19 DECEMBER 1952, Page 5

I am indebted to Stamp Collecting for one more example

of what appears to be baseless improvisation on the part of one of Lord Beaverbrook's papers. In the case of Mrs. Maclean the alleged invention was on the part of the Daily Express. This time it is the Sunday Express. Mr. Farrer Bell, it is well-known, is the designer of some of the new stamps. The Sunday Express reported that " at his cottage in Hadden- ham, Bucks, he said I was worried about the tiny dimensions.' He expects to earn £200 for his first venture as a stamp designer." On that Mr. Farrer Bell has written in the latest issue of Stamp Collecting that the Sunday Express report " was entirely incorrect except for my name and address. I did not tell the reporter what fee I am going to receive for designing the stamp, for the simple reason that I do not even know what it is." He adds that the report has already involved him in much trouble, for fees for such work are never disclosed. The new journalism ? Not as new as one could desire.

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