Encyclopedia of Algerian Postage Stamps
Because it is a landmark that marks our history and is also the receptacle of our memory, the postage stamp deserved to have an encyclopedia devoted to it which makes it speak, which goes beyond the symbol it represents.
The postage stamp is much more than an image whose aesthetic value can be appreciated. In truth, it takes the place of a story or a moment in this history, of our culture, of our craftsmanship and it marks the stages of our revolutionary journey, perhaps better than entire books would do. It is the evocative power of the postage stamp that justifies the creation of an encyclopedia. The postal institution, which is responsible for periodically producing the postage stamp, also proves to be a conservatory of our memory both at the national and international level. The universal exhibitions in which it participated and the recognition it has repeatedly generated show that the Algerian Post had, very early on, laid the essential bridges for a worldwide promotion of its missions, more particularly of philatelic practice. With the introduction of new communication and information technologies into its management processes, it is becoming ever more efficient. Evocations of the great moments of our history, and at the same time of our personal joys and sorrows, this work had to exist to also be, among so many other reference sources, the interpreter of our need for difference and our capacity to experience the universal. In these times of intolerance and incomprehension between men, this is a new chance offered to the hope of human fraternity.
May this work serve the noble purposes assigned to it by its creators. In any case, it represents a significant contribution to the effort of cultural renewal which accompanies the process of reconstruction of Algeria.
The postage stamp is much more than an image whose aesthetic value can be appreciated. In truth, it takes the place of a story or a moment in this history, of our culture, of our craftsmanship and it marks the stages of our revolutionary journey, perhaps better than entire books would do. It is the evocative power of the postage stamp that justifies the creation of an encyclopedia. The postal institution, which is responsible for periodically producing the postage stamp, also proves to be a conservatory of our memory both at the national and international level. The universal exhibitions in which it participated and the recognition it has repeatedly generated show that the Algerian Post had, very early on, laid the essential bridges for a worldwide promotion of its missions, more particularly of philatelic practice. With the introduction of new communication and information technologies into its management processes, it is becoming ever more efficient. Evocations of the great moments of our history, and at the same time of our personal joys and sorrows, this work had to exist to also be, among so many other reference sources, the interpreter of our need for difference and our capacity to experience the universal. In these times of intolerance and incomprehension between men, this is a new chance offered to the hope of human fraternity.
May this work serve the noble purposes assigned to it by its creators. In any case, it represents a significant contribution to the effort of cultural renewal which accompanies the process of reconstruction of Algeria.