Postage stamps

Christmas stamps, as featured on this year’s COUNTRY LIFE Advent calendar cover, are a cherished annual event– but how did they become one? Emma Hughes investigates

Fans of the leading British artist David Hockney will know how much he doted on his pet dachshunds. Sold at Phillips last autumn, Little Stanley Sleeping was a poster made for the show ‘David Hockney:

Painting a local cricket match, Sherree Valentine-Daines received an invitation that changed her career and led her to become artist-in-residence at Goodwood

If recent trends are a reliable indicator, we will buy fewer box sets of Christmas cards this year but more individual cards. Following recent increases in the cost of stamps and a growing aversion to

RARITIES! RECORD SHOPS! CRATEDIGGERS ASSEMBLE!

Our round-up of the funny, fascinating and unusual stories this fortnight