J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y - 1 9 9 8

Deaf People, Deaf Culture and
Stamps Around the World

In countries around the world, people buy postage stamps to pay for letters they send in the mail. For some people stamps are just a nuisance; other people don't even notice them.
But Kenneth Rothschild knows better. Rothschild is a philatelist. He collects stamps from around the world. Rothschild knows that stamps are a form of art—a representation of a country's people and its culture. Every country takes its stamps' design very seriously.
A vocational evaluator for the Fair Lawn Deaf Program, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, Rothschild takes collecting seriously, too. He has collected stamps since he was 16 years old. He has collected stamps and and postage markings that reflect the culture of deaf people for the last 15 years.
He calls some of his stamps "true deaf stamps" because they represent important aspects of the deaf community. Rothschild, 53, is deaf himself. He has over 100 "true deaf" stamps. Some are from 1981, when the United Nations' proclaimed the International Year of the Disabled. Some are from countries that printed stamps to honor cultural events for deaf people—such as meetings of the World Federation of the Deaf or the World Games for the Deaf. He has stamps that show the founders of deaf education in Holland, the United States, Germany, and France. He has the I love you sign captured on stamps from countries on three continents.
"Sometimes when people see my collection, they wonder why the United States doesn't have more stamps showing deaf culture," says Rothschild. "But each country has its rules for stamp making." Here is a glimpse at some of Rothschild's collection:

Poland - 1955 In honor of the first World Deaf Chess Championship held in Warsaw.	Yugoslavia - 1969 Commemorates the country's hosting of the World Games for the Deaf	Denmark - 1985 Commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Danish Association of the Deaf.
Japan - 1991 Commemorates the 11th World Federation of the Deaf Congress.	Norway - 1979 Deaf artist Mathias Stoltenberg, a deaf artist, produced the painting that became a stamp during the International Year of the Child.	Bulgaria - 1979 Commemorates the eighth World Federation of the Deaf Congress.

United States - 1991 first day cover When the post office raises prices for stamps, it stops making stamps with the old prices and starts making stamps with the new prices. But people can still use their old stamps to mail letters—they simply buy a separate stamp to make up the cost difference. The post office labels each special stamp with the letters of the alphabet. Once the post office had issued stamps through F, Rothschild thought of a special way to mail a letter. He rearranged put all the stamps together on an envelop, rearranged them, and made the first postage combination to spell DEAF in the U.S.

Ken Rothschild —For more information, contact Rothschild through e-mail: KSRothschild@aol.com

General comments may be sent to: ISCS.ClercCenter@gallaudet.edu
Last modified August 20, 2001
Copyright © 1997, All Rights Reserved
Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center

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