The First French Empire illustrated by stamps

The philately, as we know, did not exist in the time of Napoleon, since the first stamp in the world was put into circulation by the Post Office of the United Kingdom in 1840. France, meanwhile, will wait until 1849. The stamp "Ceres" of 20 cents, created by the sculptor Jean-Jacques Barre, will be issued under Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, President of the Second Republic.

The Napoleonic era, however, often instigated postal authorities, both French and foreign (even exotic ones), in issuing stamps commemorating events in its history, and honoring its actors.

The list below shows a number of these achievements. To complete it, do not hesitate to send us pictures of stamps you possess. We will use them with pleasure (reserving us the right to surround them by a frame), stating of course the copyright of the photo and adding, if you want it, a link to your own website.

Portaits of Napoleon Bonaparte

  1. Set of stamps issued by the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe  

  2. Emperor Napoleon Ist, after a detail of the painting by A.J. Gros illustrating the meeting with François Ist the day after the battle of Austerlitz. French 30 francs stamp issued in 1951  

Personalities of the napoleonic era

  1. ALEXANDRE Ist of Russia

    1. Finnish stamp of 2009  

    2. Russian stamp of 2002  

    3. Set of russian stamps of 4 and 7 kopeks  

    4. Russian 20 kopeks stamp issued in 1915  

  2. André Marie AMPÈRE

    1. French stamp issued in 1936 for the centenary of his death  

  3. Archduke Charles of AUSTRIA

    1. Austrian stamp issued in 2009 to mark the bicentenary of the Battle of Aspern-Essling  

  4. Marie Louise of AUTRIA

    1. 2,50 riyals stamp issued by the emirate of Ras El Khaimah  

  5. Pyotr Ivanovitch BAGRATION

    1. Guinea stamp commemorating the Battle of the Moskva (or Borodino) where Bagration was killed  

  6. François de BARBÉ-MARBOIS

    1. U.S. 3 cent stamp issued on the occasion of the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the treaty of cession of Louisiana (a.k.a. Louisiana Purchase)  

  7. Joséphine de BEAUHARNAIS

    1. Paraguayan 0.15 Guarani stamp issued in 1971  

  8. Stéphanie de BEAUHARNAIS

    1. Stamp of Baden  

    2. Monaco stamp  

  9. Jean-Baptiste BERNADOTTE

    1. Swedish stamp issued in 1999  

  10. Claude-Louis BERTHOLLET

    1. French 35 francs stamp issued in 1958  

  11. Xavier BICHAT

    1. French 30 francs stamp issued in 1959  

  12. Gebhard Leberecht von BLÜCHER

    1. East German 24 pfennig stamp issued in 1953  

    2. East German 5 pfennig stamp issued in 1963, representating Blücher with General August Neidhardt von Gneisenau  

  13. Elisa BONAPARTE

    1. Cuban stamp of 1969  

  14. François-Joseph BOSIO

    1. Monaco stamp of 1968  

  15. Pierre-Fidèle BRETONNEAU

    1. French stamp issued in 1962 for the centenary of his death  

  16. Capital punishment of Georges CADOUDAL

    1. Stamp of the Bailiwick of Jersey  

  17. Lazare CARNOT

    1. French 10 francs stamp issued in 1950  

  18. Claude CHAPPE

    1. French 10 francs stamp issued in 1949  

  19. CHARLES IV of Spain

    1. Spanish stamp  

  20. François-René de CHATEAUBRIAND

    1. Stamp issued by French Post on the centenary of his death  

    2. Stamp of the Emirate of Fujeira  

    3. Monaco stamp  

    4. Stamp of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon  

  21. Luigi CHERUBINI

    1. Stamp of Guinea-Bissau  

    2. Hungarian stamp  

    3. Italian stamp  

  22. Jean Nicolas CORVISART des MARETS

    1. French 20 cents stamp issued in 1964  

  23. Georges CUVIER

    1. French stamp issued in 1969 for the bicentennial of the birth of this naturalist  

  24. Yrieix-Pierre DAUMESNIL

    1. French stamp issued in 1976 for the bicentennial of the birth of this general  

  25. Jacques Louis DAVID

    1. French 8 francs stamp issued in 1950  

    2. Soviet stamp  

  26. Louis DESAIX

    1. French stamp issued in 1968 for the bicentennial of the birth of this general  

  27. René-Nicolas DUFRICHE-DESGENETTES

    1. French 30 centimes stamp issued in 1972  

  28. FERDINAND VII of Spain

    1. Spanish stamp  

  29. FREDERIC-WILLIAM III of Prussia

    1. Liberian stamp of 20 dollars issued in 2000  

  30. André GRÉTRY

    1. Belgian stamp  

  31. Jean-Dominique INGRES

    1. Soviet stamp issued in 1980 for the bicentennial of his birth  

  32. François Etienne Christophe KELLERMANN

    1. French stamp issued in 1989 on the occasion of the bicentenary of the French Revolution  

  33. Mikhaïl Illarionovitch KUTUZOV

    1. Russian stamp  

    2. Soviet stamp issued in 1945 to mark the bicentenary of his birth  

    3. East German 40 pfennig stamp issued in 1963, representing Kutuzov with Prussian General Gerhard von Scharnhorst  

  34. René LAËNNEC

    1. French 12 francs stamp issued in 1952  

  35. Joseph LAGRANGE

    1. French 8 francs stamp issued in 1958  

  36. Jean LANNES

    1. 50 cents stamp issued in France in 1969 to commemorate the bicentennial of his birth  

  37. Pierre Simon de LAPLACE

    1. French 30 francs stamp issued in 1950  

  38. Jean Dominique LARREY

    1. French 25 cents stamp issued in 1964  

  39. Antoine Marie Chamans de LAVALETTE (ou LAVALLETTE)

    1. French 12 + 3 francs stamp issued in 1954  

  40. André MASSÉNA

    1. Monaco stamp  

  41. Etienne MÉHUL

    1. French stamp issued in 1963 to mark the bicentenary of the composer's birth  

  42. Bon-Adrien Jannot de MONCEY

    1. French 80 cens stamp issued in 1976  

  43. Gaspard MONGE

    1. French 18 francs stamp issued in 1953  

    2. French 2.5 francs stamp issued in 1990  

  44. NAPOLÉON II

    1. Monaco 1 Euro stamp issued in 2011  

  45. Horatio NELSON et HMS Victory

    1. British stamp  

  46. Giovanni PAISIELLO

    1. Italian stamp  

  47. PIUS VI

    1. Vatican Stamp  

  48. PIUS VII

    1. Vatican Stamp  

  49. Józef Antoni PONIATOWSKI

    1. Polish stamp  

  50. Jean-Etienne PORTALIS et le Code Civil

    1. French 45 cents stamp issued in 1973  

  51. Louise of PRUSSIA

    1. German 250 pfennig stamp issued in 1989  

  52. Emmanuel SIÉYÈS

    1. French stamp of 2.20 francs, issued on the occasion of the bicentenary of the French Revolution  

  53. Madame de STAËL

    1. French 30 cents stamp issued in 1960  

  54. STENDHAL

    1. French stamp issued in 1942 to mark the centenary of the death of Henri Beyle  

  55. Robert SURCOUF

    1. French 12 francs stamp issued in 1951  

    2. Mauritian stamp  

  56. Charles-Maurice de TALLEYRAND-PÉRIGORD

    1. French 15 francs stamp issued in 1951  

  57. Alessandro VOLTA

    1. Italian stamp issued on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of the physicist  

  58. Maria WALEWSKA

    1. Polish stamp  

Postcard from Syria