This is a survey of the postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

s and postal history

Postal history

Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of postage stamps and covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems...

 of Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

.

Foreign stamps

The first adhesive stamps issued for use in Tibet were typewritten overprints on Indian postage stamps through the 1903 period, during which the Tibetan Frontier Commission

British expedition to Tibet

The British expedition to Tibet during 1903 and 1904 was an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, whose mission was to establish diplomatic relations and trade between the British Raj and Tibet...

, led by Sir Francis Younghusband

Francis Younghusband

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...

, arrived in Khamba Jong on July 7, 1903. Soon after, as no progress was made in diplomatically settling issues of the Tibetan border with Sikkim

Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

, this became a military expedition. One result of the treaty signed September 7, 1904 was the establishment of Indian Postal Agencies at Gartok, in Western Tibet, and Gyantse, Pharijong and Yatung, along the Indian trade route to Lhasa . Chinese forces occupied Tibet in 1909, when the Dalai Lama

Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama

Thubten Gyatso was the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet.During 1878 he was recognized as the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. He was escorted to Lhasa and given his pre-novice vows by the Panchen Lama, Tenpai Wangchuk, and named "Ngawang Lobsang Thupten Gyatso Jigdral Chokley Namgyal"...

 fled into Sikkim and India. However, there were Chinese communities in Tibet well before this, as shown by a registered letter from Wen Tsung-yao at Lhasa, January 9, 1909. Thereafter, Chinese stamps and special Chinese date stamps were used at Chabdo, Gyantse, Lhasa, Pharijong, Shigatse and Yatung. Postal communications of this period are scarce and eagerly sought after by both Chinese and Tibetan specialists .

First stamps of Tibet

Tibet began issuing postage stamps at the beginning of the 20th century. The first stamps were issued in Lhasa

Lhasa

Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...

 in 1912. Other series of stamps were issued in 1914, 1933, and through the end of the 1950s.

Tibetan stamps had a figure of a snowlion

Snowlion

The Snow Lion, sometimes also Snowlion, is a celestial animal of Tibet. It symbolizes fearlessness, unconditional cheerfulness, east and the earth element. It is one of the Four Dignities...

, the national emblem of Tibet

Emblem of Tibet

The Emblem of Tibet is a symbol of the Tibetan government in exile. It combines several elements of the flag of Tibet, with slightly different artistry, and contains many Buddhist symbols. Its primary elements are the sun and moon above the Himalayas, which represent Tibet, often known as the Land...

. The stamps were marked in Tibetan

Tibetan script

The Tibetan alphabet is an abugida of Indic origin used to write the Tibetan language as well as the Dzongkha language, Denzongkha, Ladakhi language and sometimes the Balti language. The printed form of the alphabet is called uchen script while the hand-written cursive form used in everyday...

 characters meaning "Tibet Government" and in English by "Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

" .

Fakes and forgeries

Collectors and philatelists encounter many fakes and forgeries of both Tibetan stamps and cancellations. Genuine postally used material also has been produced for collectors .

External links

• The Nepal and Tibet Philatelic Study Circle publishes handbooks and checklists, as well as the periodical, Postal Himal.
• "Turbulent Tibet: Viewed from a Philatelic Standpoint" by D.B. Armstrong in The Postage Stamp, 20 August 1910. Reproduced at the Philatelic Database.
• "White Lion of the Mountains, a Letter from Tibet, the Mysterious Land" (ca. 1913). Reproduced at the Philatelic Database.
• "Probable Issue of stamps for Tibet: A Chinese Foreign Post Office?" in The Postage Stamp, 9 October 1909. Reproduced at the Philatelic Database.