and are in turn influenced by the messages. This is followed by a consideration of the educational facets of postage stamps, and the politics involved in some important stamp issues, including several from non-Latin countries and the United States. The latter have involved stamps commemorating the 9/11 attacks, and the controversial Frida Kahlo stamp mentioned earlier. Finally, this second chapter will address the object at hand: the postage stamp, in terms of its many functions, its impact, and the limitations and challenges involved in producing stamps, as well as esthetic and design features. The esthetic considerations address the stamp as art form, and examine the use of the stamp format by established artists who may be contracted to create stamps used for postage, or may simply create stamp-like art not intended for postage, but which imitates the real thing. Some of these can be quite creative and complex, using a fictitious country ("La República de Banana") to convey humorous and sometimes stereotypical insights into a region and its culture. Other imaginary stamps considered in the chapter are prepared by entities such as guerrilla movements seeking to gain greater political legitimacy, most notably the Mexican EZLN (Zapatista Army of National Liberation). The use of real or imaginary stamps for propaganda purposes in conflicts such as World War II or the Cold War is also considered here, using, for example, the Hitler death's head issue (Plate 1.5), or Vietnamese and Cuban stamps bitterly attacking the U.S. during the conflict in Southeast Asia (Plate 4.10). The chapter closes with some essential terminology, and a caveat regarding some postal administration policies and practices generally frowned upon by the serious collector and analyst of these miniature messages.
Chapter 2 ("An Overview of Latin American Postage Stamps") begins with an historical overview of the subject, with emphasis on major features of Latin American postage stamps, including some problem areas, errors, frauds and other aspects. Estimates are made of the total number of different stamps produced over the past century and a half by each of the countries of the region. The evolution of Latin American stamps is chronicled, beginning with the first stamps (the Brazilian so-called "bulls-eyes" in 1843, Plate 1.1), followed by the classical issues late in the century (for an example, see Plate 1.3), and the arrival of commemorative stamps focusing initially on the 1810 centennial of independence of most of the Spanish-speaking nations of the hemisphere. The chapter ends with an account of the Bolivian "Gate of the Sun" issue (Plate 1.9), a case study of the problems caused by irregularities in the preparation and issuing of postage stamps, compounded by the impact of inflation in Bolivia.
Chapter 3 ("Internal Politics and Latin American Stamps") explores how domestic politics influences the selection of stamp themes in a few countries, including the United States for comparison. The goals of governments in this process are considered, to include the governments' use of the postage stamp to portray a favorable (and possibly distorted and even false) image of the nation and its leaders. Individual topics to be considered in terms of their politics are good citizenship, women and gender issues, economics (exports, tourism); disaster relief; internationalism; national identity; and the presenting and sustaining of notions of sovereignty. Specific examples of internal political messages carried by stamps include their use by dictatorial regimes, such as those of General Jorge Ubico of Guatemala, Rafael L. Trujillo of the Dominican Republic (Plate 2.3), Alfredo Stroessner of Paraguay (Plate 2.1), and the Somozas of Nicaragua. The case of Chile provides an interesting contrast between the stamps of the leftist government of Salvador Allende and the rightist dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet which followed (Plates 2.4 and 2.5). Reformist and revolutionary regimes such as those of Mexico in the early part of the XXth Century, Cuba starting in 1959, and Nicaragua in 1979, have made ample use of their heroes and icons in the stamps produced during their tenure.
The following chapter (4: "International Relations and Latin American Stamps") explores these topics in specific and greater detail in terms of the cooperative and conflictual aspects of inter-state relationships. There are a number of significant inter-state conflicts in Latin America which are portrayed on postage stamps. In most cases the postage stamp simply reflects an existing conflict, but in a few special cases the stamp itself was the cause of a conflict, or of its intensification. This is especially true for border conflicts where a stamp includes a map which inevitably (and understandably) portrays the issuing country's perception of how the border issue should be resolved, and provokes a reaction by the other party involved. We note the problems created by a 1935 Argentine stamp of South America (Plate 4.1) which produced diplomatic protests from Peru (over the border with Ecuador), Chile (over the border around the Magellan Strait area) and Great Britain (over the representation of the Malvinas/Falkland Islands as being Argentine). Also considered in this chapter is the Nicaraguan stamp (Plate 4.8) showing an erupting volcano which was used by Philippe Bunau-Varilla as one element in his successful attempt to get the U.S. Congress to move the proposed Isthmian Canal from Nicaragua to Panama. Long-standing border conflicts between Bolivia and Paraguay, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Belize, Venezuela and Guyana, and Chile-Bolivia have resulted in stamps, especially map stamps, which present each country's views on the correct demarcation of the border, and which frequently result in a quick philatelic response by the other nation involved. Strains between the United States and Cuba have led the Cubans to deliver numerous miniature messages celebrating their triumph at the Bay of Pigs (Plate 4.9), condemning U.S. actions in Vietnam (Plate 4.10), and supporting guerrilla movements which formed part of their opposition to U.S. imperialism (as they saw it) on a world-wide scale. Not all international stamp messages have been critical or hostile, however, and the chapter also examines friendly presidential visits, conferences, disaster relief, and support for victims of terrorism, such as the Costa Rican stamp memorializing those who died in the 9/11 attacks on the United States (Plate 5.9).
