ISBN: Ostalo
Godina izdanja: 2222
Jezik: Engleski
Autor: Strani

The Englishman who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects
The first impression of W. Reginald Bray (1879-1939) was one of an ordinary middle-class Englishman quietly living out his time as an accountant in the leafy suburb of Forest Hill, London. A glimpse behind his study door, however, revealed his extraordinary passion for sending unusual items through the mail. In 1898, Bray purchased a copy of the Post Office Guide, and began to study the regulations published quarterly by the British postal authorities. He discovered that the smallest item one could post was a bee, and the largest, an elephant. Intrigued,he decided to experiment with sending ordinary and strange objects through the post unwrapped, including a turnip, abowler hat, a bicycle pump, shirt cuffs, seaweed, a clothes brush, even a rabbit`s skull. He eventually posted his Irish terrier and himself (not together), earning him the name `The Human Letter.` He also mailed cards to challenging addressessome in the form of picture puzzles, others sent to ambiguous recipients at hard to reach destinationsall in the name of testing the deductive powers of the beleaguered postman. Over time hispassion changed from sending curios to amassing the world`s largest collection of autographs, also via the post. Starting with key British military officers involved in the Second Boer War, he acquired thousands of autographs during the first four decades of the twentieth centuryof politicians, military men, performing artists, aviators, sporting stars, and many others. By the time he died in 1939, Bray had sent out more than thirty-two thousand postal curios and autograph requests. The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects tells W. Reginald Bray`s remarkable tale for the first time and includes delightful illustrations of some of his most amazing postal creations. Readers will never look at the objects they post the same way again.
Review
`The image that emerges from this antic and visually arresting volume is of a blithe English rogue, testing the system, stretching its limitsan experimenter, playing the most relentless, and amusing, of pranks.`
-- Deirdre Foley-Mendelssohn --The New Yorker, September 15, 2010

`A handsomely designed and illustrated biography... a volume which will surely fascinate any fans of quirky social history, any admirers of the unpredictable human spirit, and any curators of the odder corners of the art world. The book is simply a delight.` --Barnes & Noble Book Review

`Not only is the story itself interesting, but the book is also quite pretty (look at those endpapers!)` --aesthetic outburst blog

`A lushly illustrated book with interesting bits of text.` --Letter Writers Alliance Blog

`Weirdly wonderful items that recall the peculiar posting activities of the man known as The Human Letter.` --British Philatelic Bulletin

Profusely illustrated in color with dozens of examples of Bray`s handiwork, [The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects] provides an entertaining and informative biography of `The Human Letter` and `The Autograph King`. --Philatelic Exporter