British Man Created Absurd Stamps Portraying Himself

Published

Oct 31, 2013 Europe/London

Angus McDonagh became an overnight celebrity in England after revealing that over the years he has designed about 50 humorous stamps portraying himself - with a Santa Claus beard or a beret hat - and sent hundreds of letters. Only one letter was returned.

Some people collect stamps, and some make them. The former is a legitimate hobby, but the latter is not only illegal, but in this case - somewhat funny. 

This is what Angus McDonagh, a British self-proclaimed anarchist, has proven. His story was made public yesterday (October 30, 2013), whereby over the years he has sent over 100 letters in the mail to various destinations around the world using postal stamps that he created, with his own absurd portraits as the stamp art.

fake stampMcDonagh claims that he began making his fakes as protest against the tasteless designs of existing stamps, as well as the disappearance of stamps from the world. He said that when he started out he intentionally made them silly and humorous, faking a mustache, beard or eye-patch, to emphasize that they were unprofessionally made. But they went unnoticed for such a long time that it became “silly”, as he puts it.

The 64 year old McDonagh has claimed to have made around 50 different designs of stamps, in which he was seen to be wearing a Santa Claus beard or funny hats. One of the hundred or so letters that he sent using his stamps made it all the way to Australia.
The British Postal Authorities were not as amused by this story. A statement from the BPA was made claiming that this is a crime, against which they will take all the necessary steps, in order to protect the authenticity of stamps.