Chapter 5 ("Argentina") probes more deeply into the stamps issued by this important country using the classification typology developed earlier, and applying the semiotic and political tools set out in previous chapters. Of particular interest is the first blatant insertion of partisan politics into Argentine stamps in 1930, beginning a tendency that continues to the present. The specific was a series of stamps celebrating the September 1930 coup which ended the regime of the unpopular radical president Hipólito Yrigoyen. The stamps (Plate 6.3) show intermingled civilians and soldiers marching heroically under a sky filled with the Argentine flag and various weapons, delivering the message that this was a combined military-civilian action against a president who had lost credibility and popular support. The first Perón era (1943-1955) witnessed a sophisticated use of postage stamps to convey the political messages pushed by the Peronista regime. The annual totals of new stamps increased dramatically in this period, as did changes in design, quality, and repetition of semiotic messages. Examples include a stamp celebrating the 1943 GOU coup of which Colonel Perón was a member; stamps issued to raise funds for the victims of the 1943 San Juan earthquake which brought Juan and Evita Perón together (Plate 6.4); the Perón presidential inaugural in 1946 (Plate 6.5); Peronista "loyalty day"; the "descamisado" voluntary stamp issued to raise funds for a monumental statue which was never built (Plate 6.8); and a number of stamps promoting the Peronista five-year plans. The death of Evita in 1952 led to a unique requirement that for a year only stamps commemorating the deceased first lady could be used; the stamps created a difficult situation for postal clerks who were instructed to be careful that the black ink cancellation marks not touch the face of Evita (Plate 6.9). When Perón fell in 1955 (an event celebrated by several stamps, such as Plate 6.11) Argentina went into a long period of alternating military regimes and failed civilian presidencies marked by stamps noting the inaugurals of elected president and (when the military took over) stamps celebrating the armed forces.
Chapters 6 ("The Falkland/Malvinas") and 7 ("South American Antarctica") explore two case studies in greater detail, showing how postage stamps both reflected and stimulated currents of inter-state conflict and cooperation in these two regions linked to Latin America by geography and geopolitics. These two chapters flow naturally from the chapter on Argentina, since this country has major interests in its Antarctic claim and the Islands, and its stamps reflect that interest. British Falklands Islands stamps were relatively non-controversial until the 1933 series celebrating the centennial of the British occupation of the islands (Plates 8.4, 8.5), followed by stamps of the "Falkland Islands Dependencies" which clearly showed the British perception of the relationship between the Falklands, other South Atlantic Islands, and the British Antarctic claim (Plate 8.1). A similar Argentine stamp (Plate 8.2) shows their blue and white flag on all the relevant islands, as well as Argentina's parallel Antarctic claim. The short but bitterly fought 1982 war produced a number of stamps featuring key military events on both sides, as well as a 1983 Argentine stamp noting the "first" recovery of the Islas Malvinas (Plate 8.9), suggesting that their efforts to obtain effective control of the Islands would continue. In the case of Antarctic stamps, a number of other players join Argentina and Great Britain in using postage stamps to put forth their Antarctic interests. Map stamps play a significant role here, with Chile issuing ones showing their claim, which overlaps the British and Argentine one to a considerable degree. Brazilian, Uruguayan, Peruvian and Ecuadorian Antarctic activities are well represented in their stamps, although none of these countries has an Antarctic claim, and thus maps are generally not used. All the major Antarctic expeditions have been celebrated in stamps of the relevant European countries as well as the United States, with the British using numerous stamps to present the detailed history of their Antarctic heroes, such as Captain Robert F. Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton (Plate 11.7). The latter explorer's epic story of survival and final rescue by a Chilean ship is told in numerous stamps of that South American country (Plate 10.8).
Chapter 8 ("Other Miniature Messages of Note") applies the treatment developed for Argentina to selected stamps of a number of other Latin American countries. Brazil's stamps are distinguished by their excellent design features, especially in recent years, and their attention to controversial themes such as deforestation and conservation and HIV/AIDS prevention (the latter stamp featuring a condom, Plate 12.1). The story of the Cuban Revolution has been told numerous times through its postage stamps, from the 1953 raid on the Moncada Barracks to the landing of the Granma in 1958 and the triumph of the Castro guerrillas in 1959 (Plates 12.8, 12.9). Major icons of the Revolution such as Camilo Cienfuegos and Che Guevara have made numerous appearances (Plate 12.11), although the philatelic coverage of Fidel Castro has been relatively restrained. The Sandinistas in Nicaragua did place Fidel (along with Augusto Sandino, Simón Bolívar and José Martí) in a stamp celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution (plate 14.2).The years of Sandinista rule produced stamps following the Cuban pattern, with annual issues noting the triumph of their revolution and the major iconic figures of their struggle (Plate 14.1). This came to an abrupt end with the electoral triumph of Violeta Chamorro in 1990, whose administration promptly issued a stamp honoring her murdered husband; stamps of Mrs. Chamorro herself followed (Plate 14.3), as did traditional Catholic themes at Christmas time. Mexico's stamps have made effective use of their artistic heritage to illustrate the 1910 Revolution, with special emphasis on the contributions of the muralists such as Diego Rivera (Plate 13.9), as well as his precursors such as José Guadalupe Posada and his "calaveras" (plate 13 .7). In the Venezuelan case the cult of Bolívar is evident in its postage stamps, as well as some themes of current political economy such as OPEC and SELA, the Latin American Economic System which includes Cuba but not the United States (Plates 14.8 and 14.9).
The final chapter ("Conclusions") summarizes the findings, notes the contribution made by the analysis, and considers the visual legacy (slides, digitized images) as a tool for teaching Latin American studies and illustrating relevant lectures and publications.
