Postage stamps and postal history of Tannu Tuva
Encyclopedia
The postage stamps of Tannu Tuva form one of philately
's curious byways, featuring quirky and colorful stamps, many of questionable validity, issued by an obscure country which held special fascination for young stamp collectors in the middle of the twentieth century.
Tannu Tuva was an autonomous region in central Asia between Russia and Mongolia, which in 1921, under Russian instigation, became the Tuvan People's Republic. A treaty between the Soviet Union
and the Mongolian People's Republic in 1926 affirmed the country’s independence, although no other countries formally recognized it. In 1944, it was annexed to the Soviet Union as part of the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast
and in 1961 became the Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
. Its successor since 1992, the Tuvan Republic, is a member of the Russian Federation.
Between 1926 and 1933, Tannu Tuva issued 38 postage stamps. The first series depicted the Buddhist wheel of life with Mongolian writing
and numerals only. Beginning in 1927, Tannu Tuva issued a series of color stamps with local scenes or a map of the country. These stamps were issued in several shapes, including rectangles, triangles and diamonds, and bore text in Mongolian and the words "TOUVA" and "postage".
From 1934 to 1936, Tuva issued about 100 different postage stamps with exotic images of Tuvan life, including horse racing, nomadic battle scenes, and domestic animals including camels and oxen. These large format stamps came in a variety of shapes including diamonds, and were widely sold to collectors in canceled to order form.
These "stamps" were the brainchild of Bela Sekula
, a promotor of philatelic “rarities”, who in 1934 convinced the Tuvan and Soviet authorities to manufacture exotic stamps to sell to collectors. They were in fact "designed in Moscow, printed in Moscow, franked in Moscow and sold abroad by a Moscow state trading firm to earn hard currency for Moscow." Nor were all the images on the stamps accurate representations of Tuvan life. One of the stamps, for example, depicted a "camel racing locomotives along Tuva’s nonexistent railway".
The standing of the Tannu Tuva stamps has been controversial. Some catalogues list them as valid postage stamps (Yvert, Michel, Sanabria, and Whitfield King catalogues) while the Scott
and Stanley Gibbons catalogues do not recognize these as such. Some collectors contend that they did see at least some limited postal use.
Notwithstanding their questionable origins, these exotic stamps were popular with young collectors during the middle of the twentieth century. This is documented, for example, in Ralph Leighton
's Tuva or Bust!, Richard Feynman's Last Journey (W. W. Norton 1991), where childhood memories of the colorful stamps of Tannu Tuva inspired Nobel prize-winning
physicist Richard Feynman
and the author on a quest, first to contact someone in Tuva, and then to actually visit the country. (Feynman died before achieving his goal, but Leighton ultimately reached Tuva.) Leighton and Feynman's efforts rekindled an interest in Tuva and its stamps, which now are the subject of numerous websites.
Since the 1990s, numerous labels purporting to be postage stamps of Tuva have again appeared on the market. These have depicted a variety of unlikely Tuvan subjects, such as Bart Simpson
, the Teletubbies
and Led Zeppelin
, and are all illegal stamps
apparently manufactured in England and intended to deceive collectors.
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
's curious byways, featuring quirky and colorful stamps, many of questionable validity, issued by an obscure country which held special fascination for young stamp collectors in the middle of the twentieth century.
Tannu Tuva
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the Mongolian People's Republic in 1926 affirmed the country’s independence, although no other countries formally recognized it. In 1944, it was annexed to the Soviet Union as part of the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast
Tuvan Autonomous Oblast
The Tuvan Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast of the Soviet Union created on 11 October 1944 following the annexation of the Tuvan People's Republic by the Soviet Union. On 10 October 1961 it was transformed into the Tuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic....
and in 1961 became the Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
The Tuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic , or the Tuvan ASSR, was an autonomous republic of the Soviet Union. It was created on October 10, 1961 from the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast. On March 31, 1992, its successor, the Tuva Republic, became a constituent member of the Russian...
. Its successor since 1992, the Tuvan Republic, is a member of the Russian Federation.
Stamps
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
and numerals only. Beginning in 1927, Tannu Tuva issued a series of color stamps with local scenes or a map of the country. These stamps were issued in several shapes, including rectangles, triangles and diamonds, and bore text in Mongolian and the words "TOUVA" and "postage".
From 1934 to 1936, Tuva issued about 100 different postage stamps with exotic images of Tuvan life, including horse racing, nomadic battle scenes, and domestic animals including camels and oxen. These large format stamps came in a variety of shapes including diamonds, and were widely sold to collectors in canceled to order form.
These "stamps" were the brainchild of Bela Sekula
Bela Sekula
Béla Székula, also Bela Sekula , was a Hungarian philatelist, stamp dealer and forger who lived in Hungary, Switzerland and the USA....
, a promotor of philatelic “rarities”, who in 1934 convinced the Tuvan and Soviet authorities to manufacture exotic stamps to sell to collectors. They were in fact "designed in Moscow, printed in Moscow, franked in Moscow and sold abroad by a Moscow state trading firm to earn hard currency for Moscow." Nor were all the images on the stamps accurate representations of Tuvan life. One of the stamps, for example, depicted a "camel racing locomotives along Tuva’s nonexistent railway".
Scott catalogue
The Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Co, a subsidiary of Amos Press, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the entire world which its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in six large volumes and is also produced in...
and Stanley Gibbons catalogues do not recognize these as such. Some collectors contend that they did see at least some limited postal use.
Notwithstanding their questionable origins, these exotic stamps were popular with young collectors during the middle of the twentieth century. This is documented, for example, in Ralph Leighton
Ralph Leighton
Ralph Leighton is a biographer, film producer, and friend of the late physicist Richard Feynman. He recorded Feynman relating stories of his life. Leighton has released some of the recordings as The Feynman Tapes. These interviews became the basis for the books Surely You're Joking, Mr...
's Tuva or Bust!, Richard Feynman's Last Journey (W. W. Norton 1991), where childhood memories of the colorful stamps of Tannu Tuva inspired Nobel prize-winning
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
physicist Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
and the author on a quest, first to contact someone in Tuva, and then to actually visit the country. (Feynman died before achieving his goal, but Leighton ultimately reached Tuva.) Leighton and Feynman's efforts rekindled an interest in Tuva and its stamps, which now are the subject of numerous websites.
Since the 1990s, numerous labels purporting to be postage stamps of Tuva have again appeared on the market. These have depicted a variety of unlikely Tuvan subjects, such as Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, the Teletubbies
Teletubbies
Teletubbies is a BBC children's television series targeted at pre-school viewers and produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Ragdoll's creative director Anne Wood CBE and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. The programme's original narrator was...
and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, and are all illegal stamps
Illegal stamps
Illegal stamps are postage stamp-like labels issued in the names of existing independent countries or territories used to defraud postal administrations, stamp collectors, and the general public. Often, but not always, a member nation of the Universal Postal Union will have asked the UPU to issue...
apparently manufactured in England and intended to deceive collectors.