The One Cent Magenta (Paperback)

Paperback. When it was issued in 1856, it cost a penny. In 2014, this tiny square of faded red paper known as the one-cent magenta sold at Sotheby's for nearly $US9.5 million, the highest amount ever paid for a postage stamp at auction. Through the stories of the eccentric characters who have bought, owned and sold this stamp, THE ONE-CENT MAGENTA weaves a fascinating tale of obsession to own a treasure that no one else can have.One-cent magentas were provisional stamps, printed in British Guiana when a shipment of official stamps from London failed to arrive. They were intended for periodicals, and most were thrown out. But one stamp survived. It has had only nine owners since a 12-year-old Scottish boy discovered it in 1873 (and sold it for what would be $17 today). Later owners included a fabulously wealthy Frenchman who hid the stamp from view - even King George V of England couldn't get a peek - a businessman who travelled with the stamp in a briefcase he handcuffed to his wrist; and John E. du Pont, heir to the chemical fortune, who died while serving a thirty-year sentence for the murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz.THE ONE-CENT MAGENTA is a hugely entertaining and swashbuckingly yarn that explores the life of a magnificent obsession through the stories of the people who loved and lost it. In the tradition of The Orchid Thief, the story of a magnificent obsession, the worlds most famous rare stamp, and the lucky few collectors who have owned it. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.