The history of a nation may be discovered in archaeological sites, in objects found in homes or in documents that record key dates and events.
But, as a fascinating new study shows, the story of a relatively young country like the UAE can also be told through the stamps that it issues.
In the case of the Emirates, five decades of stamps weave an extraordinary narrative that begins with a focus on local traditions and heritage, before international ambitions come to the fore, culminating in the UAE’s hosting of major international events and its launch of a space programme.
One of the authors of the study, Prof Stanley Brunn, editor of the book Stamps, Nationalism and Political Transition, said that stamps were very much “products of the state”.
Celebrating progress
“They reflect and represent what the state wishes to show and depict with themes, colours and words,” said Prof Brunn, a professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky who has collected stamps for more than 70 years.
“The state itself decides what an individual stamp says or depicts and how it will be perceived or viewed by the insider and the outsider.
“Stamps are visual presentations of the state and, as we know, the visual worlds are increasing in importance each day in what we view on the internet, government web pages, social media and official photos.”
Almost 1,500 stamps issued by the National Postal Authority were analysed for the study, A Visual Reading of the Heritage and Worldviews of New States through Postage Stamps: United Arab Emirates (1972–2023), published earlier this month in social sciences and humanities academic publication GeoJournal.
Before the formation, in 1971, of the UAE, what were then the Trucial States issued their own stamps. Sharjah, for example, issued a beautiful set showing a number of colourful birds.
“They depicted a variety of themes, everything from falconry to dhows to camels, desert scenes, along with the ruling sheikhs during this period,” said another of the authors, Dr Robert Bridi, from the Geography and Urban Sustainability Department of UAE University.
Stamps were first issued by the UAE in 1972, and initially there was much focus on UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a theme that has continued.
“Those initial stamps were really of Sheikh Zayed in different types of places – in the desert, holding a falcon – commemorating his importance in the unification of the emirates,” Dr Bridi said.
Highlighting national ambition
Later, many stamps highlighted the importance of national unity and national projects, and the oil and gas sector, which was pivotal to the country’s development in the 1970s, was a key theme.
The creation of modern infrastructure, such as ports and airports, facilitated by the oil boom, took centre stage, reflecting the country’s growing ambitions.
“The stamps showed this and symbolically wanted to show at least the region the developments that were taking place here in the Middle East,” Dr Bridi said.
Cultural heritage remained an important theme in stamps, Dr Bridi said, but it became more centred on UAE national identity rather than Bedouin culture.
As the country continued to grow, schools, universities, hospitals and government buildings began to appear on stamps.
Delivering on global stage
Things took a further leap in the 2000s as the UAE began to play a greater role on the global stage and Dubai in particular cemented its role as a tourism hub, stunning the world with such daring creations as the Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa and Palm Islands.
“We see a lot more international events that are introduced: we have air shows, international conferences. Some of these again were being illustrated through the stamps,” Dr Bridi said.
“You have other, new structures – very modern. The older structures, the infrastructure was not quite what you had in the West. The new infrastructure was going beyond what they had in the West.”
But stamps were not just about showing what was biggest and best, as themes such as environmental protection and regional diplomacy also came to the fore.
“One can ‘read’ the stamp issues to observe how the country has emerged from studying mostly local and regional themes in its first decades to more [featuring] international and global themes,” said Prof Brunn.
“For example, from stamps about national holidays and royalty to international events related to sports, UN and Arab League issues, to global events and the appearance of regional political leaders on stamps.
“Changes clearly reflect the importance of the UAE as a major economic and political power in south-west Asia.”
Breaking new ground
The UAE’s space programme, is an important recent feature on stamps, reflecting a new era in the UAE’s desire to be a key international player, a theme echoed by the country’s hosting last year of the Cop28 UN climate change conference, which resulted in multiple stamp issues.
“These [stamp] issues portray the UAE as an engaged country concerned with global awareness and taking leads,” Prof Brunn added.
While there have been stamps featuring women, Prof Brunn said that there had not been any that have featured guest workers from South Asia.
A key element of the research for the study involved interviews with stamp collectors – or philatelists – from the UAE. These were led by another of the study’s authors, Prof Naeema Al Hosani, of UAE University’s geography and urban sustainability department.
A perhaps surprising finding from these discussions is that stamp collecting is not just the preserve of older Emiratis but, despite the emergence of social media and limitless electronic communication, is also popular with younger people.
“I thought this kind of hobby was disappearing and the new generation were busy with electronics and other things,” Prof Al Hosani said.
She said that collectors themselves used social media sites such as Instagram to communicate with other collectors within the country and the region.
Topics such as heritage, traditions and culture should, Prof Al Hosani said, remain a key focus for the country’s younger people.
“We need to focus on it for a new generation, to not go away [from it] for a new generation,” she said.
The first author of the new study is Dr Ahmed Hassan Almurshidi, who is also a member of UAE University’s department of geography and urban sustainability.
