An interesting collection of stamps from Paraguay, mostly earlies. Most seem to be from the pre-1962 period.

Condition appears average to good, with a few minor faults.

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Paraguay gained its independence from Spain in 1811, and its first president was Jose de Francia. He cut off Paraguay from the rest of South America.

After World War II, politics became particularly unstable, with several political parties fighting for power in the late 1940s, which most notably brought about the Paraguayan civil war of 1947. A series of unstable governments ensued until the establishment, in 1954, of the stable regime of dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who remained in office for more than three decades, until 1989. Paraguay was modernized to some extent under Stroessner's regime, although his rule was marked by extensive abuses.

On 3 February 1989, Stroessner was overthrown in a military coup headed by General Andrés Rodríguez. As president, Rodríguez instituted political, legal, and economic reforms and initiated a rapprochement with the international community.

In May 1993, Colorado Party candidate Juan Carlos Wasmosy was elected as Paraguay's first civilian president in almost 40 years, in what international observers deemed fair and free elections.

Raúl Cubas was elected in 1998 in elections deemed by international observers to be free and fair. In 2003, Nicanor Duarte Frutos was elected and sworn in as president.

For the 2008 general elections, voters chose a non-politician, Fernando Lugo.

Political instability in the past year, fueled by disputes within Fernando Lugo's cabinet, has led the right wing Colorado Party to regain popularity.

On 21 June 2012, impeachment proceedings against President Lugo began in the country's lower house, controlled by his opponents. Lugo was given less than twenty-four hours to prepare for the proceedings and only two hours in which to mount a defense.

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