{"product_id":"the-madmans-guide-to-stamp-robert-irwin-9781805337768","title":"The Madman's Guide to Stamp Collecting","description":"\u003cb\u003eA fascinating, one-of-a-kind journey through the obsessive world of collecting (and stamps) by maverick historian and cult writer Robert Irwin. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[A] delightful mishmash of quotations, digressions, obscure facts, arcane anecdotes and playful romps.\" -- \u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhy do we collect? Is it to rescue objects from oblivion? Is it a kind of desire--or even a kind of madness? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRobert Irwin--novelist, historian, translator, collector--was a true original; a virtuoso thinker who combined encyclopaedic knowledge with boundless curiosity. In this 'mosaic of fiction, philosophy, sociology, biography and autobiography' he takes us on a wayward journey through the art of collecting, and his own intellectual passions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on a treasure-trove of literary references from 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, psychology to propaganda, 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, enter the shadowlands of long-vanished kingdoms and the badlands of fakes and forgeries, all in the company of a uniquely brilliant mind. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis is a one-of-a-kind book of wonders; of labyrinthine digressions, good humour and a 'delight in small things'. It is a satisfying and unforgettable meditation on the stuff of life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Irwin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1805337769\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781805337768\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Pushkin Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/02\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs","brand":"Robert Irwin","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48154172063999,"sku":"9781805337768","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_843551a1-be7f-4b41-b634-1cef0822aa02.jpg?v=1770788377","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-madmans-guide-to-stamp-robert-irwin-9781805337768","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}