Picturing a nation: Finland on postage stamps, 1917-2000

Imagery on postage stamps contributes to the construction of national narratives, collective memory and a nation's self-image because stamps are products of the state and constantly present in quotidian situations. An examination of 1,457 Finnish stamps issued during the country's independence in the twentieth century is based on a mix of visual method(ologie)s. The stamps are read as multilayered, identity-political texts in their time- and space-specific contexts. The stamps narrate the evolution of the Finnish state, nation and society, and reflect the changing relationship between the state and its subjects.