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    The Error World: An Affair with Stamps
    The Error World: An Affair with Stamps
    The Error World: An Affair with Stamps
    Ebook273 pages6 hours

    The Error World: An Affair with Stamps

    By Simon Garfield

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    An obsessively readable memoir about the passions—and perils—of collecting, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Just My Type.
     
    From the Penny Red to the Blue Mauritius, generations of collectors have been drawn to the mystique of rare stamps. Once a widespread pastime of schoolboys, philately has increasingly become the province of older men obsessed with the shrewd investment, the once-in-a-lifetime find, the one elusive beauty that will complete a collection and satisfy an unquenchable thirst.
     
    As a boy, Simon Garfield collected errors—rare pigment misprints that create ghostly absences in certain stamps. Then, in his mid-forties, this passion reignited—and it began to consume him. In the span of a couple of years, he amassed a collection of errors worth upwards of forty thousand British pounds. But as he was pursuing this secret passion, he was also pursuing a romantic one—while his marriage disintegrated.
     
    In this unique memoir, Simon Garfield twines the story of his philatelic obsession with an honest, engrossing exploration of the rarities and absences that both limit and define us. The end result is a thoughtful, funny, and enticing meditation on the impulse to possess.
     
     
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateJan 20, 2009
    ISBN9780547586700
    The Error World: An Affair with Stamps
    Author

    Simon Garfield

    Simon Garfield is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen acclaimed books of nonfiction including On the Map and Just My Type. A recipient of the Somerset Maugham Award for nonfiction, he lives in London.

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    Reviews for The Error World

    3.5/5

    21 ratings4 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Better for residents of the UK.
    • 3/5
      I was excited to read this book, figuring either it would be a great memoir, or a great book about stamps, but this book was neither. Though I did enjoy reading about young Simon's growing love for stamps, I would have like the personal element of the story to be introduced much much earlier. After a promising tidbit about the role of stamps in ending his marriage, Garfield then reverted to long reflections on stamps; his wife and his adult relationships are never even factored into the story.Perhaps a more knowledgable reader will enjoy the detailed discussions of specific stamps, but for me, the appeal of this book was supposed to be the personal connection, an element I found lacking. Though Garfield is an excellent writer, I just didn't feel a connection to the story or to his obsession with stamps and other collections.
    • 5/5
      I am that rare creature -- a female stamp collector, so I can empathize with Simon Garfield's collecting obsessions. I too gave up collecting over a relationship. In his case it was to pay for a divorce settlement, in mine my ex resented that if I had any hobby it took away from the time I was expected to be adoring him. Garfield's personal story is carefully interwoven with what is in effect a history of stamp collecting and collectors, primarily in the UK. His particular focus was on errors, so there is much word play there on the errors of life as well. The Error World is an excellent autobiography as well as a rumination on the compulsion to collect.
    • 3/5
      We are all of us collectors. Be it books, baseballs cards, or Barbie dolls, what we gather into our lives defines us in some way. Simon Garfield’s life seems to be one of not only collecting, but of crisis and loss. From his first experience with stamp collecting, he was hooked, but his pseudo-obsession with philately would cost him more than money. In his The Error World, he looks at the history of both stamp-making and stamp collecting as well as the trajectory of his own life in relation to his hobby.Stamps began in Britain in 1840 and from there began a worldwide obsession with acquiring newer and interesting pieces. The 1840 Penny Black started the whole thing. Stamps are now printed in every country and include an almost infinite variety of subject matters. There are those that just collect British monarch stamps or island airmail stamps or stamps from a certain decade. Garfield concerns himself with errors. At various points in the printing process, ink can be misapplied or entire figures can be missing from the stamp. Errors, because they are inherently rarer than the stamps themselves, are a bit more valuable and have more character. Garfield details the history of famous collectors and the prizes they sought after, counting himself among their number.Garfield’s collection of stamps is counterpointed with his collection of experiences. His father died early in his life and then his mother, and he can’t quite ever keep his relationships or his collections whole. He cheats on his wife and has to sell his collection to pay for the divorce. Garfield’s life is unfortunately underwhelming when set against the field of philately (which is saying quite a lot, I believe), but the stories he tells are genuine. In the end, the book reads fast and has a good amount of information about stamps, so it’ll fit nicely in a free afternoon.

    Book preview

    The Error World - Simon Garfield

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