Spanning the years 1910-1983, this collection of international postage stamps and philatelic material depict various aspects of chemistry and related sciences. In addition to postage stamps, the collection contains proofs, first day covers, cachets, and postmarks from over 90 countries. Topics portrayed on the stamps include alchemy, Nobel Prize winners, atomic energy, science education, chemical industries, energy conservation, the petroleum industry, as well as botanical and mineral drugs. The collection was compiled by Richard M. Lawrence over a 40-year period and was also known as "The World of Chemistry in Stamps." The collection was sold to the Witco Chemical Corporation in 1983 before eventually being donated by Witco's successor the Crompton Corporation. A portion of the collection has been digitized and is available online.
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Postcard and French postage stamp commemorating Louis Pasteur
- After 1885 – before 1953
Postcard image is a reproduction of Finnish painter Albert Edelfelt's famed portrait "Pasteur Dans Son Laboratoire" [Pasteur In His Laboratory]. The portrait depicts Pasteur in his laboratory at the rue d'Ulm,…
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Postage stamp commemorating German emergency aid
- 1934
Stamp issued by the "Deutsche Reich" government under Nazi rule depicting images associated with the profession of chemistry.
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Semipostal stamp from Luxembourg to support the International Relief Fund for Intellectuals
- 1935
Depicts a scientist in a laboratory setting looking through a microscope.
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Cuban postage stamp commemorating Pierre and Marie Curie's discovery of radium
- 1938
Stamp printed by the Republic of Cuba, depicting Marie and Pierre Curie. The 40th anniversary of the discovery of radium by Marie and Pierre Curie was commemorated in France in 1938 with the release of a semipostal…
- Artist La Nézière, Joseph de
- Engraver Piel, Jules
- Subject Women in science, Curie, Marie, 1867-1934, Women physicists, Cuba, Women in physics, Women scientists, Chemists, International Union against Cancer, Women chemists, Curie, Pierre, 1859-1906, Science on postage stamps, Nobel Prize winners, Women in chemistry, Physicists, Postage stamps, Commemorative postage stamps, Women Nobel Prize winners
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Postage stamp from Monaco commemorating Pierre and Marie Curie
- 1938
The 40th anniversary of the discovery of radium by Marie and Pierre Curie was commemorated in France in 1938 with the release of a semipostal stamp bearing a 50-cent surtax to benefit the International Union Against…
- Engraver Degorce, Georges-Léo
- Subject Women in science, Curie, Marie, 1867-1934, Women physicists, Monaco, Women in physics, Women scientists, Chemists, International Union against Cancer, Women chemists, Curie, Pierre, 1859-1906, Science on postage stamps, Nobel Prize winners, Women in chemistry, Physicists, Postage stamps, Commemorative postage stamps, Women Nobel Prize winners
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Belgian postage stamp commemorating Trappist monks at Orval
- Circa 1939
Depicts two Trappist monks from Orval Abbey, presumably brewing Trappist beer.
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Postcard and French postage stamp commemorating the 2nd centenary of the birth of Antoine Lavoisier
- Circa 1943
Depicts Antoine Lavoisier, the "creator of modern chemistry."
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Filipino postage stamp commemorating the Philippine Islands (Colonial Era)
- Before 1946
Depicts the Salinas Salt Springs in the Philippines.
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Fluegel Patriotic Cover commemorating first atomic bomb test at Bikini Islands
- 1946-Jun-30
Cachet is a "Fluegel Cover" depicting the first atomic bomb test at the Bikini Atoll of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, an associated state of United States. Designed by Herman Fluegel (1882-1953), a captain in…
- Artist Fluegel, Herman F. (Captain), 1882-1953
- Subject Cachets (Philately), Commemorative postage stamps, Fluegel, Herman F. (Captain), 1882-1953, Postage stamps, Postmarks, World War (1939-1945), Nuclear weapons--Testing, Marshall Islands--Bikini Atoll, Battle of Iwo Jima (Japan : 1945), Atomic bomb, Atomic bomb--Testing, Offset lithography
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First Day Cover commemorating George Washington Carver
- 1948-Jan-05
Philatelic First Day Cover honoring American agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver (1864?-1943). The envelope features an illustrated rendering of Carver and the Tuskegee Institute, as well as a…
- Artist Boll, Ken
- Creator Of Work Cachet Craft
- Subject Postage stamps, African American scientists, Inventors, Carver, George Washington, 1864?-1943, Tuskegee Institute, Commemorative postage stamps, African Americans, Science on postage stamps, Cachets (Philately), Agricultural chemistry, Botanists, First day covers (Philately)
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First Day Cover commemorating Peace Day in Hiroshima
- 1949
Philatelic cachet is an offset lithograph depicting an atomic model floating above the Earth with the text "Peace Forever" heading the illustration. Designates August 6th as Peace Day in Hiroshima in memoriam of the…
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German postage stamp commemorating Fritz Haber
- After 1950 – before 1995
Stamp depicts profile of Fritz Haber who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for developing a process to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen gas, which allowed for the large-scale synthesis of…
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First Day Cover commemorating Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
- 1951
Cachet and semipostal stamp depict Gay-Lussac. Cachet depicts a book titled "Law of Gay-Lussac" and various scientific apparatus. Envelope is addressed to Mrs. Richard M. Lawrence, President of the ACS Wives Club.
