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The Madman's Guide to Stamp Collecting

Format: Hardback
£16.99

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A fascinating, one-of-a-kind journey through the world of stamps and collecting by maverick historian and writer Robert IrwinWhy do we collect? Is it to rescue objects from oblivion? Is it a kind of desire - or even a kind of madness? In this mosaic of fiction, philosophy, sociology, biography and autobiography, virtuoso thinker Robert Irwin takes us on a wayward journey through the art of collecting, and his own intellectual passions.Drawing on the works of writers including Susan Sontag, Walter Benjamin, Iris Murdoch and Georges Perec, as well as a host of lesser-known geniuses, flaneurs, obsessives and eccentrics, Irwin explores everything from mysticism to nostalgia, classical antiquity to surrealism, dreams to death. We join Thomas De Quincey on a night mail coach, encounter the man who set out to acquire every stamp ever issued and enter the badlands of fakes and forgeries, all in the company of a uniquely brilliant mind.This is a book of wonders; of labyrinthine digressions, good humour and a delight in small things. It is a meditation on the stuff of life.
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Authors:
Irwin, Robert
Year Published:
2025
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Format:
Hardback
ISBN:
9781805337744
Number of Pages:
240
Publication Date:
10/04/2025
Publisher:
Pushkin Press
Language:
English
Place of Publication:
London
Imprint:
ONE
SKU:
9781805337744

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