Introduction
It is almost impossible to assemble a collection of stamps without some knowledge of or interest in the political history of the country or countries by which the stamps were issued. Moreover, the introduction of an increasing number of commemorative and other special issues will lead the student and general collector alike to an interest not only in the stamps but in the postal and social history of the territory or area concerned.

For the postal historian, a knowledge of geographical changes and history is an essential part of his study, and this calls for an understanding of the political changes and military intervention which have led to changes in boundaries and allegiances. It was this problem of locating the relevant information which led the late Stuart Rossiter and John Flower who had collaborated on the famous Blue Guides to propose a Stamp Atlas. In particular, Stuart, who was a student of the postal history of East Africa, recognized the difficulties which face many collectors because of the frequent and apparently unconnected changes which took place in the stamp-issuing territories of the African continent. As a result he developed his ideas and began to prepare a manuscript on a country by country basis detailing the boundary changes and the political pressures which gave rise to them. These first thoughts were committed to paper and it was intended that they should be supported by maps prepared by John Flower and stamps or covers from Stuarts collection.

Sadly, in 1982, Stuart died and for two years the project lay fallow with only three of the five continents completed. In 1984 the work began again when the outstanding sections were completed and the others were brought up to date. Thus the project which began as an idea in 1978 has at last been completed in 1986. It is hoped that this revised volume and information source will also find its way into the homes of many Philatelists and/or Postal Historians as a valuable addition to their general research library.

Apart from Europe, the treatment of the continents follows a similar pattern and deals with each country in turn. The sequence within each continent varies as appropriate. The American continent, including the Caribbean islands, is dealt with from north to south. Australia and New Zealand are followed by the Pacific Islands. Asia is covered from the Middle East eastwards to Japan. Africa is treated in a clockwise direction, commencing with North Africa. Finally, the territories in the South Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Antarctica round off the Atlas.

Europe, which opens the Atlas, is more complex. The wars of the 17th and succeeding centuries have given rise to massive and complicated boundary changes. The text for European countries, therefore, has been broken down into a series of ten time bands.

These bands have been selected so that the main changes in the principal countries can if necessary be considered together. The bands used are up to 1660, 1660-1793, 1793-1815, 1815-50, 1850-71, 1871-1914, 1914-18, 1918-39, 1939-45 and since 1945.

The story of each territory is narrated chronologically, but it can be cross-referenced to any other country by using similar time bands in other territories. At the beginning of the European section, there are 10 time band maps which graphically illustrate the changes which have occurred to that continent and reference to these from the text is desirable.

Since the original volume was published some 14 years ago, many changes have occurred, notably in the Balkans and the USSR. It was therefore decided to correct and revise the original work and, at the same time to take advantage of the latest technology so that the work can be made available for home use on a CD-ROM.

A book of this size and scope cannot hope to answer each and every question. It is intended as a work of general reference and one which will lead to a greater understanding of the boundary changes, stamp issues, and policies which have taken place. However, it is also hoped that it will motivate collectors to look behind the simple facts of stamps issues and to think in more detail about the background history of the countries whose stamps they have chosen to collect.

For those sections which Stuart Rossiter wrote, he would obviously wish to acknowledge the assistance he received from his many friends, but, unfortunately, no record remains of his literary references. For the balance, no single work of reference was used, but the compilation would not have been possible without reference to the following books: The Encyclopedia of British Empire Postage Stamps, Volumes I to V by Robson Lowe; The International Encyclopedia of Stamps, edited by James Mackay; The Times Atlas of World History; The History of the British Army Postal Service, Volumes I to III, published by Edward Proud; Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, 1903; Stanley Gibbons Catalogues, both Simplified and Specialized and the Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and Dupuy. The remainder of the core of knowledge used in this work has been gleaned from many different and, in some cases, unremembered sources.

Stamp collecting in all its facets is probably the most popular indoor hobby that exists. If this atlas adds in any way to the reservoir of general knowledge about stamps and history, it will have matched up to the original intent of both Stuart Rossiter and John Flower. It will have served its purpose.

Sandafayre wish to thank Raife Wellsted, who has reviewed the entire Atlas for us and has updated the relevant sections.

The Stamp Atlas is available on CD priced £17.95, plus £2 postage and packing.

Please email stamp@sandafayre.com if you wish to order a CD.