Postage stamps and postal history of Tannu Tuva

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The

Background

Postage stamps

The first Tuvan stamps were issued in 1926.

Nor were all the images on the stamps accurate representations of Tuvan life. One of the stamps, for example, depicted a camel racing a locomotive along Tuva's non-existent railway. In fact, there is still no railway in Tuva. Another stamp showed a large airship with a man on horseback below, reflecting Soviet enthusiasm for airships between the World Wars. There is no evidence that an airship visited Tuva at that time.[5]

The standing of the Tannu Tuva stamps has been controversial with some catalogues formerly not listing Tuvan stamps, however, all the major catalogues now include the stamps while noting the existence of many canceled-to-order stamps. Philatelists contend that early Tuvan stamps did see limited postal use^[6] and covers do exist. Philatelic literature such as The Postal History and Stamps of Tuva by S.M. Blekhman also confirms non-philatelic commercial use of the stamps.

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

Leighton and Feynman's efforts rekindled an interest in Tuva and its stamps, which now are the subject of numerous websites.

Illegal stamps

Since the 1990s, numerous labels purporting to be postage stamps of Tuva have appeared on the market. They have depicted a variety of unlikely Tuvan subjects, such as Bart Simpson, the Teletubbies and Led Zeppelin, and are all

illegal stamps apparently intended to deceive collectors.^[8]

Revenue stamps

While the status of many Tuvan postage stamps is disputed, a number of revenue stamps were issued for Tuva in 1926, whose status is not in doubt.

References and sources

Notes

1. ^ Scott Postage Stamp Catalogue, Tannu Tuva, nos. 1-38.
2. ^ The World at War, Tannu Tuva 1911-1944
3. ^ Friends of Tuva, "Tuva Hopes Philately Will Get It Everywhere"
4. ^ Stanley Phillips, Philatelic Magazine Vol. 39, p. 197 (Mar. 5, 1937)
5. ^ "The Tuvan 'Zeps': Fact or Fantasy?" by Gwyn Williams in Gibbons Stamp Monthly, Vol. 44, No. 3, August 2013, pp. 64-68.
6. ^ "Philately's Ugliest Ducklings: Rehabilitating the 1934-36 Issues of Tannu Tuva" by James Negus at TTCS. Originally published in The Philatelic Journal, July-September 1960.
7. ^ O'Brien, Miles. "Popularity of late physicist revived on Internet", CNN, October 10, 1996. Accessed January 29, 2009.
8. ^ "The Recent Stamps of Tuva" by Les Winick at TTCS. Originally published in The Philatelic Exporter, February 1999.

Sources

• Blekhman, Samuel (Eng. trans. by Ron Hogg). (1997) The Postal History and Stamps of Tuva. Woodbridge, VA: Scientific Consulting Services Int.
• Mirr, Albert J. (1995) Tannu Tuva Catalog. Tannu Tuva Collectors Society Inc.
• Young, Ian (2003). "Whatever Happened to Tannu Touva?", American Philatelist, Vol. 117, No. 1, January 2003.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stamps of Tuva.

• Tannu Tuva Collectors' Society, Inc.
• The Friends of Tuva
• Free Online Tuva Stamp Catalogue