One of the major auction houses in England recently sold a Dutch "Old Master" painting for $30 million. The bones of a tyrannosaurus rex (Sue) sold for more than $1 million. The statue of Aphrodite found in Smyrna in the last century is estimated to be worth $9 million. Each of these items is virtually a "one of a kind" piece of art, and their value increases tremendously each time they change hands. No single museum can hope to purchase large numbers of these types of exhibit items, nor could they afford the maintenance and security staff to keep them "museum fresh". Yet the average stamp collector has a replica of most of these items in his collection.
Stamp designs themselves are considered a work of art in many countries, especially the earlier line-engraved issues. Frequently, too, the design of the stamp reflects some other collectable or work of art. If you were a museum curator, how would you arrange the material in a stamp collection?
There are tens of thousands of stamps that feature works of art, from paintings to sculpture to wire to textiles to . . . . whatever comes to mind. These works of art originate in many different cultures, over the full span of human activity, from primitive sculpted pieces and cave paintings from early Stone Age through modern and pop art. Folk art, including woodcarvings, ceramics, glass, pottery, inlay, cloissonne, and a wide array of other media could also be added to the collection. Often the same work may be presented in a number of different ways, illustrating not only the culture that originated the artwork, but also the culture displaying it. With so much to work with, several whole "wings" could be set aside to display these works of art.
What about "Industrial Art"? Great Britain issued a set of four stamps and a souvenir sheet (Scott #1280-84) in 1989 depicting "Industrial Archeology". Architectural design is prominently displayed on thousands of stamps. Most of the items depicted on these stamps couldn't fit in most museums! Other stamps depict mankind's handiwork, ranging from primitive tools to modern industrial wonders, such as high-speed trains, aircraft, spacecraft, and technological marvels such as computers and the latest in medical technology. Certainly, there is enough here to be arranged into numerous "exhibits", perhaps whole "wings" of a selected subject!
Man's art and artifacts are not the only things depicted. There are tens of thousands of stamps featuring "natural" and "earth" sciences, from insects to birds, from fish to flowers, from geology to cosmology. The exhibit contains everything from "modern" animals to prehistoric creatures from Earth's earliest days. There are stamps featuring the stars of the night sky, manned spacecraft, the planets, and whole galaxies. Other stamps display minerals in profusion, geological formations, and the natural wonders of the world. Certainly there is enough here to fill a dozen "wings" of our museum!
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