The One-Cent Magenta

Description

An inside look at the obsessive, secretive, and often bizarre world of high-profile collecting, told through the journey of the world's most sought-after stamp. When it was issued in 1856, it cost a penny. In 2014, this tiny square of faded red paper sold at Sotheby's for nearly $10 million, the largest amount ever paid for a postage stamp at auction. Through the stories of the eccentric characters who have bought, owned, and sold the One-Cent Magenta in the years in between, James Barron delivers a fascinating tale of global history and immense wealth, and of the human desire to collect. One-cent magentas were provisional stamps, printed quickly when a shipment of official stamps from London did not arrive in what was then British Guiana. They were intended for periodicals, and most were thrown out with the newspapers. But one stamp survived. The singular One-Cent Magenta has had only nine owners since a twelve-year-old boy rediscovered it in 1873 as he sorted through papers in his uncle's house. He soon sold it for what would be $17 today. (That's been called the worst stamp swap in history.) Among later owners was a fabulously wealthy French nobleman who hid the stamp from almost everyone (even King George V of England couldn't get a peek); a businessman who traveled with the stamp in a briefcase he handcuffed to his wrist; and John E. du Pont, an heir to the chemical fortune, who died while serving a thirty-year sentence for the murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. For fans of Nicholas Basbanes, Susan Orlean, and Simon Winchester, The One-Cent Magenta explores the intersection of obsessive pursuits and great affluence and asks why we want most what is most rare.

James Barron started working as a stringer for the New York Times while still a college student and has been a staff reporter there for more than twenty-five years. The author of Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand, he also edited The New York Times Book of New York. He and his wife live New York City.

"(An) absorbing tale of the rarefied world of high-stakes philately." -- Library Journal "Delightful." --The Washington Post "Quirky and informative." --Publishers Weekly "A scintillating foray into 'what makes something collectible, valuable, and enduring.'" -- Kirkus Reviews "This delightful short book is a good bet for readers of nonfiction, especially those who enjoy microhistories." --Booklist "Exhilarating." --Seattle Book Review "Interesting...Even without an interest in stamps and their collection, one should find this book worthy of reading as it winds its way through the years and the various intrigues and machinations which characterize this singular and valuable item." --New York Journal of Books "The voyage into Stamp World is like the world itself: detailed, ruminative and filled with arcane detours ultimately leading to a destination whose rewards are subtle yet satisfying." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "Barron's layered, complex genealogy-of-motivations for the stamp's suitors becomes the narrative's yeasty and compelling attraction." --Washington Independent Review of Books "Compelling." --The Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria, OH)