Chronicling Croatia

The Chismon Collection was donated to the British Library by Joe Chismon, whose father Harvey compiled a fascinating piece of Croatian history. The five albums contain material dating from 1838, but mainly comprise postage stamps from two of the country’s most turbulent periods, between 1918 and 1919, and between 1941 and 1945.

The country has had a complex history and at times was a mere puppet state under the control of other powers. Modern Croatian stamps are bright and eye catching. Older stamps, such as some of those in the Chismon collection, show periods when propaganda ruled the day. They also include proud leaders