Stamps have been issued to honor presidents and kings, warriors and statesmen, poets and musicians, saints and villains; even chessplayers and stamp collectors have been commemorated. In spite of their contributions to civilization and culture, only a handful of mathematicians have appeared on postage stamps; none on those issued by the United States or Great Britain. Perhaps this is a measure of the esteem held by the general public for things mathematical. A few famous names are represented, but many are missing. Newton, Gauss, and Pascal, Laplace, Lie, and Poincare, to mention a scant halfdozen, are without philatelic honor. Germany appears to have been the first country to put a mathematician's picture on a postage stamp. In 1926, she issued a 40 pfennig violet (360) with a pictureofLeibnitz. There seemed to be no particular reason for this issue which had other German greats including Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven, and Bach. Twenty-four years later, a 24 pfennig red (10N66) featuring Leibnitz, as well as a 1 pfennig grey (10N58) featuring Euler were issued to commemorate the 250 th anniversary of the founding of the Academy of Science in Berlin. In 1928, Cyprus, celebrating its fiftieth year as a British colony, issued a set of stamps which included a 1 pi blue and black (115) with a picture of Zeno. This makes him the only ancient Greek mathematician so honored. To Norway goes the credit for having issued the first set of stamps especially for a mathematician. In 1929, a 10 ore green (145), 15 6re brown (146), 20 6re red (147), and 30 ore ultramarine (148) set commemorated the centenary of Abel's death. Chronologically, the next to issue a mathematical stamp was Hungary. A set of famous Hungarians included a 70 filler cerise (479) with a picture of Bolyai. Oddly enough it was Farkas Bolyai, the mathematics teacher rather than his more famous son Janos Bolyai who received recognition. France has probably produced more great mathematicians than any other country. But from this embarrassment of riches, only one has appeared on a stamp. In 1937, two slightly different 90 cent reds (330, 331) featuring Descartes were issued in commemoration of the third centenary of the publication of Discours de la Methode. Thus it was Descartes, the philosopher rather than Descartes the mathematician who was honored. On the other hand, there is little question who was Ireland's greatest mathematician. In 1943the Irish Free State issued a half-pennygreen (126) and a 2Y/2 penny brown (127) depicting Hamilton's portrait. This was not