Gulliver’s Travels published anonymously in 1726
Jonathan Swift published Gulliver’s Travels October 28, 1726Published by Benjamin Motte, London, 1726 in 4 volumes:
Swift, himself, has appeared on stamps from Ireland (his birthplace) Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Romania and Nevis. If there is one from Royal Mail, I couldn’t find it. We’ll start with Ireland’s pair.
Jonathan Swift 300th Birth Anniversary 1667-1745
Issued by Irish Post 1967
Designer: M. Byrne
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), Anglo-Irish Satirist, Poet
Designer: Lilian Iațco
Nevis’ New Millennium series featured a decent portrait of Swift, which once again tied the writer to his best known work, Gulliver.
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
Issued 2000 by the Nevis Post office
No designer listed.
Romania’s 1967 tribute suffers from a classic case of Soviet heavy handedness that common in the 60s and early 70s. Like the architecture of the time, it’s boxy and harsh. If you are familiar with modern Romanian stamps, you might find this static and muddy coloured one disappointing. Today’s Romanian stamps are a feast to the eyes. I’d love to see them redo this.
Jonathan Swift (satirist)
From the Cultural Anniversaries 1967 series
Romania 1967
Designer: Eliza Palade
The best Swift stamp comes via Kyrgyzstan using the current style coming out of the country. The stamp is good, but its the souvenir sheet that elevates the over-all design.
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745). The 350th birth anniversary
The Anniversaries of Great Personalities series
Issued by Kyrgyz Express Post
Designer: Vladimir Melnic
I have a soft spot for Kyrgyz Express Post and adore their designers.
First published anonymously, Gulliver’s Travels served as a savage satire on British society. Swift’s sharp, satirical novel has been watered down into an abridged versions for children, destroying the entire intent of the novel. It was not a fun little fantasy novel, but a crushing commentary on the world Swift lived, and is at times purposely crude. In his own words, Swift himself wrote the his intent was “to vex the world rather than divert it”. But generations of publishers have issued abridged versions and now he’s generally listed as a children’s author. Not sure if Swift would be amused by this, but he wouldn’t pass up the chance to release a new pamphlet condemning the sad state of publishing.
Swift’s satirical prowess, both in the Horatian and Juvenalian styles, earned him the reputation of the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and his writing style, characterized by deadpan irony, came to be known as “Swiftian.” While his satire was cutting and piercing, it also had the ability to provoke deep reflection and inspire societal change. His literary contributions have left an enduring impact on British heritage, shaping the course of English literature and influencing subsequent generations of writers.
Jonathan Swift – The Supreme Satirist | British Heritage
A number of countries have released Gulliver’s Travels stamps. Most suffer from the children’s market fallacy
One of the best wasn’t a postage stamp, but a Cinderella, used to promote a new edition of the book. Not everyone appreciates early Cinderella’s but they are fantastic area to collect.
Jespersen’s publishing house Gulliver’s Travels
Cinderella stamp printed in 1910 to promote the new Danish translation.
Postage stamps came from an interesting list of countries – Israel, Antigua and Barbuda, Hungary, Slovakia, Ireland, Monaco, and Hungary. Ireland’s contribution was released for their Europa (C.E.P.T.) 2010 – Children’s Books stamps. Once again, re-enforcing the notion Gulliver’s Travels is a children’s fantasy. This stamp is a bit dark, and lacking the usual vibrancy one associates with children’s literature. The image also appears on the cover of a book or two, but I couldn’t trace the original artist.
Gulliver’s Travels
From C.E.P.T. EUROPA 2010 – Children’s Books
Ireland 1010
The next releases are the most cartoonish depiction, and not among the best for this classic story. The first is from Israel, from their International Stamp Exhibition LONDON 2010 release. It was part of a 3 stamp set depicting children’s stories. The souvenir sheet’s background saves the set. The Peter Pan and Alice stamps are ok, but the Gulliver character doesn’t work.
Gulliver’s Travels
International Stamp Exhibition LONDON 2010
Israel Post released this in 2010
no designer listed
The children’s versions normally only include the first two chapters. This tradition began in 1776 with the publication of Voyage to the Islands of Lilliput and Brogdingnag. Much of the novel’s “brutality” has been watered down and washed away.
Most readers will fondly remember Gulliver as a children’s book, but the unexpurgated version is full of brutality. The ruthlessly logical Houyhnhnms – highly intelligent horse-like creatures – plan to wipe out the bestial humanoid Yahoos by castrating them all. This plan is inadvertently inspired by Gulliver’s description of how horses are treated in England.
There is a particularly unsavoury scene in the Lilliput voyage where Gulliver urinates on the queen’s home to quench a devastating fire. This is routinely included in the children’s edition, albeit in sanitized form. And then there’s the scene in one of Gulliver’s final adventures where our hero has to fend off a highly libidinous female Yahoo who appears intent on raping him.
Gulliver’s Travels Wasn’t Meant to Be a Children’s Book And More Things You Didn’t Know About the Literary Classic | Smithsonian
As a result, images on stamps tend towards the now familiar children’s fantasy version. And of course Disney contributed to this notion with their 1934 film Gulliver Mickey. The film is great fun, but reasserts the notion that it’s kid lit, not a serious political stab at the ruling classes.
Gulliver Mickey, 1934
Movie poster from the 1934 Disney movie
Released in in 1993 by Antigua and Barbuda as part of their
larger Disney Poster 13 stamp series.
Monaco and Slovakia issued interesting stamps showcasing their country’s long and honoured tradition of stamp engraving. Starting with Monaco’s by Pierre Forget, who successfully avoided the usual trap of turning the story into a cartoon. The illustration is mature and lacks the almost clownish feel of Israel’s release.
250th Anniversary of the Publication of Gulliver’s Travels
Monaco Post release 1976
Artist and engraver Pierre Forget
Slovakia used award winning artist Peter Uchnárs’ 1998 book illustrations. His Gulliver works are currently the subject of a museum exhibition titled Laputa – Illustrations from the book Gulliver’s Travels, at Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum. Included in the show are 50 full page sized illustrations from Gulliver.
Gulliver’s Travels, illustration by Peter Uchnárs
Released in 2001
Artist Peter Uchnárs and engraving duties were done by Arnold Feke with overall design by Martin Činovský
Slovakia’s post office has a long love affair with its engravers, and this spills over onto the First Day Covers. They include beautifully rendered engravings on the covers as well as the stamps.
But the booklet cover is the true star of the set. Like Monaco’s stamp, the designer avoids all the cartoonish pitfalls with this. It feels truer to the original.
Of all the Gulliver stamps, Hungary released the best set. Unorthodox and spectacular the 7 stamp series released for International Year of the Child, 1979 series featured illustrations by the great Hungarian artist János Kass. Hands down the best Gulliver treatment of all the stamps.
Gulliver’s Travels
International Year of the Child, 1979 2nd series
Magyar Post
Artist: János Kass
The set included Cinderella, The Fisher and the Goldfish, The Ugly Duckling, Tom Thumb, Three Little Pigs, and János Vité, Although off topic, is worth examining the entire set. Kass, who died in 2010, was a master illustrator.
There may be a few stamps I missed. If you stumble across one, send me a note and I’ll toss it into the mix. But I doubt any will beat Kass. If you’d like to read a bit more about Gulliver’s Travels try this approachable page Eight surprising things it’s time you knew about Gulliver’s Travels