Stamp collecting is in evolution! There is not the same preoccupation as formerly with absolute rarity for its own sake, with single-issue specialization, or with merely chance variations in paper, perforation, color, and printing. Today the collector feels free from the arbitrary regulations which once restricted his choice and is able to concentrate on that aspect of stamp collecting which happens to appeal to his personal taste. This illustrated book by Michael Harrison and Douglas Armstrong invitingly describes some fresh avenues in stamp collecting which both amateurs and more advanced enthusiasts may wish to explore.
High on the list of subjects in the "new stamp collecting" is that of Topical or Subject Collection. In A New Approach to Stamp Collecting the authors tell some of the forms which Topical Collecting ‘may take: stamps showing ships, trains, birds, flowers, ancient monuments, and modern architecture are only a few of the possibilities. For those growing numbers of collectors interested in stamps for their beauty there is a stimulating and helpful chapter on Design and the Stamp. In such chapters as these— Stamps That Have Altered History, Propaganda by Postage Stamp, and Stamps and Politics —Messrs. Harrison and Armstrong substantiate the fact that postage stamps are mirrors which reflect world crises, national politics, scientific advancements. And for those persons interested in profitable returns from their investment in a hobby, there are chapters on Philatelic Finance and Money in Stamps.
The authors’ readable and entertaining style is enlivened throughout by a good collection of "stamp anecdotes." The book’s value to the collector is much enhanced by the many excellent color and black and white illustrations in which several hundred individual stamps are reproduced.
Douglas Armstrong was for over forty years philatelic correspondent of The Times. An enthusiastic stamp collector himself, he published his first book on the subject in 1913 and since that time he has produced about a dozen other works on philately. He helped to found, and subsequently edited, the weekly magazine Stamp Collecting. He has also acted as philatelic correspondent to the Daily Express and The Connoisseur.
Michael Harrison is the author of ‘Post Office’ Mauritius, 1847, and has contributed numerous articles, particularly on sociological aspects of philately, to Stamp Collecting. Mr. Harrison is also a novelist and a writer on sociological subjects.
e-Book,
158 pp.
with 24 plates.
(Tina Rhea #31)
ISBN 978-1-55497-283-8 $10.00