The first postage stamps in France, depicting Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, grain crops, motherly love and fertility, were issued on January 1st 1849. The ‘Ceres head’ concept was kept in France until 1875. This changed with the philatelic exhibition of Paris in 1937, a special minisheet of four bicolored Ceres stamps were issued. And around that same time, this stamp with a photographic portrait of a lady appeared. While the lady on this stamp is no Roman goddess, she certainly appears to be a strong and confident woman nonetheless.