Finland 1856

From stamp to puzzle

Watch the mini puzzle come together

The beginning of a story in blue and red

In March 1856, Finland issued its first postage stamps: the blue 5 kopek for short distances and the red 10 kopek for longer distances. They began a story that would span political changes, new currencies and generations of collectors.

The initiative grew from a proposal presented in 1855 by Postmaster General Alexander Wulffert. The Senate approved the introduction of stamps for a two-year trial period. They remained in use after the trial and became part of the Finnish postal history.

An identity within an oval

At the centre of the design is the Finnish coat of arms with its lion. The design was already used for the value imprints on prepaid envelopes and it was now adapted for the new adhesive stamps.

At that time, Finland was a Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire. Even so, its first stamps were issued almost two years before the first Russian stamps. Their denominations in kopek help us to place them in their historical setting.

Printed by hand and separated with scissors

Production required manual work: the design was printed by hand, each stamp separately, one after another.

The sheets had no perforations. Each stamp had to be cut out with scissors, an everyday gesture that helps explain why the margins of surviving examples can vary.

Small details known as pearls were also incorporated into the design as security features against misuse. In this tiny object, appearance and function went hand in hand.

A beginning preserved

These stamps hold a special place in Finnish philately. The Finnish Postal Museum preserves stamps and correspondence from this first issue, including items of great rarity. A surviving letter allows us to follow what an isolated stamp can only suggest: its actual use, the postal route and the marks left by the journey.

A special connection with our own beginnings

For us at SWIDERSKI PHILATELIC ART™, this stamp has a special meaning. The idea behind our project was born in Finland, and including the country’s first stamps in our collection is a way of honouring the place where our own story began.

Through this mini puzzle, Archive 005, we bring these two beginnings together: the first chapter of Finnish philately and the birth of our idea to transform the stories of stamps into objects to assemble, contemplate and collect. This connection makes them especially important to us.

The history you assemble

As you assemble this mini puzzle, observe the oval shape, the lion and the details surrounding the design. Imagine the work of printing each stamp and the care taken to cut it out before placing it on a letter.

With Archive 005, this beginning takes on a new form. The image invites you to discover Finnish postal history through an object you can assemble, contemplate and keep.

Special thanks

We warmly thank Seija-Riitta Laakso, editor of Suomen Postimerkkilehti, for the generosity with which she has welcomed this project and for offering to review the Finnish texts. Her attention to words and dedication to philately are a valued contribution to sharing these stories with our readers.

Historical sources

Postimuseo — Postimerkin historiaa Miten postimerkit saivat alkunsa (in Finnish)