Siam Stamped

 

What on earth does politics have to do with postage stamps? Everything!

How a nation presents itself through stamps is highly revealing about questions of identity, history and power. In a 2025 journal article, I argue that the images shown on Siamese and later Thai stamps represent an attempt to craft national narratives that is incredibly revealing. Who appears on which stamps - and who does not appear on any - speaks volumes about what matters most to the Thai state. Unsurprisingly, except during the period between 1932 and around 1946, images of royalty and monarchy dominate Siam's philatelic catalogues. Only a handful of non-royals other than monks have ever been featured on a Thai stamp.

This document contains a set of images relating to my article on the politics of Thai stamps: 'Siam Stamped? Understanding Thai National Self-Representation through Postage Stamps', Political Theology, 2025,  DOI 10.1080/1462317X.2025.2591985.

If you can't access the article, please email me at [email protected]