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First Day Cover commemorating the 75th anniversary of the American Chemical Society
- 1951
Cachet created by Fleetwood depicts "The Chemist" along with ACS logo and the tagline, "Maker of a Better Tomorrow." Stamp issued to commemorate the diamond jubilee of the American Chemical Society. Addressed to and…
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First Day Cover commemorating the 75th anniversary of the American Chemical Society
- 1951
Cachet depicts two chemists working in a laboratory.
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Fluegel World War II Patriotic Cover commemorating use of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
- 1951
Cachet is a "Fluegel Cover" depicting atomic bomb blast over Hiroshima, Japan. Stamp depicts U.S. Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima.
- Artist Fluegel, Herman F. (Captain), 1882-1953
- Subject Nevada--Beatty, Japan--Hiroshima-shi, Fluegel, Herman F., Nevada--Nevada Test Site, Postmarks, Commemorative postage stamps, Atomic bomb, Bombardment of Hiroshima-shi (Japan : 1945), Iwo Jima, Battle of (Japan : 1945), Cachets (Philately), Postage stamps, World War (1939-1945)
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Mexican postage stamp commemorating the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (25th anniversary)
- 1951
Mexican postage stamp issued to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional de México (the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico) on January 1, 1936. Established during the…
- Creator Of Work Mexico. Dirección General de Talleres de Impresión de Estampillas y Valores
- Subject Commemorative postage stamps, Mexico, Postage stamps, Science on postage stamps, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Mexico), Women in science, Scientific apparatus and instruments, Science--Study and teaching
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First Day Cover commemorating Max Planck
- 1953
Cachet and stamp depict Max Planck, while the postmark is of Otto Lilienthal, who pioneered the use of gliders. Stamp is part of series, "Men from the History of Berlin."
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Czechoslovakian postage stamp of a chemist at work
- Circa 1954
Depicts a chemist with test tube and flask, as well as the chemical structure of a carboxyl group.
- Artist Stretti, Mario
- Engraver Roule, Bohdan
- Subject Postage stamps, Chemistry, Chemists, Czechoslovakia, Science on postage stamps
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East German postage stamp commemorating the 400th anniversary of the death of Georgius Agricola
- 1955
Stamp depicts Georgius Agricola (1494-1555), who is perhaps best known as the "father of minerology" and for his work De re metallica [On the Nature of Metals].
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French postage stamp commemorating Henri-Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville's work with aluminium
- 1955-Mar-07
On March 7, 1955, France issued a set of six stamps under the theme "Famous Inventors." One of these stamps featured Sainte-Claire Deville who created metallic aluminum in 1855. Stamp depicts modern uses of aluminum…
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Atoms for Peace First Day Issue
- 1955-Jul-28
Philatelic First Day Cover with cachet titled, "Atoms for Peace." The cachet depicts a structure called the Atom Smasher, a Van de Graaff electrostatic nuclear accelerator operated by the Westinghouse Electric…
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Atoms for Peace First Day Issue
- 1955-Jul-28
Philatelic First Day Cover with cachet titled, "Atoms for Peace." The cachet includes two photographic images, one portrait of Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and the other of an unknown scientist administering cancer…
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Belgian semipostal stamp commemorating Leo H. Baekeland
- 1955-Oct-09
Stamp depicts Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a Belgian chemist who invented Bakelite (polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride) in 1907. Bakelite was an inexpensive, versatile, and popular plastic, which marked the beginning of the…
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Canadian postage stamp depicting chemical industry
- 1956
Stamp depicts aspects of chemistry and related sciences. The design depicting a laboratory vessel is illustrative of the scientific equipment used widely for research in the chemical industry. A representative chemical…