The Art Deco style originally developed in Europe and the earliest Art Deco stamps are from European countries in the 1920s. The style was used in some Latin American countries beginning in the mid-1930s, but never really spread to the United States, whose stamp designs remained traditional and conservative. Notable Art Deco stamps of this period include the following, some of which are small masterpieces of this style:
Europe •
France: In 1925, France issued a set of stamps to commemorate the
International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts also was commemorated with a set, including a fine art deco image of the head of an African woman under which was block lettering within ruled lines, a common Art Deco device. •
Germany: In 1925, Germany issued a stamp displaying a bold Art Deco "traffic wheel" or traffic circle, in commemoration of the Deutsche Verkehrausstellung München 1925 or Munich Transport Exhibition of 1925. In 1934, it issued another striking image, two hands grasping a piece of coal, referring to the
Saar Plebiscite held the following year which would determine that the coal-rich region would reunite with Germany. •
Netherlands: The stamps of the Netherlands showed influence of the Art Deco style as early as the mid-1920s, when the country issued two stamps honoring the Centenary of the Dutch Lifeboat Society. The stamps depicted highly stylized boats in distress and a lifeboat, with lettering showing some influence of the style. A triangular airmail stamp issued in 1933, depicting a
Fokker Pander, was surrounded by a border with bold lettering typical of the style. In 1934,
Curaçao, then a colony of the Netherlands, issued one of the iconic Art Deco stamps ever created, an airmail stamp carrying the highly stylized profile of the messenger god
Hermes. •
Austria: Austrian stamps of the 1920s showed influence of the
Jugendstil or
Art Nouveau style, but the new style made its influence known as the decade progressed. In 1925, Austria began a series of
postage due stamps, and which included the country's name and an amount in a simple, bold design. •
USSR: USSR's stamps showed some influence of the Art Deco style, particularly in the lettering, beginning about 1929. In 1932–1933 it issued a series of stamps commemorating the 15th anniversary of the
October Revolution, which display strong elements of the style. •
Switzerland: In 1932, Switzerland issued a stamp honoring the 1932 Disarmament Conference, and depicting an image of Peace in a bold Art Deco style •
Portugal: In 1936, Portugal issued a series of airmail stamps with a highly stylized airplane propeller and cloud, forming a fine Art Deco image.
Latin America The Art Deco style was popular with several Latin American countries, particularly Mexico, Chile and Brazil. •
Mexico: Mexico issued some airmail stamps in the mid-1930s with lettering in a distinct Art Deco style. In 1939, Mexico issued a stamp with a boldly Art Deco image of the
Arch of the Revolution, to commemorate the
New York World's Fair. In the early 1940s, Mexico issued a number of stamps, commonly a larger format with strongly Art Deco influenced images particularly including the artwork of Mexican artist
Francisco Eppens. A 1939 stamp with an image by Eppens depicted three modes of transportation—airplane, train and highway, a common Art Deco subject. A 1940 stamp by Eppens shows a helmsman, issued in connection with the Inauguration of Mexican President
Manuel Ávila Camacho. A 1942 stamp, part of a series honoring the Second Inter-American Agricultural Conference with Eppens' artwork, depicts a highly stylized woman sewing wheat. •
Chile: In the mid-1930s, Chile issued a series of airmail stamps designed in a style clearly influenced by Art Deco. These included a stylized airplane in flight following
a radio navigation system from point to point and a stylized
condor. •
Brazil: During the 1930s, Brazil issued a number of stamps influenced by the Art Deco style, especially in their lettering. The most striking Art Deco stamps, however, was the 1934 issue commemorating the 7th International Trade Fair, held in
Rio de Janeiro, and depicting silhouettes of buildings and a profile of a construction worker with highly stylized Art Deco lettering.
United States The 1939 stamp depicting the
Trylon and Perisphere, the centerpiece and symbol of the
1939 New York World's Fair. Although the Trylon and Perisphere itself is an iconic Art Deco image, the lettering and numbers on the stamp were done in a traditional, not Art Deco, font. With the exceptions of this and the 1942 "Win the War" stamp, United States stamps showed little or no Art Deco influence until 1998 when the Postal Service issued a stamp in a strong Art Deco depicting
Ayn Rand (see
Postage stamps and postal history of the United States). == Revival ==