Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the images of Brazilian postal documents depicting nursing. METHOD: Historical research with a time frame between 1843 and 2022. The data was collected using the visual observation technique, from the iconographic collection of the Post Office Museum and philatelic catalogs. The postal drawings were analyzed using Erwin Panofsky's Iconological Method. RESULTS: 62 postal documents alluding to nursing were identified. The graphic art was made up of elements of the profession's symbolism, personalities, social organizations, professional categories, care actions, health institutions, nursing professional associations, scientific events and nursing schools. There was an absence of academic themes, pioneering nurses and nursing journals. CONCLUSION: Since 1934, nursing has been represented in Brazilian philately, regardless of the political context. The representations show public recognition by the Brazilian state of the social importance of the profession and of nursing professionals in human health care. The study innovated nursing research in Brazil by using the postage stamp as a source of data and the Panofskyan methodology for reading images of the profession.