An Index presents lists of postage stamps which could serve as illustrations for teaching and publishing materials dealing with Latin America. A CD-ROM disk available from the author as computer "share ware" provides the visual images of many of these, in PowerPoint format with accompanying commentary. For more information on the CD-ROM contact Dr. Jack Child, Department of Language and Foreign Studies, American University, Washington, DC, 20016. Tel: 202-885-2385. Email: jchild@american.edu
What this book is not
Having described the book's purpose and scope, it is also perhaps necessary to specify what it is not, in order to avoid confusing the reader who is expecting a more traditional philatelic approach to Latin American stamps. For the non-philatelic reader, the following clarification may be necessary: there is a rich lode of philatelic research produced by serious stamp collectors which is published in journals such as the American Philatelic Society's monthly The American Philatelist, and its quarterly Philatelic Literature Review, as well as a number of specialized study groups focusing on individual countries or areas such as the Polar regions and the Falkland Islands. This present work is not subsumed under the category of "philatelic research" described above, which focuses on the details of a particular stamp issue, with emphasis on idiosyncrasies, irregularities and errors. It also is not postal history (the study of postal rates, covers, cancellations and items actually carried in the mails). Neither is the project in the category of "History of XXX as told in Postage Stamps," where XXX can be a country, notable personality, or specific topic or theme. It also is not a topic or theme of the type studied by the various topical associations, such as an analysis of the Olympics through stamps, or animals, scientific phenomena, etc.
Scholarly considerations
The skeptic is entitled to ask whether this project has academic or scholarly validity. It is, after all, an unorthodox topic for a monograph, and the first reaction of associates who hear of the project may be to associate it with a hobby or pastime until its grounding in semiotics and politics is explained. In this connection, one could perhaps fall back on Murdock's contention that: "Most of the sciences and humanities first began, of course, as hobbies, and some activities which were once valued and supported, like astrology, have subsequently declined once more to the status of hobbies. As culture changes, in short, the values of different intellectual hobbies fluctuate."
Another perhaps useful observation is that there is a certain parallel between the serious academic study of postage stamps and that of comic books. Both are outside of the original and traditional bounds of academic disciplines, and yet the serious study of comics has begun to make itself respectable as a valid manifestation of popular culture which merits attention.
It would useful to note that recent scholarly books and journals dealing with popular culture have included chapters or articles on postage stamps as legitimate examples of popular culture (these will be noted in more detail in Chapter 2, when the inclusion of postage stamps in the study of popular culture will be addressed.) The noted Latinamericanist David Bushnell has been the author of several such contributions, and has confessed to the scholarly-hobby link by noting that he is a collector of Latin American postage stamps as well as a scholar focusing on their contribution to the history and politics of the area. Bushnell has also used photographs of relevant stamps from his collection to illustrate journal articles, as has John Reid. The author of this book confesses to a similar (although more modest) orientation, having used postage stamps from his personal collection to illustrate various publications and, perhaps more importantly, to illustrate lectures and student presentations.
Ekker has argued that stamps, as government documents with important content, should be accepted by scholars as legitimate primary source materials for research purposes. While recognizing the limitations imposed by a single geographic area, this book will attempt to validate Ekker's argument using semiotics and politics as the academic tools by which postage stamps can contribute to the field of Latin American area studies.
Another aspect of the argument for academic interest in the study of postage stamps has to do with the fact that notable figures in the Americas have devoted considerable time and attention to philately, sometimes as collectors, but also as students of the area, noting the contribution that such study has made to their understanding of a variety of interdisciplinary endeavors. Historians have noted the great interest in philately taken by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Less well known is the fact that Roosevelt personally participated in the design of several U.S. stamps, most notably the 1933 commemorative honoring Admiral Byrd and his exploits in Little America (Antarctica), and during his administration encouraged Nelson Rockefeller and others to use stamps as a vehicle for greater inter-American understanding and cooperation. We have noted above the use made of postage stamps by the Mexican humorist Ríus. A countryman of his, Porfirio Diaz, had what was considered the best collection of Mexican stamps of his generation, a collection that came to a tragic end when it was tossed into a bonfire as the Diaz regime fell. President Juan Perón once told a visiting American journalist that he had an interest in postage stamps, and had influenced the design of some Argentine stamps during his years in office. More recently, Peruvian UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar discussed his own philatelic interest and the role that postage stamps play in achieving the UN's goals: "Stamps are a form of communication and culture. They carry a message of their own and lead to world understanding." A further indicator of the academic legitimacy of this field are the several doctoral level dissertations which apply various approaches to postage stamps.
Index of the stamps in the book
Index 2: stamps mentioned in the text, 29 Feb 08
Note: the Scott Catalog prefix "C" indicates an air mail stamp; the prefix "B" a surcharge on a stamp for charity; "O", is official mail; and "RA" indicates a postal tax stamp. The absence of a prefix indicates regular first class mail.
