TOM OF FINLAND STAMPS A GLOBAL HIT

A set of stamps celebrating the iconic gay fetish artist Tom of Finland have been dubbed “the most talked-about stamp publication of all time.”

The stamps, issued by Itella Posti, the Finish postal service, went on sale on Monday and are already a huge hit with stamp collectors the world over.

Posti said that the stamps have been pre-ordered from its online shop from 178 different countries. After Finland, the stamps were most popular in Sweden, Great Britain, the United States and France.

The Tom of Finland stamps received international attention from the moment when their publication was first announced in April.

Posti said in a statement that it was “generally considered the most talked-about stamp publication of all time, world-wide.”

One of the three stamps features a man’s naked rear; possibly a first in the stamp world.

“Our goal in the future as well is to publish modern stamps that depict a wide range of themes,” said Markku Penttinen, Development Director at Itella Posti.

The artist behind Tom of Finland was Touko Laaksonen (1920-1991), who produced more than 3,500 drawings – many of which were sexually explicit. His art had a significant impact on gay culture as well as on more mainstream pop culture and fashion.