Geoff Blackwell – Photographic Philately
Photographic philately is about the collection and the study of stamps and postal history that either tell the story of photography and photographers, or use photographs in the design of stamps.
It is generally accepted that the first photograph was that made by JosephNicéphore Niépce from the window of his workshop in about 1826. The image has been used on these stamps from Wallis & Futuna, and Mauritius.
In 1934 readers of a popular stamp magazine voted that this stamp from Canada was the ‘most beautiful stamp ever issued’. It is based on two photographs by
professional photographer and successful yachtsman,
Wallace Robinson MacAskill [ 1887-1956]
This stamp from Slovenia tells an interesting story.
Scientist and academic Janez Puhar claimed to
have made the first photographs on glass plates.
He left what purports to be a comprehensive record of his work, but no examples have survived. To date, no-one has been able to get any worthwhile results using his notes !