Argentina
1 (Corrientes) First Argentine stamp: Corrientes Province stamp, 1856, figure 1.2, 43-4, 100-101
1-6 (Argentina)Buenos Aires#1-6, 100
1 (Argentina): First national Argentine stamp, 1858, figure 6.1, 100-1
(Not catalogued): Local mining camp stamp, 1891, figure 6.2 102
90-91: Columbus, 102
122-138: liberty icon, 102-103
143: Rosario, Port, 102
160-175: Independence, 103
177: labrador icon, 104
217: San Martín, 104
(Not catalogued) aviation label, Argentine, 1912, 105
369-70: Treaty with Brazil, 104
376: The 1930 Revolution, figure 6.3, 106-7
408: International Refrigeration Congress, 105
416-7: Brazilian President Getulio Vargas visit, 1935, 104
418-450 Argentine definitives, 1935-1951, 65-66, 106 (includes: Agricultural wealth: prize bull; labrador icon; Merino ram; sugar cane, wine grapes; cotton)
445: "With borders" stamp. 1935, figure 4.1, 7, 76
446: "Without borders" stamp, 1936, figure 4.2, 76
458: Argentine Navy's Sarmiento, 105
465: Land of Promise, 105
508-511: Grupo de Oficiales Unidos coup, 1943, 108
551: Roosevelt, Franklin D, 111
552: Juan Perón's first inaugural, 1946, figure 6.5, 8, 13, 109
553-7: Peronista Loyalty Day, 17 October 1945, 109
556: Peronista loyalty day, 1946, figure 6.7, 109
(Not catalogued): Fund-raising non-postal stamp for Peronista monument, 1946, figure 6.8, 8, 13, 111, 140,160-1
559: industry, 112
561: Argentine Antarctic claim, figure 10.2, 146
566: Aviation, 112
569-570: San Martín parents, 109-110
571, 574: children's crusade for world peace, 111-112
580: Agriculture Day, 112
581: Loyalty Day, 17 October 1945, 109
584: nationalization of the railway system, 112
585: Peronista Constitution, 1949, 110
594: Perón administration sequel to map stamp, 1951, figure 4.3, 76
587-593 San Martín centennial, 110
595-7: Five Year Plan 112
598: women's vote, 112
599-618: Evita death, Plate 6.9, 113-114
619: Evita stamp harshly cancelled after Perón's fall, 1955, figure 6.10, 114
620: Argentine rescue of Swedish Antarctic expedition in 1903, figure 10.4, 148
621: Raising the flag at the Orcadas Antarctic station in 1904, figure 10.3, 147
622-4: communications, TV, 112
628-631, 642: San Martín, 110
632: Fundación Eva Perón, 112-113
636: Argentine industry, 112
644: National Productivity and Social Welfare Congress, 112
645: aviation, 112
647: Celebration of Perón's fall, Liberating Revolution, 1955, figure 6.11, 8, 114
648: Brotherhood of the Armed Forces of the Nation, 116
649: Battle of Caseros, Urquiza, General, 114-115
664: English invasions, 118
666: Echeverría, Esteban, 115
667: Reform of the Peronista Constitution, 115
673-5 Frondizi, Arturo inaugural, 115
677: International Geophysical Year (IGY), 149
724: Quinquela Martín mural, 119
731: San Martín Base in Antarctica, 150
751: Illia, President Arturo inaugural, 115-116
758: Tricontinental Argentina, South Atlantic Islands map, figure 8.2, 9, 140
760: Kennedy, John F., 118
770: General Belgrano Antarctic Base, 133, 150
774-8: writers, 119
779: Yrigoyen, Hipólito, 116
797: Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands territory 150
810: Conference of American Armies, 117-118
813: Army expedition to Pole, 149
849: Saint Barbara, patron of artillerymen, 117
852: Almirante Brown Antarctic Base, 150
853: first Argentine flight to the Pole, 149
854: Archangel Gabriel, patron saint of Army Communications, 117
858: Navy Day, 117
906-7: La Nación, La Prensa, 119
973: Argentina, Antarctic Treaty, 149
983: Martín Fierro, gaucho epic poem, figure 7.2, 119
1000: Cámpora inaugural, 116
1003: Evita, "eternal in her people," figure 7.1, 116
1020: Organization of American States, 118
1022: Cuenca del Plata meeting, 118, 118
1023-5: infrastucture projects,, 119
1066: vaccination programs, 119
1075: Loyalty Day, 17 October 1945, 116
1109: Brown, Almirante, Antarctic Base, ???
1131: First Argentine flag on the Malvinas in 1820, figure 8.8 , 133
1133: Army Day, 117
1135-7: Nobel Prize winners, 119
1157: Air Force Day, 117
1179-1184, 1147-8; 1188-93: World Soccer Cup, 119-120
1194: U.N. development conference, figure 7.3, 119
1198: inflation, 2000 pesos, 70-71
1225: King and Queen of Spain visit, 118
1240: assassinated officer, 118
1254: Toward the frontiers, 149
1255: Military Geographic Institute centennial, 148
1272: Aramburu, General Pedro, 118
1280: Malvinas Civil and Military Command, 136-137
1282: anti-smoking campaign, 119
1323: whaling, 148
1338:"Las Malvinas son Argentinsa," 1982, figure 8.3, 134
1340: Air Force Conference, 118
1365: Malvinas Civil and Military Command, 136-137
