A Philatelic Ramble through Chemistry

The title may lead one to expect a somewhat trivial text. On the other hand the fact that its authors are Heilbronner and Miller would suggest otherwise. This indeed is a scholarly work showing profound knowledge of chemistry in its widest sphere, of scientific history and, of course, of philately. It abounds with humour and with love of the subject. Where did they get all those humorous anecdotes about scientists deceased and living? A great deal of research has clearly gone into this. As spectroscopy has played such a large part in the research of the authors it is not surprising that spectroscopy and theory are given some prominence in the text. Even if most of the science is familiar to the readers, the anecdotes are going to keep you glued to this book. As examples of the latter, two anecdotes appear at the expense of Robert Millikan on page 159. Read the background to the sign which appeared on a steam shovel on CIT campus "Jesus saves—but Millikan deserves the credit", and how the proposed unit of publicity grabbing was proposed as the KAN. This was too large, however, for practical use and so the MILL1-KAN was recommended.

Of course, all the science is connected to chemistry as depicted on postage stamps. The art work and design of stamps is rarely controlled or supervised by reputable chemists, and several pages are devoted to the "howlers". These are not the prerogative of the developing world countries, such as the Comoro Islands and Grenada, but some of the finest come from France, Germany, Monaco (C₄H!), USSR and even the UK.

The quality of production is excellent, which largely explains the rather high price. In defence of that, the text abounds with superb colour plates of the stamps. Certainly this is a book to recommend for society libraries, and perhaps as an extravagant gift to a chemist who enjoys philately.

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