Messengers of History Reflected in Deaf Collector’s Stamps

By Cathryn Carroll

South Africa honored Terrance Parkin, who competed in two international Olympics and won a silver medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.

Kenneth Rothschild calls stamps "messengers of history." Countries around the world use the design of the stamps they print to honor their heroes and their cultures. Many countries have printed stamps to honor deaf people and deaf education-and Rothschild, who is deaf himself, has collected most of those stamps.

Rothschild has collected stamps related to deaf people, deaf education, and the deaf communities around the world since the early 1980s. He confessed to a single disappointment in his stamp collecting. “There are stamps of deaf individuals, stamps designed by deaf people, and stamps honoring deaf education, but no stamps have been issued to honor a deaf person for his or her work with deaf people,” he said.

There are stamps for Thomas Edison, the famous deaf inventor, and Francisca Goya, the famous deaf artist.and there are many Helen Keller stamps. "There are also many stamps that honor deaf education. There are stamps that show the educators of deaf students. There are stamps that show the founders of schools for deaf students and philosophies of deaf education. But the countries honored deaf education by showing hearing people who helped establish the schools."

This is something Rothschild hopes to change. "There are many important deaf individuals who helped found schools for the deaf," he said. "For example, we would like for the U.S. post office to print a stamp with the face of Laurent Clerc, who was deaf and involved in the oldest school for deaf students in the United States."

Check out a collection of Ken's stamps from around the world

World Around You previously published a story about Kenneth Rothschild and his stamps. To read this story, visit the January-February 1998 edition of WAY.

Ken Rothschild invites you to ask him questions about his stamp collection. You may e-mail Ken by clicking here.

Other Deaf Culture Stories in This Issue:

Deaf Filmmaker Wins Prestigious Award