1366: Vernet, Luis, 136-137
1367: Pope's trip during 1982 War, 119
1394: volleyball championships, 119
1411: "First recovery" of the islands, 1983 figure 8.9, 9, 70-71, 137
1445: Pan American Games, 119
1456a-l, 1559a-l: Antarctic fauna and activities, 147
1543-8: tourism, 121
1606: Malvinas Islands map, 139
1621: Brazilian-Argentine cooperation, 121
1659: Menem, President Carlos inaugural, 120
1767: Argentine cruiser Belgrano, sunk in 1982, figure 9.8, 139
1767-9: fallen in 1982 War, 121
1839: Argentine wildlife on the Malvinas, figure 9.2 139
1844: Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands territory, 150
1902: Centennial of Juan Perón's birth, 1955, figure 6.6, 120, 159-60, 174
1972: Jorge Luis Borges, author, figure 7.7, 122
1974: women's vote, 120
1975: South American Common Market (MERCOSUR), figure 5.7, 94
1978: Argentine guerrilla Ernesto "Che" Guevara, figure 2.6, 60-1
1986: Condom and anti-AIDS campaign, figure 7.9, 122
2000: U.N. peacekeeping, figure 7.5, 121
(Not catalogued): Diego Maradona, soccer player, figure 7.8, 122
2008: "A country free from hoof-and-mouth and BSE", figure 3.4, 67-8
2012: Argentine base on Deception Island, figure 10.5, 150
2017: Patoruzú, comic strip character, figure 7.4, 122
2036: Human Rights Declaration, 121
2093: Swedish expedition rescue in Antarctica, corvette Uruguay, 148
2161: prevent breast cancer, 120
2183: King penguins with Emperor chick, figure 9.3,139-140
2191: Profile of Evita Perón on the fiftieth anniversary of her death, figure 7.6, 120
2253: Kirchner, President Néstor inaugural, 120
2271: Orcadas Antarctic Base, 147
B6-9: San Juan earthquake, 1944, figure 6.4, 7, 12, 108-109
B165a-b: ships, aircraft in Antarctica, 150
C56: Pan American cartographer's conference, 148
C59: aviation, 112
C60: Five Year Plan, 112
C66: Inter-American Economic Conference, 118, 148
C92: Map of the Malvinas, figure 8.6, 132
C105: rocket launching in Antarctica, 150
C116: Atocha Nuclear installation, 119
C151-4: national airline, 121
CB6: Fundación Eva Perón, 112-113
O31-O36: head of Liberty, 103
Bolivia
155: Condor looking to the sea, 1925, figure 5.2, 89
191: Bolivian Chaco, 1928, figure 5.4, 92
200-202, 219-232: Bolivia-Paraguay, Chaco War, 92
290-296: Mining, Bolivia, 162
365: Abaroa, Colonel, 88
377: Mining, Bolivia, nationalization, 162
381: MNR Revolution; Paz Estenssoro, Victor, 162
450: Central figure of the Gate of the Sub, figure 1.9, 6
539: Banzer, Hugo, 163
634: Bolivia's captive seacoast, 1979, figure 5.1, 89
657-660: García Meza, General Luis, 161
820: Chaco War peace, 92
842: Bolivia-Peru Pacific Treaty. 92
906: World Cup (soccer), 69
1019: MERCOSUR, 94
Acre, Bolivia-Brazil, stamps were not recognized or cataloged, 91
Brazil
1: The "bull's eye," earliest Latin American stamp, 1843, figure1.1, 6, 44
68: Pedro, Emperor Dom, 163
191 Independence heroes, 93
364-74: Sao Paulo Revolutionary issues of 1932, 165
452: coffe exports, 66
485-7: Vargas, Getulio, 164
635-9: Expeditionary Force, World War II, 48
637: Brazil's combat participation in World War II, figure 1.4, 48
854: Comte, Augusto, 164
883: oil nationalization, Petrobras; Vargas, Getulio, 164
996: military "revolution" of 1964, 164
1017: economic development, steel mill, 166
1073,1113 compulsory military service, 166
1098: economic development, Petrobras, 166
1134: military "revolution" of 1964, 166
1144: Pelés 1000th goal, figure 3.6, 101
1150-4: carnival, 166
1172: World War II, 164
1189-90: Trans-Amazonian Highway, 166
1193: Armed Forces Day, 166
1215: military "revolution" of 1964, 166
1230: soccer, 167
1234: folklore, 166
1474: Environmental conservation, figure 12.2, 166
1758: popular dances, 166
1845: Brazil's first Antarctic expedition, figure 11.3, 155
1974: flag colors, Brazil, 62
2025: Neves, Tancredo, 164
2044: Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Base, 155
2059: Kubitscheck, Juscelino, 164
2096: Brazilian Air Force in Antarctica, figure 11.4, 155
2127, 2235: scientific activities in Antarctica, 156
2238: Sarney, José, 164
2304: Collor de Mello, Fernando, President, in Antarctica, 10, 155
2624: condom, anti-AIDS campaign, figure 12.1, 9, 166
2630: scientific activities in Antarctica, 156
2646: MERCOSUR, 94
2693: Frisco promotion, 67
2717: burnt wood stamp, 67
2746: Klink, Amyr, solo row around Antarctica, 156
2848: Brazilian victory in World Cup, figure 3.5, 70, 167
C18: Santos Dumont, Alberto, 165
C88: peacekeeping, UN, 166
Acre, Bolivia-Brazil, stamps were not recognized or cataloged, 91.
