Southeast Asia Library Group Newsletter No. 54 / Dec 2022 20 David Torres. A Philatelic Look at Laos, 1951-1971. In The Congress Book 1971: Thirty- Seventh American Philatelic Congress, September 24-26, 1971. The. J. W. Stowell Printing Company Ltd., Marlyand. 1971, pp. 137-144. David Torres. Laos and Major Chamnane. In Scott’s Monthly Stamp Journal . May 1964. Vol. 45, No. 3. pp. 84-88. Album of postcards from Siam, Burma and Indochina. 1905-1960. (BL Shelfmark: Asia, Pacific & Africa ORB.30/6309) The British Library’s Philatelic Collections: Tapling Collection, French Colonies and Indochina. The British Library’s Philatelic Collections: Indochina and French Post Offices Abroad. The British Library’s Philatelic Collections: Laos *** Talipot and ceremonial fans in Thai manuscript art Jana Igunma, Henry Ginsburg Curator for Thai, Lao and Cambodian Collections, British Library, London Illustrations in Thai manuscripts, similar to the mural paintings on temple walls across Thailand, offer us insights into aspects of everyday life, the environment, ethics and moral values of the time and age in which they were created. Especially paper folding books, in Thai called samut khoi , offer enough space to include hand-painted illustrations of varying sizes, ranging from smaller miniature-like paintings covering just a sixth of an open folio to large, detailed artworks covering several folds. The same can be said for folding books in the Burmese, Lao and Cambodian manuscript traditions. Especially Burmese illustrators have perfected the art of manuscript painting, resulting in outstanding works of art in Burmese folding books (parabaik) depicting scenes of Buddhist ceremonies, royal entertainments, royal regalia, animals, games, sports etc. While the illustrations in Thai folding books mostly are related directly or indirectly to text passages – though sometimes rather symbolically like in the case of scenes from the last Ten Birth Tales of the Buddha relating to the Mahabuddhaguna text – there is often much more to see than what the text is telling the reader. Valuable additional information that goes far beyond what is included in the text can be found in small details of the illustrations; therefore, these should not be overlooked. In previous publications I have written about images of real and mythical birds, deer and sea creatures, chariots, funeral rites, representations of the female in Thai Buddhist manuscript paintings etc. Multiple examples can also be found in Justin McDaniel’s inspiring book “Wayward Distractions: Ornament, Emotion, Zombies and the Study of Buddhism in Thailand” (2021).