Good Year for Stamp Collectors

One of the most interesting philatelists of the current day is Keller, the gentle hit man in a series of Lawrence Block novels. After dispatching a subject, Keller uses his ill-gotten gains to purchase rare florals from the Ivory Coast and commemoratives from St. Pierre et Miquelon.

Stamp collecting may have slipped from fashion as a hobby, despite the fame of some of its followers--George VI, Franklin D. Roosevelt, et al. And making it harder for those of us who still lovingly tend their albums is the development of the pre-gummed postage stamps.

But the design of these miniature works of art continues to thrive, and we were delighted this year to see the new portrait of Elizabeth II on a series of mauve Canadian stamps, and, as the year ends, a Leonard Cohen stamp.

This is the happiest news since the US issued a Duke Ellington 22-cent stamp in recognition of Duke's "22 Cent Stomp."

And now, a Leonard Cohen stamp! Hallelujah!