The Max Factor

Max Stern is a household name in stamp-dealing world-wide.  He was forced into the profession by his Jewish family’s circumstances in Bratislava at the beginning of World War Two when he had to abandon his engineering studies.

This book represents the first history of philately in Australia from 1948 to the present day.   Max expounds on the business of joint issues with several countries, the fascinating and various requirements of a wide range of customers and the deviousness of master forgers.   The Ampol Petroleum promotion of 1964, for which Max provided stamps, was the world’s largest giveaway scheme.  His imaginative solution to the financing of Australia’s most successful stamp exhibition, AUSIPEX 84, astounded his peers and impressed his competitors.

Now aged ninety, Max remains as involved and energetic as ever in philately.