Scott No: 413-415
Serial number: C61
Values in set: 3
Date of issue: May 1, 1959
Denomination: 34 fen
Designer: Sun Chuanzhe
Engraver: Kong Shaohui, Sun Hongnian, Gao Pinzhang
Size of stamps: 25.5*34.5mm
Perforation: 14
Sheet composition: 90(10*9)
Printing process: Engraving
Printing House: Beijing People's Printing Works

C61 "International Labor Day 1889–1959" commemorative stamps were issued on May 1, 1959. The set consists of 3 stamps, printed by engraving, designed by Sun Chuanzhe, engraved by Li Manzeng and Wu Pengyue, and printed by the Beijing People's Printing Factory. Stamp size 24 mm × 29.5 mm, perforation gauge 14, 110 stamps per sheet (11 × 10), with a total face value of 0.22 yuan for the set; Study Marxism-Leninism 4 fen, circulation 3.5 million copies; Workers of the World, Unite! 8 fen, circulation 5.5 million copies; Celebrate May Day 10 fen, circulation 2.5 million copies.

Theme of the Set

In 1889 the Second International was founded and designated May 1 as International Labor Day; 1959 marked its seventieth anniversary. This set looks back on the history of the international workers' movement, praises the spirit of unity and struggle of working people the world over, displays the high-spirited appearance of the Chinese working class devoting itself to socialist construction, and commemorates the seventieth anniversary of May Day, International Labor Day.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Study Marxism-Leninism

At the center of the design are the profile portraits of Marx and Lenin, with industrial elements such as factory buildings, blast furnaces, and gears set below, symbolizing that the working class takes Marxism-Leninism as its ideological guide and carries out production and revolutionary construction under the guidance of theory.

Workers of the World, Unite!

The design takes tightly clasped giant hands as its main subject, surrounded by images of workers of various countries, with the globe, factories, and fluttering red flags in the background, echoing the slogan of the Communist Manifesto and implying that workers of all countries, transcending regions, are united together.

Celebrate May Day

The design depicts the scene of workers and peasants marching in formation to celebrate, holding high colored flags and bouquets, with factory buildings and high-voltage transmission towers behind them, expressing the enthusiastic scene of New China's laborers joyfully welcoming Labor Day and actively devoting themselves to national construction.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical format and engraving; the lines are weighty and powerful, with a distinctive printmaking style. The three stamps progress layer by layer, from ideology and theory to international unity and then to domestic construction and celebration, with a clear narrative logic. The pictures make extensive use of classic era symbols such as gears, factory buildings, and red flags, with full compositions and vigorous momentum; among them, the 10-fen stamp has the smallest circulation and is the key stamp of the set.