British Antarctic Territory
20: British Antarctic science ("Una's"), figure 10.1, 157
45-59: explorers series, BAT, 157
82-5: Antarctic Treaty, 157
140: British expedition at the Pole in 1912, figure 11.7, 157
145-148: Hillary, Sir Edmund, Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 157
285-287: Shackleton, Sir Ernest, Endurance, 157
317: Scottish National Expedition: bagpiper and penguin, figure 11.8, 157
2L1 to 8: Graham Land, Mainland British Antarctica, figure 8.1, 157
Chile
30 Columbus, 167
247-248: Antarctic claim, 152
300: Mistral, Gabriela, 169
305: Chilean Antarctic claim, figure 10.6, 152
310: Antarctica in 16th cent "La Araucana" poem, figure 10.7, 151-152
311: Tordesillas Treaty of 1404 and Antarctica, figure 10.9, 152
347: Chile-France Easter Island (Rapa-Nui), 90
361: Captain Pardo's rescue of Shackleton's expedition, figure 10.8, 255
413: Chile-France Easter Island (Rapa-Nui), 90
418: Chilean destiny (Allende), 59, 168
423: Copper industry nationalization, figure 2.4, 7, 11, 59, 168
428: Schneider, General René, 168
439-40: wine exports, 243-4
452: Chile-France Easter Island (Rapa-Nui), 90
496: Anniversary of the fall of Salvador Allende, figure 2.5, 7, 59
497: Pinochet, Augusto, visit to Antarctica, 154
537-9 War of the Pacific, 88, 168
563: Alive movie, Rugby team airplane crash, 186-187
568: War of the Pacific, 88, 168
587: Chile-France Easter Island (Rapa-Nui), 90
592: "Lt. Marsh" Air Force Antarctic Base, figure 11.2, 154, 168
672: Chilean Antarctic "colony," figure 11.1 154
677: coup, 1973, 59
691: Antarctic bases, 168
720: Easter Island moai, figure 5.3, 90
728: Mineral exports, figure 3.3, 66, 169
742-3: Chile, Antarctic naval base, 154
765b: Antarctic research activities, 154
830-3: exports, fruit, 168
836: Antarctic research activities, 154
865: penguin and bear, 155, 178
912: President Salvador Allende, figure 12.4, 169
974-5: Antarctic Treaty, 154
980: Pablo Neruda, poet, figure 12.3, 169
1109-10: Antarctic research activities, 154
1358d; 1361a,b; 1396-8: Chile-France Easter Island (Rapa-Nui), 90
C281: agrarian reform, 167
Colombia
635: Colombian soldiers in the Korean War, figure 12.6, 170
637a: Armed Forces of Colombia; Rojas Pinilla, General Gustavo 170
698-9: Gaitán, Jorge Eliécer; Bogotazo, 170
917: García Márquez, Gabriel, 170
1031: Galán, Luis Carlos, 170
1069: Fernando Botero, painter and sculptor, figure 12.7, 171
1110a-t: Colombian presidents, 170
1140: Jorge E. Gaitán, politician, figure 12.5, 170
1196: Araujo-Noguera, Consuelo, 60
C245: Isaacs, Jorge, María, Colombian novel, 63
C269: Korean War, Colombian participation, 170
C319-20: Bogotazo; Gaitán, Jorge Eliécer, 170
C704: Botero, Fernando, 171
C731-2: García Márquez, Gabriel, 170
C869: Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos (SCADTA), 169-170
Costa Rica
177-8: Cocos Island, 83-84
395: President Oscar Arias, figure 4.5, 85
560: In memory of the victims of 9/11, figure 5.9, 94
Cuba
319-20: Finlay, Carlos, 172
372: Statue of Liberty, 171
375-9: Fifth Column subversion, World War II, 172
462 Maass, Clara, 172
613: Victory of the Cuban Revolution, 1959, figure 12.8, 9, 172
626: Fidel Castro's landing of the Granma, 1956, figure 12.9, 172
647: Cienfuegos, Camilo, 173
706-8: Bay of Pigs, 1st anniversary, 79
743; 780-2 : Moncada Barracks dead, 173
775-9: Soviet space activities, 174
825-7: Bay of Pigs, 3rd anniversary, falling eagle, 79
846-9: unification of Vietnam, Vietcong guerrilas , 80
851: Castro, Fidel, "History will absolve me" speech, 173
931a-e, 932a-e: Declaration of Havana, 79
989-995: Finlay, Carlos, 172
1163: "U.S. genocide in Vietnam," figure 4.10, 6, 7, 9, 12, 80, 115
1245-8: OLAS - Organization of Latin American Solidarity, 79
1318, 1347-51 Guevara, Che, 79, 173
1346: Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, 173
1389-90: Pioneers and Young Communists, 173
1444: militia, Cuba, 173
1516-22: Lenin, 174
1696: Ho Chi Minh, 173
1752: Soviet icebreaker and penguins, figure 13.3, 174
1919: Allende, Salvador, 173
2354: Castro, Fidel, speech, 173
2427: Sandinista Revolution, 173
2605: Salvador Allende and the burning presidential palace, 1983, figure 13.1, 173
2755: Sánchez, Celia, 173
2960: País, Frank, 173
3065-3084: Latin American Independence heroes, figure 15.1 to 15.9
3151-3170: Latin American writers, figure 16.1 to 16.9, 93
3171: Cienfuegos, Camilo, 173
3223: Celia Sánchez, seventieth birthday, figure 12.10, 173
3308: Anniversary of the 1961 Bay of Pigs victory, figure 4.9, 79
3911: Angola, Cuban victories, 174
3983: Fidel Castro speech with doves, figure 13.2, 173
4007: Agrarian Reform Act, Castro, 173
4052-4: Ibero-American Heads of State meeting, 174
4069: Che Guevara in Africa in 1965, figure 12.11, 15, 173
4117: Angola, Cuban victories, 174
C43a: Finlay, Carlos, 172
C200: Battle of Santa Clara during Cuban Revolution, figure 2.9, 63-64
C313 assassination (sic) of the Rosenbergs, 174
Dominican Republic
111: Map with Haitian border moved west, 1900, figure 4.4, 76-77
249-53: Trujillo signing treaty with Haiti, 77
299-02: Trujillo, and Haiti-Dominican Republic Treaty, 77
C1: map, Haiti-Dominican Republic border, 76-77
C185: President Rafael Trujillo, 1937, figure 2.3
Ecuador
639: Nixon 1958 visit, 93
1010-1: Ecuador National Defense, 87
1344-5: Ecuador Antarctic interest, 156-7
1363-5: Ecuador-Peru border dispute, 86-87
C377: "Ecuador has been, is, and will be an Amazonic country," 1961, figure 4.7, 86
C533: OPEC, 94
C648-C650: Law of the Sea Conference, 94
El Salvador
103: A "classical" stamp: Columbus returns to Spain, 1894, figure 1.3, 6, 7, 44
C546: Amputee soccer championship, figure 4.6, 85
Falkland Islands (United Kingdom)
Dependencies 1L1: Map of the Falkland Islands Dependencies, 946, figure 8.1, 125, 181
1: Victoria, Queen, 124
22: Edward VII, 124
30: George V, 127
65-76: centennial issue, 128-129
68: Port Louis, 1833, 128
69: Falkland Islands map, 128
70: Grytviken, South Georgia, 1933, figure 8.4, 128
84: whale arch, Stanley, 130
86: gentoo penguins, 130
93: World War I monument, Stanley, 131
254: Duke of Edinburgh on a gaucho saddle, 1977, figure 8.7, 131
257: communications map, 131
318-23: historic map series, 131
326: royal wedding, 124
344-7: Darwin Falklands set, 131
344: Beagle, HMS, 7, 131
360: Port Louis flag raising in 1833, figure 9.1. 138
365: World War I Battle of the Falklands, 138
375-8: first anniversary of Liberation, 138
425-8: Mount Pleasant airport, Falklands, 138
459: British mine disposal, figure 9.4, 138
584-7: cruise ships, Falkland Islands, ???
