MixedThe New York Times Book ReviewSince the stamp’s first two owners are average-enough men, this short book could have been even more compact: It is only once the stamp travels to Europe that the truly crazed and crazy collectors appear and Barron’s detailed attention to each one pays off. Interlaced with the history of the magenta is the question of its worth today, when the prestige of stamp-collecting is all but obsolete. Barron first learns of the stamp from a Sotheby’s auctioneer and strings along the small drama of its sale throughout the book. The resolution of the auction and Barron’s unveiling of its winner are less satisfying than the new owner’s reason for buying the magenta: He’s not interested in stamps so much as one-of-a-kind treasures. Barron recognizes that for most people stamps’ romance has long since dissipated, but he succeeds in showing why this one stamp, at least, is still alluring.
