Features
Pillar boxes are quite iconic in themselves, and you'll discover they didn't always look the way they do now. We talk to a committed philatelist, and ask what happens when (perish the thought) Her Majesty's image must be replaced...
Pillar Boxes
In 1852, Anthony Trollope, a senior Post Office official (who also wrote the odd novel in his spare time) set up the first iron pillar box, as an experiment, at St Helier on Jersey. Following the successful trial, the first one on the mainland made its appearance in Carlisle the following year. By 1900, there were 32,593 throughout the United Kingdom.
Collecting Machins
Many collectors – around 10,000 worldwide – get fanatical about Machin's seemingly very plain Queen's head design. Find out why there’s more than meets the eye to this most familiar of stamps…
Stamps for a New Monarch
When a new king or queen comes to the throne, the process of changing the image on stamps is usually a slow one. In the past, preparations for designing a new monarch's stamps have only begun after the death, or abdication, of the previous one, whose stamps continue to be issued for many months.
The BPMA: Keepers of Postal Icons
The British Postal Museum and Archive is the home of the nation's postal heritage. Here the BPMA's Learning and Outreach Officer, Steve Gardam, trawls its collection for interesting icons...
Interview: Machin Collector Don Staddon
Why do people collect the Queen's head stamp? ICONS spoke to Don Staddon, a retired stamp enthusiast from Sussex, to uncover the appeal of collecting Machins.
Interview: Douglas Muir, Curator of Philately
Douglas Muir is curator of philately at the British Postal Museum & Archive. He told ICONS what that job entails, and why even in the BPMA’s extraordinary collection the Machin hold such a special place.
Ten things…
So you think you're a stamp buff? Here are ten facts that might have passed you by
