{"product_id":"the-madmans-guide-to-stamp-collecting-by-robert-irwin","title":"The Madman's Guide to Stamp Collecting by Robert Irwin","description":"\u003cp\u003eA fascinating, one-of-a-kind journey through the obsessive world of collecting (and stamps) by maverick historian and cult writer Robert Irwin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] delightful mishmash of quotations, digressions, obscure facts, arcane anecdotes and playful romps.” — Literary Review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy do we collect? Is it to rescue objects from oblivion? Is it a kind of desire—or even a kind of madness?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Landmark Booksellers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67606058631444,"sku":"9781805337768","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0586\/1385\/8477\/files\/9781805337768.jpg?v=1790866708","url":"https:\/\/landmark-booksellers.myshopify.com\/products\/the-madmans-guide-to-stamp-collecting-by-robert-irwin","provider":"Landmark Booksellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}