Art Deco Stamps

Art deco stamps are postage stamps designed in the Art Deco style which was a popular international design style in the 1920s through the 1930s. The style is marked by the use of "geometric motifs, curvilinear forms, sharply defined outlines, often bold colors", and a fascination with machinery and modernity. This style strongly influenced contemporary architecture, furniture, industrial design, books and posters. Art Deco was named for the 1925 exhibit in Paris called Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts). The exhibit lasted from April to October 1925 and displayed numerous objects in the new style. Examples of the style, however, are also found in the early twenties.

The Art Deco style also influenced postage stamp design in a number of countries in the twenties and thirties. One of the focuses of Art Deco was transportation and machines, particularly airplanes, and airmail stamps of the period often were designed in this style. Stamps from some countries showed strong art deco influence, while in others it was absent or barely noticeable. The countries whose stamp designs were most influenced by Art Deco include a number of European countries such as France and the Netherlands, as well as several Latin American countries, particularly Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Stamps of the United States and Great Britain, in contrast, followed traditional design and showed little influence of this new style.