The Spink Maury Catalogue has traditionally provided the highest level of detail for the stamps and covers of France and the French colonies, with thousands of top quality illustrations and prices updated every year. It was acquired by Spink in 2015, and the editors have since endeavoured to make this the premium reference work of its kind.

The standard reference work for Roman Imperial coinage of Hadrian now occupies a fully revised and greatly expanded standalone volume to cover the last epoch of what many consider the apogee of Roman coinage – begun with Nero’s reform of AD 64 when great effort was taken over their iconographic designs. It is also a long overdue attempt to reconcile our increased 21st century understanding of this otherwise lightly documented reign of one of the key figures in Roman history. The rich symbolism of the reign is also expressed in prodigious issues of Hadrian’s medallic pieces, many covered in RIC for the first time.

This updated reissue of Mark LeVine’s acclaimed, revolutionary book on sub- and countercultural music in the Middle East brings this groundbreaking portrait of the region’s youth cultures to a new generation. Featuring a new preface by the author in conversation with the band The Kominas about the problematic connections between extreme music and Islam. An eighteen-year-old Moroccan who loves Black Sabbath. A twenty-two-year-old rapper from the Gaza Strip. A young Lebanese singer who quotes Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” Heavy metal, punk, hip-hop, and reggae are each the music of protest, and are considered immoral by many in the Muslim world. As the young people and subcultures featured in Mark LeVine’s Heavy Metal Islam so presciently predicted, this music turned out to be the soundtrack of countercultures, uprisings, and even revolutions from Morocco to Pakistan. In Heavy Metal Islam, originally published in 2008, Mark LeVine explores the influence of Western music on the Middle East and North Africa through interviews with musicians and fans, introducing us to young people struggling to reconcile their religion with a passion for music and a thirst for change. The result is a revealing tour de force of contemporary cultures across the Muslim majority world through the region’s evolving music scenes that only a musician, scholar, and activist with LeVine’s unique breadth of experience could narrate. A New York Times Editor’s Pick when it was first published, Heavy Metal Islam is a surprising, wildly entertaining foray into a historically authoritarian region where music reveals itself to be a true democratizing force—and a groundbreaking work of scholarship that pioneered new forms of research in the region.

A radically new reading of the origins of recorded music Noise Uprising brings to life the moment and sounds of a cultural revolution. Between the development of electrical recording in 1925 and the outset of the Great Depression in the early 1930s, the soundscape of modern times unfolded in a series of obscure recording sessions, as hundreds of unknown musicians entered makeshift studios to record the melodies and rhythms of urban streets and dancehalls. The musical styles and idioms etched onto shellac disks reverberated around the globe: among them Havana’s son, Rio’s samba, New Orleans’ jazz, Buenos Aires’ tango, Seville’s flamenco, Cairo’s tarab, Johannesburg’s marabi, Jakarta’s kroncong, and Honolulu’s hula. They triggered the first great battle over popular music and became the soundtrack to decolonization.

By awarding the European post monopoly to the Thurn & Taxis family 500 years ago, a truly continental postal service was born. Moreover, 1516 also saw the early birth of the Royal Mail. The perfect occasion to celebrate this milestone in history with a wonderful history book, aimed at both philatelists and laymen with an interest in world history. Written by a world-class expert with unrivalled access to unique documents, this book brings together storytelling with high quality reproductions of rarely seen objects. The letter in which Emperor Charles V confirms the monopoly of the Thurn & Taxis family; the first transatlantic letter of 1512; the very first postage stamp and envelope... Read all about those and 47 other historical objects in this ambitious book, which covers the entire history of the postal service in Europe from 1516 until the founding of the Universal Postal Union in 1875, as well as important milestones before and after. Lose yourself in the captivating history of the postal service and get to know the role of Belgium and other European countries in this book, filled with amusing anecdotes and important facts. AUTHOR: Vincent Schouberechts (1965) is a professional philatelist and the author of several acclaimed books on postal history. He is an expert on the pioneering Thurn & Taxis family and on horse post. Schouberechts is a fellow of The Royal Philatelic Society London and a member of the Association Internationale des Journalistes Philateliques. SELLING POINTS: * A richly illustrated overview of the history of the postal service, centred around the birth of the European post 500 years ago * A captivating historical story filled with drama, interesting facts and anecdotes. For both philatelists and history enthusiasts 120 colour, 150 b/w