Scott No: 758-759
Serial number: C104
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: May 1, 1964
Denomination: 16 fen
Designer: Wan Weisheng
Engraver: Gao Pinzhang, Sun Hongnian, Tang Linshen, Kong Shaohui
Size of stamps: 48.5*27mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 50(5*10)
Printing process: Engraving and photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

C104 "Workers of the World, Unite!" commemorative stamps were issued on May 1, 1964. The set consists of 2 stamps, printed by photogravure combined with engraving, designed by Wan Weisheng, engraved by Kong Shaohui, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 26.5 mm × 36 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet (10 × 5), both stamps with a face value of 8 fen, with a total face value of 0.16 yuan for the set, and a circulation of 5 million copies each.

Theme of the Set

"Workers of the world, unite!" is the famous slogan at the end of the Communist Manifesto and the banner of the international proletariat's united struggle. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications chose May Day, International Labor Day, to issue this set, highlighting the theme of the international proletariat's unity, mutual assistance, and joint revolutionary struggle, and expressing the belief of the working people of the world joining hands to strive together for liberation.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin

At the center of the design are the side-by-side profile portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, dignified and solemn, surrounded by olive branches and leaves, symbolizing unity and peace. The slogan "Workers of the World, Unite!" is printed on the stamp, making clear the core theme of the entire set.

Workers of the World, Unite!

The design gathers a group portrait of laborers of different skin colors and different ethnic groups; workers from all over the world stand side by side with red flags held high, high-spirited and vigorous. The background is a surging sea of red flags, using a grand group portrait to express the tremendous strength of the proletarians of all countries gathering together and striving in unity.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical composition, one static and one dynamic, complementing each other. The first is dignified and steady, laying the ideological keynote with the leader portraits; the second is highly dynamic, relying on the group portrait of laborers to interpret the connotation of the slogan. It adopts the photogravure-plus-engraving process, with sharp, solid engraved lines, clear and powerful portrait outlines, and intense, weighty red, with a distinct flavor of the times.