Finnish postal service to issue ‘Tom of Finland’ gay male erotica stamps

HELSINKI, Finland — The Finnish Postal Service, Itella, is preparing to release new sets of stamps in September 2014, including “male drawings by Tom of Finland” – a deceased Finnish artist notable for his homoerotic fetish art on late twentieth century gay culture, reports Finnbay.com.

Tom of Finland or Touko Laaksonen (May 8, 1920 – November 7, 1991) is one of the most popular Finnish artists in Finland, who focused on drawing stylized homoerotic fetish art. He produced over 3,500 illustrations, mostly featuring men with exaggerated primary and secondary sex traits with tight or partially removed clothing.

Among the selected Tom of Finland illustrations for the stamps:

SEE ARTICLE TO VIEW 3 OF THE NEW STAMPS

Finland’s Postal Museum will also debut an exhibition on Laaksonen titled “Sealed with a Secret: Correspondence of Tom of Finland” to coincide with the stamps’ release. The show runs from Sept. 6 through March 29 at the Museum Centre Vapriikki, and will feature letters and exchanges from the artist throughout the course of his career.