Around the world, there are many stamps made from materials so surprising that you wonder, “Can this really be used as a stamp?”
Come to think of it… ordinary stamps are made of paper, paper is made from pulp, and pulp is mainly made from wood.
So today I’d like to introduce the origin of all unusual-material stamps: stamps made from real wood!
Djibouti 1983 · 50 Years of Air France
I had always believed Switzerland’s 2004 issue was the world’s first wooden stamp — so this one came as a real shock!
It is a wooden stamp issued in 1983 by the Republic of Djibouti, in Africa.
I would love to know how Djibouti came to issue a wooden stamp!
Size: 120 mm wide x 100 mm high
Switzerland 2004 · Nature · Wooden Stamp
Switzerland — a treasure trove of unique stamps, famous for the world’s first embroidered stamp, “St. Gallen Embroidery.”
Just as I hoped, it had issued a wooden stamp too.
It is made from a 120-year-old spruce grown in the canton of Aargau, with a trunk 70 to 80 cm in diameter.
This high-value stamp is pleasingly thick, and its simple white-only printing really stands out.
Size: 50 mm wide x 40 mm high
Italy 2007 · Basilica of San Vincenzo
Italy has also issued one wooden stamp.
The Basilica di San Vincenzo is a church in Galliano, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
Here is a photo of the church. This historic building, founded in 1007, is printed on the stamp in monotone.
Size: 47 mm wide x 40 mm high
Portugal 2008 · Cork
Cork is a natural material harvested from the bark of the cork oak, an evergreen tree of the beech family that grows around the Mediterranean. Its main component is suberin, a substance with excellent water-repellent properties.
Of the world’s roughly 340,000 tonnes of cork production, Portugal produces 52%, Spain 32% and Italy 6%. Most of Portugal’s cork comes from the Alentejo region in the south-central part of the country.
This stamp is made from cork, one of Portugal’s signature products.
Size: 45 mm wide x 38 mm high
Portugal 2011 · International Year of Forests · Cork Postcard
Another cork item from Portugal celebrates the International Year of Forests.
The stamp is printed directly onto the postcard.
A postcard made of real cork — an unusual postal item you don’t come across often.
Size: 150 mm wide x 105 mm high
Andorra 2011 · International Year of Forests
For the International Year of Forests, Andorra also issued a cork stamp.
“Boscos” in the center is Catalan for “forests.”
Such a simple, lovely stamp!
Size: 35 mm wide x 45 mm high
Austria 2017 · Oak Tree
Oak is used for wine barrels and building materials — a famously hard wood.
Look closely and you’ll see each leaf is printed individually, and the stamp is cut out in the shape of a tree.
It comes in a paper case with a wood-grain pattern.
Size: 48 mm wide x 48 mm high
Spain 2017 · Ocean Explorers
On the left is Luis Váez de Torres (born c. 1565), a Spanish-born navigator;
on the right is Pedro Fernandes de Queirós (1565–1615), a Portuguese-born navigator.
Torres became the first European known to sail between the Australian continent and New Guinea, and the strait still bears his name: the Torres Strait.
A wooden stamp with a story behind it.
Spain has a thriving timber industry, but why is a stamp about ocean explorers made of wood?
I tried to find out but couldn’t — if you know, please tell me!
Size: 125 mm wide x 45 mm high
Spain 2020 · Elm Tree
Size: 120 mm wide x 72 mm high
This stamp is made from Spanish elm wood. Cutting out the tree shape from the inside must be surprisingly difficult!
The FDC shows that even the perforations are shaped like a tree stump.
Cabeza del Buey is a municipality in Extremadura, Spain.
Size: 41 mm wide x 39 mm high
Even the postmark has a tree-stump pattern — such attention to detail!
Spain 2020 · Explorer
Spain issued one more wooden explorer stamp in 2020.
Ruy López de Villalobos (c. 1500–1544) was a 16th-century Spanish explorer.
He set sail across the Pacific from Mexico in search of a route to the Moluccas, reached the Philippine Islands in 1543, and is said to be the person who named them “Filipinas.”
Size: 62 mm wide x 46 mm high
Estonia 2021 · Järvselja Training and Experimental Forest
A beautiful stamp that makes me want to visit Estonia — it even smells of wood.
Järvselja is a village in Tartu County, eastern Estonia, and the design looks up at pine trees from below.
Including its surround, it is the largest of all the wooden stamps here.
Bonus: Austria · EUROPA · Forests
In 2011, the theme of the EUROPA stamps was “Forests,” to coincide with the International Year of Forests.
Austria, home of so many fun stamps, issued one with tree seeds sealed inside a pack!
Their ideas are always amazing!
Wooden Stamps: Summary
This time I introduced wooden and cork stamps.
When new wooden stamps are issued, I’ll add them to this page.
Please come back and visit again!
Postio Marche sells stamps made from unique materials, so please take a look.
👉 Postio Marche — Unique-Material Stamps
Some of the stamps shown are from a private collection. Items available for purchase are those listed in the shop only.
This blog covers stamp designs and art from around the world. Follow us on social media for daily stamp art and gallery visits!
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