622: South American Missionary Society, figure 9.6, 139
744: wildlife, Falklands, 138-139
745: California Gold Rush, 139
760: Sir Ernest Shackleton, and Chilean rescue ship Yelcho, figure 9.7, 139
810a: Twentieth anniversary of British landing in 1982, figure 9.5, 127
822a: wildlife, Falklands, 138-139
B1: rebuilding post-war surcharge, 138
B2-B5: British victory, June 1982, 138
South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands:
226: old sealing ships on South Georgia, figure 9.9, 141
41-3, 52-5: Cook, Captain James, 140-141
166-9: whaling, South Georgia, 141
219a: reindeer, South Georgia, 141
230: Cook, Captain James, 140
B1-4: Liberation anniversary, Falklands War, 141
Germany
(Not catalogued, not a "stamp"): Adolf Hitler portrayed by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services
in World War II, 1944, figure 1.5, 6
Grenada
549: Gairy, Eric, 175
885: Research on UFOs, Eric Gairy, figure 13.4, 175
990-4: Bishop, Maurice, 175
1357-8, 2603: Reagan, Ronald, 175
2505: liberation from Bishop regime, 175
Guatemala
280-91: Ubico, General Jorge, 57
292-6: Belize, shown as part of Guatemala, 82-3
312, 320-3: Arévalo, Juan José, Guatemalan 1944 Revolution, 57-8
363-4: Castillo Armas "Liberation", 1954, 58
396: Guatemalan claim on Belize, figure 4.11, 82
399: Maya ball game; 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico, figure 1.6, 47
C93-9: Central American presidents, 1938, 57
C128-131, C136: Arévalo, Juan José, Guatemalan 1944 Revolution, 57-58
C185: Guatemalan presidential succession, figure 2.2, 57-58
C210-8: Castillo Armas, Liberation movement, 1954, 58
C513: Eleanor Roosvelt, Ch 1 89n
C825: Esquipulas Peace Treaty, 85
C583: Thanks for relief aid in the 1976 earthquake, figure 5.8
Mexico
15: Hidalgo, Miguel, 177
27: Emperor Maximilian, figure 13.5, 177
427: Mexican Revolution stamp, 1914, figure 13.6, 178
446: Villa, Pancho, 178
484: Carranza, Venustiano, 178
737-9: Plan of Guadalupe, 178
903-4: oil nationalization, PEMEX, 178
910: Independence joint issue, Mexico 910, U.S., 1157, 181
914-8: 1910 Revolution, 178
983: Diego Rivera's design, 1968 Olympic Games, figure 3.8, 100, 180
1085: Aztec merchants, 179
1087: Tenochtitlán, founding, eagle on cactus, 179
1132: Exporta issues, 178
1144, 1202: Nezahualcoyotl, 179
1161: oil nationalization, PEMEX, 178
1201: Cuauhtemoc, the last Aztec emperor, figure 1.8, 179
1238: Cananea strike, by Diego Rivera, 179
1336: Orozco, José Clemente, 178
1398-1402: Independence heroes, 179
1464: Diego Rivera, muralist, figure 13.9, 10
1995: conservation, endangered species 178
2066: Puebla, battle; Cinco de Mayo, 181
2228 (also U.S.#3509): Frida Kahlo, painter, figure 13.10, 180
2292: Code of Ethics, Vivente Fox administration, 61
2291: "No more mordidas (bribes)" issued by the Vicente Fox administration, figure 2.8, 61
C5-10: Carranza, Captain Emilio, 179
C82-84: Plan of Guadalupe, 178
C222-3: Central American and Caribbean Games, 180
C253-6: 50th anniversary 1910 Revolution, 178-179
C262: Kennedy, John F.; Chamizal border issue, El Paso 181
C278: José Guadalupe Posada, engraver, figure 13.7, 176
C320: Rivera, Diego, Olympics, Plate 3.10, 69
C329: Lance Wyman's continuous strip,1968 Olympic Games, figure 3.10
C372-3: World Soccer Cup (Rimet Cup), 180
C380: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, nun and author, figure 13.8, 179
C463: Siqueiros, David Alfaro, 180
C469: Dr. Atl (Geraldo Muñoz), 180
C553: Tlatelolco Treaty, figure 13.11, 181
C635: anti-smoking campaign, José Guadalupe Posada, 180
RA14: Anti-malaria campaign, figure 14.4, 181
Nicaragua
121-33: Momotombo volcano, 1900, impact on Central American canal, figure 4.8, 7, 80-1
695-700: Roosevelt, Franklin D., as stamp collector, 184
819-23: Cardinal Spellman, 184
1111: Sandinista literacy campaign, 184
1163: National Liberation movement, 184
1175-6: Sandinista insurgency, figure 14.1, 184
