Sika Deer on 1970 USSR tourism stamp

I’ve always loved the dramatic design of this 10 kopeks stamp issued in 1970 by the USSR. Using only two colours – a warm orange-brown for the two Sika Deer at the centre of the design and the surrounding border, and a cooler and darker sage green for the forest in which they inhabit – the image has the striking immediacy of a woodcut.

USSR postage stamp featuring Sika Deer - 1970 — USSR postage stamp featuring Sika Deer – 1970

It was issued as part of a set of six stamps celebrating Tourism in the USSR which included many of the things one most associates with Russia – a performance of Swan Lake (6k); examples of folk art and in particular a Russian Doll (12k); the Cathedral of Vasily Blazhenny on Red Square (4k); the sculpture Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares which the Soviet Union gifted to the United Nations in 1959, as well as numerous museums (14k); and finally a woman photographer surrounded by Russian cars (16k).

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More GB Stamps

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