Story Told Through World’s First Documentary CD-ROM Postage Stamps with
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Coronation, celebration and commemoration will mark major changes coming to the Kingdom of Bhutan in 2008. The tiny, peace-loving country, located between China’s Tibetan plateaus and India’s Bangladesh borders, next year will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the monarchy, the coronation of a new king, and a conversion to democracy in a landmark year of first-time local and national elections.

Bhutan, the country that developed the concept-and the living of-Gross National Happiness, is a recognized world leader in environmental conservation and cultural preservation. His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who will become Bhutan’s fifth king in 2008, recently was honored to receive the World Wildlife Fund’s J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership.

The year-long celebrations and ceremonies marking Bhutan’s milestones will be commemorated with the release of the world’s first documentary CD-ROM postage stamp series. Each of the four collectible stamps will consist of a small, decorated envelope with a tiny CD-ROM inside. The CD-ROM envelope will be self-adhesive, designed to be placed on a larger envelope before mailing. The CD-ROMs will capture the sights and sounds of Bhutan in short documentaries on the history, culture, architecture, dress and customs of this remote country. The CD-ROM collection will have a hyperlink connecting to a regularly updated website on Bhutan, linking the past, present and future in a postage stamp.

Bhutan’s history, and even some of the history of the world, is told through the innovative postage stamps the country has issued for more than four decades. With the country’s mountainous, remote Himalayan location-accessible only on foot-Bhutan remained principally closed to the world until the early 1960s. Since then, its postage stamp releases have introduced the country to the world, funding its national treasury and economic development and allowing recognition from the United Nations and the World Bank.

However, Bhutan’s innovative philatelic “firsts” gained the attention of individuals and collectors around the world since 1962. Bhutan was the first country to release 3-D stamps, talking stamps on tiny phonograph records, stamps printed on silk, steel stamps, scented stamps, sculptural stamps, and many others.

The new CD-ROM stamps can be used as postage, added to a stamp collection, or placed in a frame for display. Bhutan’s new CD-ROM stamps, to be released in 2008, may be purchased by advance reservation at www.bhutanpostagestamps.com.  Additional information also is available at www.BhutanToday.net.

The stamps will be produced by a partnership of Bhutan Postal Corp. Ltd. and Creative Products International of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The company is owned by Frances Todd Stewart, whose family is responsible for Bhutan’s many, many philatelic firsts. Mrs. Stewart’s father, Burt Todd, is believed to be the first American to visit the Kingdom of Bhutan, back in 1951. Mr. Todd developed a life-long affection for the people of Bhutan, and, as an innovator and entrepreneur, developed innovative postage stamps to fund the country’s economic development.