Published by Square Peg, part of Vintage Publishing
Format: Hardback
£16.99
Author:
Christopher West
Format: Hardback
EAN: 9780224095464
£16.99
Available for dispatch within 1-2 working days
EAN: 9780224095464
Published: 18 Oct 2012
Every stamp tells a story. Ever since Queen Victoria's Penny Black first burst on to the scene, stamps have depicted history as it happens. From the rise and fall of Empire to the defeat of Hitler, from Victoria's coronation to the death of Diana, from the first railways and steamships to the advent of computers, every big event in British life has been reflected by a stamp.
Chris West has selected 36 of the most evocative, quirky and beautiful stamps in his collection and woven them into a witty and elegant popular history of the nation from 1840 to the present day. Each classic, lovingly-designed stamp is presented in full colour, revealing it to be both a work of art and a tantalising window into the character and spirit of its era.
Here is a history of Britain like no other, that will delight stamp collectors and lovers of history alike.
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Telling a nation's story through a selection of its stamps is an ingenious idea for a book, and Chris West has executed it with flair and imagination
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Small but pefectly formed - 5 stars
- Daily Telegraph
A splendid reminder of the philatelic glories of the past… These miniature gems are of the highest quality in design, subject choice and colour
- The Times
A terrific and insightful read
- Woman & Home
This is a very neat piece of work... It reminds, and it informs. It is entertaining too and of its sort, first class
- Eastern Daily Press
West’s style is engaging and thought provoking…a very enjoyable, charming read
- Liverpool Post
Chris West inherited a love of history from his father and an Edwardian 'Lincoln' stamp album from his great uncle. These boyhood enthusiasms were then supplanted by The Beatles and the opposite sex - but revived a few years ago on finding the Lincoln album, covered in dust, in the attic. The find inspird him to start collecting again, and the collecting reignited his interest in the history associated with the stamps. Chris studied economics and philosophy at the LSE and worked in marketing. He is now a professional writer working under his own name and as a 'ghost'. His own titles include the bestselling business title The Beermat Entrepeneur and other 'Beermat' business guides, a travel memoir of 1980s China, Perfect Written English, and a quartet of crime novels. He lives in Cambridgeshire.
