THE LATVIAN ISSUES by Robert Fearnley.

Fearnley writes with great insight and humour, painting a vivid picture of what life was like for Latvians between the two world wars as well as presenting the reader with a serious piece of historical investigation, and meticulous details of Latvian philately.

When an Armistice was agreed to end the First World War in 1918, one of the consequences was a change to postal operations in territories previously occupied by German forces. German Military authorities had provided postal services in these territories and following the German withdrawal, each country had to renew or set up its own services.

"Latvia Post began operations on 27 December 1918 and it would be pleasant to say that postal operations and stamp issues thereafter ran smoothly. However the story is far less boring than that…"

The Latvian Issues tells the story of the philatelic history of Latvia between 1918 and 1941, encompassing political, social and economic concerns as the country fought for its independence, built its independence, and then - for fifty years - lost its independence.

ISBN 978-1-906236-03-8 paperback 180 pages 6 illustrations