Scott No: 588-589
Serial number: S45
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: August 1, 1961
Denomination: 18 fen
Designer: Liu Shuoren
Engraver: Kong Shaohui
Size of stamps: 48*26.5mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 50(5*10)
Printing process: Engraving and photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

S45 "The Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum" special stamps were issued by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on August 1, 1961. The set consists of 2 stamps, designed by Liu Shuoren, engraved by Kong Shaohui, printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory by photogravure combined with engraving, with gum applied to the back of the entire set. The uniform stamp size is 52 mm × 31 mm, perforation gauge 11.5, 50 stamps per sheet, layout 5 × 10, with a total face value of 0.18 yuan for the set. Circulations: The Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum, Front View 8 fen, 6 million copies; The Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum, Night View 10 fen, 3 million copies. The issue date was chosen as August 1, Army Day, coinciding with the first anniversary of the museum's official opening to the public.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

The Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum, Front View

The design presents the full daytime view of the museum's main building. The building is grand in mass, with the towering octagonal tower at its center serving as the visual focus of the entire structure; in front of the main building is an open square with rows of flagpoles and dotted with street trees, under a clear blue sky.

The Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum is located on Fuxing Road in Beijing and is New China's first comprehensive military-themed museum. The building is a typical example of the "Ten Great Buildings" of the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic, and it officially opened to the public on August 1, 1960. The museum systematically displays precious cultural relics, weapons, and historical materials from the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the War of Liberation to the various periods of New China's national defense construction, completely recording the development course of the people's army. This daytime version focuses on presenting the building's dignified, orderly form, highlighting the museum's status as a red hall of military history.

The Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum, Night View

The design shows the same main building at night: the building's outline is brightly lit, the red star at the top of the tower radiates light, the square is brightly lit, the night is deep, and the building's outline stands out strikingly against the dark background.

Using a night-view composition, it sets off a solemn and lofty atmosphere; the red star at the top of the tower is the core of the picture, symbolizing the people's army's red original aspiration. The two stamps select the same building at different times, using the contrast of day and night to enrich the artistic conception of the pictures; it is also a rare set among the old Ji-te stamps designed with day and night views of the same building.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts a horizontal long stamp format, suited to displaying the broad, expansive facade of a large building. The photogravure-plus-engraving process has a clear division of labor: the engraved plates outline the building's rigorous contours, doors and windows, and eave lines, with hard, precise lines restoring the architectural structure; the photogravure plates lay down the sky, night, and light-and-shadow layers, softly setting off the atmosphere. The two stamps, one bright and one dark: the daytime version has a clear, steady tone, and the night version uses a dark background to set off the lights and red star, with strong contrast and a rich atmosphere.

The compositions are restrained and concise, without superfluous figures, focusing on the building itself and highlighting its grand, solemn temperament. The circulations of the two stamps differ markedly; the 10-fen night-view stamp has a circulation of only three million copies and is the key stamp of the set. This set is a representative among the stamps on the theme of the Ten Great Buildings of the early years of the founding of the People's Republic, and it is often collected together with architectural-themed stamps such as Special 42 "Beijing Railway Station."