Israel, 1980–1982. Design: G. Sagi

'More than just miniature beauties, stamps offer a flavour of their time,' notes Iain Follet, one of the two stamp design experts that helped compile this book, ‘Different countries, through different periods in their histories, kept varying levels of records.’

Here we take a look at philatelic offerings from countries sometimes neglected in graphic design history:

Singapore, 1983. Design: Eng Siak Loy
Peru, 1973. Designer unknown

‘As designers we always appreciate the additional level of detail: sublime typography, special inks, embossing and foils, tactile materials, print process effects. Certainly from a collector’s perspective these add a layer of appreciation and value beyond the ordinary’
Blair Thomson

Ecuador, 1975. Designer unknown
Colombia, 1972. Design: C. Rojas

‘As Unit’s Adrian Shaughnessy notes in his introduction, both stamp creation and stamp collecting have natural links with graphic design, yet, while the actual design of stamps is only of cursory interest to philatelists, it is also an area that seems to suffer neglect in design circles, overshadowed by other forms such as books, record sleeves and posters’
Mark Sinclair, Creative Review 

Uruguay, 1980. Design: A Pezzino (left) and
Fernando Álvarez Cozzi (right)

‘...the reaction I get when highlighting a stamp to fellow designers and creatives, as well as the general public, has been quite overwhelming, tinged with surprise at how many incredible designs there are’
Iain Follett

Venezuela, 1978. Design: Nedo Mion Ferrario
Iran, 1976. Designer unknown

Throughout April Graphic Stamps is available at the special price of £31.50! 
Free postage worldwide