Scott No: 499-501
Serial number: C77
Values in set: 3
Date of issue: April 22, 1960
Denomination: 32 fen
Designer: Lu Tianjiao
Engraver: Kong Shaohui, Sun Hongnian, Tang Linshen
Size of stamps: 26*35.5mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(10*5)
Printing process:
Engraving and photogravure for Value 1, 3;
Photogravure for Value 2
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

C77 "90th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" commemorative stamps were issued by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on April 22, 1960. The set consists of 3 stamps, designed by Lu Tianjiao, engraved by Sun Hongnian, Kong Shaohui, and Tang Linkun, printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory, with gum applied to the back of the entire set. The uniform stamp size is 26 mm × 35.5 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet, layout 10 × 5, with a total face value of 0.32 yuan for the set. Circulations: Lenin Speaking 4 fen, 6 million copies; Portrait of Lenin 8 fen, 8 million copies; Lenin Talking with the Red Guards at Smolny 20 fen, 2 million copies. Among them, the first and third stamps are engraved, and the second is printed by photogravure combined with engraving. The issue date is Lenin's birthday anniversary, commemorating the 90th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Lenin Speaking

The design depicts Lenin standing and speaking, with a powerful posture and an impassioned expression. Lenin was the revolutionary mentor of the proletariat and the leader of the Russian October Socialist Revolution; his speeches guided the revolutionary masses into struggle and spread Marxist revolutionary thought. This stamp freezes the classic moment of him expounding revolutionary ideas to the masses, symbolizing the spread and mobilization of revolutionary thought.

Portrait of Lenin

The design is a half-length portrait of Lenin, with a bright red background, a concise and dignified composition, and the years "1870–1960" marked on the stamp. This is the core main image of the entire set, directly expressing the commemorative theme through the portrait and honoring the founder of the world's first socialist state. The original painting refers to the work of the Soviet painter Vasiliev, with concise, expressive lines.

Lenin Talking with the Red Guards at Smolny

The design is drawn from a historical scene of the October Revolution: Lenin is at Smolny, talking with Red Guard soldiers. Smolny was the command center of the October Revolution; on the eve of the uprising, Lenin deployed the uprising and received revolutionary soldiers here. The picture recreates the scene of the leader communicating with the soldiers on the eve of the revolution, representing the epoch-making great victory of the October armed uprising.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical format, with the narrative advancing layer by layer: revolutionary speech, leader portrait, and the historical scene of the October uprising—from the spread of thought to the commemoration of the figure, and then to the landmark revolutionary event, with a complete logic. The combination of processes is carefully considered: the first and last stamps are engraved, with solid, hard lines, skilled at shaping figure outlines and setting off a sense of historical weight; the middle main stamp is photogravure combined with engraving, with a red background paired with engraved lines, giving stronger visual impact.