THAT stamps can be used as concise history lessons is demonstrated in three recent issues from Britain. In September, the British issued a set of four stamps titled ''Victorian Britain: Great People; Great Times;'' In July, they released a set of four ''Scottish Heraldry'' stamps and in June, the 100th anniversary of the St. John's Ambulance Brigade was used to honor 100 years of medical care in Britain.
The Victorian set, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Victoria, in 1827, contains numerous popular historical allusions.
The 18-pence low value features the young Queen against a backdrop that includes the quintessentially Victorian painting ''The Monarch of the Glen,'' by Sir Edwin Landseer; the legendary Grace Darling, who rowed through raging seas to rescue five shipwrecked people; and the Great Exhibition of 1851 at London's Crystal Palace.
The 22-pence multicolored stamp features a bust of Sir Rowland Hill, the creator of the first postage stamp, the cover of Mrs. Isabella Beeton's ''Book of Household Management,'' which is still in print today, and the iron-hulled steamship, the ''Great Eastern.''
The 31-pence value moves ahead in history, with a portrait of Queen Victoria mourning the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861. In the background are the Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, a ballot box and a scene from the 1887 Golden Jubilee.
The set concludes with reminders of the Boer War, the development of telegraphic communications and the Diamond Jubilee of 1897 The Scottish Heraldry set, though colorful, is much simpler in design concept. Each of the four stamps illustrates an individual heraldic banner. The theme was chosen as part of Scotland's celebration of the 300th anniversary of the revival of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.
The highly distinctive heraldic banner of the royal arms of Scotland, a red lion on a field of gold, is combined with the bust of Queen Elizabeth II and the symbol of the Order of the Thistle.
The central theme of each stamp is a banner or coat of arms. The 18-pence stamp depicts the official coat of arms of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who is responsible for state and public ceremonial activities and who oversees the usage of coats of arms. The 22-pence issue illustrates the banner used by the Sovereign's eldest son when in Scotland.
The 31-pence and 34-pence values show the use of heraldry by modern-day societies. The former shows the arms of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, while the latter offers the arms of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which was established in 1783 for ''the advancement of learning and useful knowledge.''
The new British set depicts four scenes of the St. John's Ambulance Brigade, in action since 1887. An 18-pence stamp shows early first aid duties, a 22-pence value illustrates first aid in World War II, a 31-pence issue depicts the brigade rendering first aid to a teenager at a 1965 rock concert The 34-pence stamp brings us up to date with a transplant organ flight conducted by the brigade. Chinese History
An even more vivid example of the connection between philately and history comes in the form of a forthcoming auction by Christie's Robson Lowe in Zurich. The auction house will offer ''The Opening of China,'' a study of mail to and from that land from 1701 to 1885. Copies of the catalogue for the Nov. 12 sale can be obtained for $8 from Christie's New York gallery, 502 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022.
The collection being offered was designed to illustrate by means of postal history the opening of China to the influence and commerce of the Western world. It includes many rare or unique covers, the earliest of which is a 1701 letter from James Cunninghame, a surgeon with the East India Company and the first British botanical collector in China.
The earliest correspondence between China and the United States, in this sale, is a Sept. 23, 1815, letter from Canton to Boston that was carried by the brig ''Macedonian.'' The most valuable lot is an 1879 Universal Postal Union official postcard bearing Hong Kong and China stamps to St. Andrews, Scotland. It is estimated at 35,000 swiss francs.