Stamp of approval

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

Our pick of your best letters and some wise words from our favourite stars…

© HEADER DRAWINGS BY MICHAEL HADDAD/HEART Leaves Byung-Chul ...

Alexander Marshal–this country’s first major botanical painter–deserves to be better known, writes Tiffany Daneff, after seeing his luminous originals in the Royal Collection

A sale of Modern British Art earlier this year brimmed with the kind of wonderful works that auctioneers find a little heart-wrenching to let go, including a Waterfall full of wild windiness by Sir Kyffin Williams

The traditions of patchwork and quilting go back hundreds of years, though, as with other textiles, few pieces survive many generations, unless an item has been cherished and cared for. Initially, it