Bicycles on stamps

The depiction of bicycles on stamps began in 1899 with a Cuban special delivery stamp, although unofficial (local or cinderella) issues had been previously released in Germany (1887/8), in the United States (1894),^[1] and in Australia (1896).^[2] The number of bicycle-related postal items (stamps, postal stationery, etc.) exceeds 30,000 as of 2024.^[3] As a thematic topic, bicycles are notable for the wide variety of subjects that they are used to illustrate.^[4]

The definition of what constitutes a bicycle stamp is open to interpretation.^[5]^[6]^[7] A bicycle stamp^{[Note 1]} has one or more of the following characteristics:

It depicts a human-powered cycling machine. This includes a whole (or part of) bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, toy cycles, tandems, rickshaws, exercise/standing bicycles, etc. It excludes powered or unpowered wheelchairs and motor-driven or motor-assisted cycling machines, e.g. motorcycles, mopeds.^{[Note 2]}
It depicts a bicycle or cyclist in a social context. For example, a cyclist in a street scene, cycling as an energy-efficient, green, mode of transport, or cycling promoting road safety.
It depicts a building used specifically for cycling sport, i.e. a velodrome.
It depicts a person notable for being a cyclist, e.g. a winner of the Tour de France, or cycling events at the Olympic Games.
It depicts the process of manufacturing a bicycle, or a notable bicycle manufacturer (individual or firm).
It depicts the word "bicycle" in the local language, even if the image of a bicycle is not included. The word triathlon without an image of a bicycle is excluded.

The following types of material are excluded (although they may also be collected by bicycle stamp enthusiasts):

Postal stationery, e.g. a postcard depicting a bicycle with a non-bicycle stamp affixed.
Cinderella, local, private or personal issues, i.e. unofficial stamps.
Non-postal stamps, e.g. revenue stamps such as the French 1940s "Impôt sur les vélocipèdes".^[8]
Stamps issued by non-existing/unrecognized countries and/or in excess of actual postal requirements.

Early issues

The first bicycle stamp of the 20th century was a 1900 stamp issued for local postal delivery during the siege of Mafeking, depicting Cadet Sgt. Major Goodyear on a bicycle.^[9] The United States issued a special delivery bicycle messenger stamp in 1902. Bulgaria issued a cycling stamp as part of a set commemorating the Balkan games of 1931. In 1935 the USSR issued a bicycle stamp to commemorate the World Spartacist Games. Denmark issued a stamp showing King Christian X on horseback as part of his silver jubilee celebrations in 1937; in the background of the street scene are three cyclists.

These early issues illustrate the wide variety of subjects depicted on bicycle stamps.