When British and Colonial forces invaded the Zulu Kingdom on 11 January 1879, they ignited one of the most famous conflicts of the Victorian era. In July 2023, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History at the Royal Philatelic Society London is hosting a public exhibition displaying more than 500 postal, historical, and cultural objects exploring the context, history, and ongoing legacy of this Clash of Empires. The exhibition’s narrative will begin in the early years of the 19th century with the emergence of King Shaka kaSenzangakhona and the rise of the Zulu Kingdom and go all the way through to 2019, 140-years after the start of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. The depth and scope of this context philately exhibition is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see the intertwined stories of this important history told through hundreds of artefacts.

Included here are two softcover books: Clash of Empires: the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War Exhibition (214-pages) and Clash of Empires: Context & Considerations (160-pages). The first book spans fifteen chapters and depicts every artefact featured in the museum exhibition along with a range of supplementary materials and supporting images.

The second book, Clash of Empires: Context & Considerations features articles by twenty-one different authors including -

War Shields of the Zulu Regiments in 1879 By Ian Knight
The Abyssinian Campaign By Ian Shapiro
How to Lose an Empire: Napoléon III and the War of 1870-1871 By Steven Walske
The Prince Imperial and his supporters: Bonapartism after Napoleon III By Ian Sygrave
The Kingdom of Imerina and the Franco-Hova Wars By Jan Berg
The Eric William Mann Collection of Natal By Damian Devoy FRPSL
The Natal Rebellion of 1906 By David McNamee
Context Philately: An Introduction By David Beech
My Journey to the Clash of Empires: the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War Exhibition By Alex Haimann
Collecting By Charles A. Lowenhaupt
When World War I Interrupted the Fun: The Great Allentown Fair’s Transformation Into Camp Crane By Eric Adam Stas
Soldiers Who Should Have Received the Victoria Cross By James Mace
The British Officer During the Zulu Wars By R.D. Hooker, Jr.
Campaign Medals of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War By Chris Rainey
Six Days of Fighting Endurance The Frontier Light Horse By Cam Simpson
An echo of the defence of Rorke’s Drift By Bradley Manera
Top 12 Zulu War Sites to Visit Today By Kate Birbeck
Modern Day Impressions of the Anglo-Zulu War Interview of Lindizwe Ngobese by Ian Knight
A Company, 24th Foot By Tim Rose
My Zulu War Comic Journey By Colin Mathieson
Witnesses to iSandlwana By Michael Denigan
Addiscombe Military College and the Cadets who Forged an Empire By Kate Birbeck
Rifle and Spear with the Zulu:The life of Lt. Col. Alan Colstoun Gardner By Kate Birbeck

The two books together contain the same content as the Deluxe Hardcover book.