If you haven’t already bought this – here’s some exclusive / unseen typographic gems from the excellent ‘Graphic stamps’ book – highly recommended / worth seeing it for real! — Thanks to Blair Thomson for his selection / images.
This is the first book in ‘The Archive Series’ from Unit Editions, featuring some of the best stamp designs from Iain Follett and Blair Thomson’s collections.
https://uniteditions.com/shop/graphic-stamps
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UNIT INFO
The Archive Series is a bibliographic celebration of graphic design archives and collections. The first title in the new series is devoted to the design of postage stamps. Sourced from the collections of stamp design experts Iain Follett and Blair Thomson, the book celebrates the brilliance of postage stamp design from around the world. — Postage stamps are the forgotten gems of graphic design. This is odd when you contemplate the high levels of aesthetic and technical qualities required to produce graphics for a tiny scrap of paper with perforated edges.
In the view of David Gentleman – one of the world’s great stamp designers – designing for a miniature format forces artists and designers to be ‘extremely selective and to be ruthless in cutting out the essentials.’ The work in this book is a powerful exemplar of Gentleman’s theory: intensity and clarity are exhibited on every page.
The stamps in this book all come from the lovingly assembled collections of two passionate stamp collectors and graphic designers – Iain Follett and Blair Thomson. Both are evangelical in their enthusiasm. Philately is not just for nerdy schoolboys.
‘Collecting stamps for their graphic design qualities is the main reason I started to collect. It didn’t come from a desire to find out more about postal history. It was to find the best in stamp design and to promote the designers behind them to the wider design audience.’
Iain Follett – Six – @mintneverhinged
Follett and Thomson have researched deeply into the design history of stamps, and they have unearthed the names of many little-known designers engaged in high-quality stamp design. Thomson is optimistic about the way stamp design is being revisited:
‘I do feel that there is a growing resurgence of interest bought about in some part by Iain Follett and myself, and a few fellow collectors who have seen the value in the incredible designs available, and have used the advent of social media to showcase them to a global audience.’
Blair Thomson – Believe in® – @graphilately
Further reading / interviews here