Scott No: 407-408
Serial number: S31
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: April 1, 1959
Denomination: 12 fen
Designer: Wu Jianlun
Engraver: Zhang Yongxin, Song Guangzeng
Size of stamps: 29.5*22.5mm
Perforation: 14
Sheet composition: 120(10*12)
Printing process: Engraving
Printing House: Beijing People's Printing Works

S31 "Central Museum of Natural History" special stamps were issued on April 1, 1959. The set consists of 2 stamps, printed by engraving, designed by Wu Jiankun, engraved by Zhang Yongxin and Song Guangzeng, and printed by the Beijing People's Printing Factory. Stamp size 30 mm × 22.5 mm, perforation gauge 14, 120 stamps per sheet (10 × 12), with a total face value of 0.12 yuan for the set; Central Museum of Natural History (Blue) 4 fen, circulation 4 million copies; Central Museum of Natural History (Brown) 8 fen, circulation 8 million copies, without gum throughout the set.

Theme of the Set

The Central Museum of Natural History is located in Tianqiao, Beijing, and is an important natural science popularization base in New China. The museum has exhibition halls for plants, animals, paleoanimals, and paleoanthropology, and collects large numbers of animal and plant specimens and paleontological fossils. In 1959 the museum officially opened, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued this set to commemorate it, popularizing natural science knowledge and displaying the construction achievements of China's natural museum undertakings; the museum was later renamed the Beijing Museum of Natural History.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Central Museum of Natural History (Blue)

The main subject of the design is the front exterior of the museum's main building, in Soviet style; above the composition is the semicircular museum name inscribed by Guo Moruo, with chrysanthemums decorating both sides of the picture and a panda pattern at the bottom. The blue-toned version highlights the building's dignified and tranquil temperament.

Central Museum of Natural History (Brown)

The building, text, and decorative patterns on the stamp are completely identical to the previous one, with only the overall color changed to brown. The same-design, different-color approach conveniently suited different postal rates; the panda and flowers in the patterns also symbolize China's rich animal and plant resources.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a horizontal format and engraving; the lines are delicate and solid, and the architectural outlines are neat and rigorous. The two stamps have completely identical designs, distinguished only by color; the upper and lower decorative patterns surround the main building, integrating natural biological elements with the museum architecture and making clear the theme of the museum's collections. The layout is balanced and elegant, and the style is dignified and simple. It is New China's earliest special stamp set on the theme of museums.