1177-81: tourist attractions, 184-185
1182: Anniversary of the death of Karl Marx, Pres George H. Bush, figure 2.7, 60, 184
1250: Nicaraguan earthquake, 1972, 94
1335: Sandino, Augusto César, 185
1462-3: Lenin, 184
1574-9: cultural independence, 184
1668-70: Russian Revolution, 184
1701: Contadora group and peace process, 184
1844: Chamorro, Pedro Joaquín, 60
1980; 2028-36; 2147: religious themes, post-Sandinistas, 185
2164, 2199: Chamorro, Violeta, figure 14.3,10, 15, 185
C186-92: Nicaragua-Honduras border dispute, 84
C236-40: Rogers, Will, 183-184
C779, C885: Somoza, Anastasio Debayle, 183
C1161: Thirtieth Cuban Revolution anniversary, Sandino, Castro, Martí, Bolívar,
figure 14.2, 184
CB2: Somoza, Hope, 183
Panama
541-3: UN Security Council meeting in Panama, 82
588-9: Panama Canal Treaty signing, Torrijos-Carter, 82-3
594; 597: Torrijos-Carter at the Panama Canal, 82
875-8: Panama Canal, final step in reversion, 82
C210: exploitative stamp, Pope Pius, 51
C433: UN Security Council meeting in Panama, 82
Paraguay
323: "The Chaco has been, is, and will be Paraguayan," figure 5.5, 92
355-61: Chaco War peace, 92
486-90: Perón and Stroessner of Paraguay, 110
1453: Paraguayan President Alfredo Stroessner, figure 2.1, 57
2564: MERCOSUR, 94
C113-21: Chaco War peace, 92
Peru
534: Peruvian Revolution, soldier and Inca, figure 3.1, 64
513: Oil industry nationalization, figure 3.2, 64
519: Peruvian Revolution: agrarian reform, 64
595: Law of the Sea Conference, 94
687-8: War of the Pacific, 88
702: Tacna, return to Peru, 89
726: Machu Picchu, figure 3.7, 68
734: Túpac Amaru, 64
853: Peruvian Antarctic interest , Humboldt penguin, Plate 11.5, 156
935: Humboldt, Antarctic research ship, 156
1005: Peruvian Antarctic expedition, figure 11.6, 156
1018: Peru-Bolivia port access, 89
1202: Peru-Ecuador peace, 87
C175-7: Ecuador-Peru border dispute, 86-87
C331: Group of 77 meeting in Peru, figure 5.6, 94
RA6-7: War of the Pacific Plebiscite, 88
United Kingdom
(Not catalogued, not a "stamp"): Augusto Pinochet gives a middle-finger salute to the British, figure 1.7, xix, 7
United States
(No catalog number): U.S. censor seal during World War II, figure 3.9, 122
733: Admiral Richard Byrd's Antarctic Expedition, figure 11.9, 159
Ukraine
248, Antarctic activities, 52
Uruguay
235-7: Rodó, José Enrique, 185-186
556: José E. Rodó's essay "Ariel", figure 14.5, 185-6
746-7, 798: Rodó, José Enrique, 185-186
871: Rugby team's air crash survival in the Andes, figure 14.6, 186-7
1218: Presidential visit, José Sarney, Brazil, 93
1227: Alfonsín, Pres Raúl, 93
1239, 1539: Artigas Antarctic base, 156
1281-4: Masonry, 187
1471, 1580: United Nations peace-keeping missions, 186
1551: Navy Day, 186
1652: Armed Forces Day, 186
1681: MERCOSUR, 94
1742: Allende, Salvador, 186
1803: Antarctic scientific activities, 156
C389: Tupumaros, Dan Mitrione, 186
Venezuela
137-141, 886-8: Venezuela-Guyana border dispute, Essequibo, 85
367-74: Bolívar, Simón, 187
555: state issue, 188
692-02: Hotel Tamanaco, 188
772: oil extraction, 188
855-6: steel mill, 188
899-01: Michelena, Arturo, 188
956: Gran Colombia, 187
1049: Guayana dam, 188
1056: Venezuela-Guyana border dispute, Essequibo, 188
1066: "Pay your taxes," figure 14.10, 189
1121-44: Bolívar, Simón, 187
1148-50: Amphyctionic Conference, 1826, 93
1231-2: Reverón, Armando, 188
1337: Latin American Economic System (SELA), figure 14.9, 188
1339: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), figure 14.8, 188
1398: Latin American chiefs of state, Acapulco meeting, 123
1449, 1584: democracy in Venezuela, 189
1570: Tlatelolco Treaty, 188
1613: Andean Parliament, 189
C783: Independence battle, figure 14.7, 187
C804: Independence declaration, 187
C905-7: Venezuela-Guyana border dispute, Essequibo, 85-6
C909: Jamaica letter, Simón Bolívar, 187
C927-9: Michelena, Arturo, 188
C1007: Hotel Humboldt, 188
C1022-33: Bolívar, Simón, 187