Changes

I know that the cover price seems expensive, but the first point to note is that the production values are second to none. Colour illustrations of stamps capture the nuances of colour and detail. They're clear and easy to look at and comparisons are simple. Print is small, but I'm afraid that goes with the territory: larger print would mean more volumes and an increased cover price. The balance is fair – provided that you make certain you read in a good light! Amazon suggests that this edition is spiral-bound, but my copies are normal soft-bound books. Spiral bound might well be easier to use as there's the usual tendency for the book to flop closed if you're working near the beginning or end of a volume, but usage will certainly cure this and once again there would be the additional cost to be considered.

I know that I've quibbled about the size of the print and the lack of spiral binding but I really do believe that Stanley Gibbons have done supremely well to balance quality and cost in the way that they have to produce such a user-friendly catalogue. It can only be a five star publication. I'd like to thank them for sending a copy to the Bookbag.