The Digital Archive of the Egyptian Stamps

As a continuation of its endeavour to preserve heritage for future generations in digital form, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) launched The Digital Archive of the Egyptian Stamps http://stamps.bibalex.org. The project is the outcome of collaboration of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector and the Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT), at the BA.

The Archive aims to highlight a large number of important events in the history of Egypt and the Arab world. It comprises more than 2,300 stamps, covering the period from 1866 to present. It includes a unique collection of various kinds of stamps such as regular mail, official mail, airmail, express mail, military and commemorative stamps. In addition, there is a collection of commemorative postcards, which were issued to honour special events, such as the 23rd of July revolution anniversaries, different sporting and national events among others.

Through the special viewer created for each stamp, the user can view the stamp accompanied by a detailed description, and the original text in different languages. Moreover, there is information regarding the type, occasion, issuing date, cost, designer and the quantity printed of each stamp.

One of the major highlights of the website is the “Happened on this day” feature, which allows users to view stamps issued to document events that happened on the same day years ago. The collection of watermarks, gives the users an idea about the different watermarks used in different periods and their significance. The website also allows users to search for stamps through a general or advanced search, which allows them to search by type, occasion, text, designer or colour of stamp. In addition, the presence of the timeline, allows users to narrow their search to a certain period of time. Egyptian stamps collection is a unique resource for historians, stamp collectors and the public in general, which comes in a user-friendly interface freely accessible online.