Pyramids on Stamps and Postcards.

The word pyramids makes most people think of the pyramids in Egypt. However, when you look at the topic of pyramids on stamps and postcards, you realize that there are many more pyramids in other places as well. There are pyramids in Mexico which also appear on stamps.

The pyramids are an essential part of the history of postal stamps in Egypt. Images of pyramids are on one hundred and fifty Egyptian stamps. Many postcards also feature the pyramids. In January of 1866, Egypt issued its first official stamps, but these stamps created problems in Europe. Those working in European post offices could not discern what money denomination they represented nor where they had come from. A year later, Egypt printed a new series. The Sphinx and Pyramid of Giza were featured on this set of stamps. A dramatic contrast was created by stamps featuring a flyover of the pyramids by aircraft. Approved military photographers created two stamps that contained the images of the pyramids. These stamps were in black and white and appeared in the 1930s and 1940s.

Images of the pyramids of Egypt became a source of controversy when Portugal wished to use images of them on a postal stamp for a competition to name the new seven wonders of the world. The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities refused to allow Portugal to produce the stamp, stating “The council totally rejects any attempt to put the pyramids, the wonder of world wonders, and the only wonder which still exists, on a postage stamp or to be included in a commercial competition which is not subject to scientific criteria.” The officials of this contest, based in Zurich, Switzerland, made a decision to remove the pyramids from the new wonders of the world. A special category was created for the pyramids. They were honored as the only remaining wonder of the ancient world.