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Keller’s 1952 cutoff date put most of the world’s art stamps out of his reach But some countries had issued such stamps back in the old one-color days, rab for the collector’s dollar The French were particularly eager to show off their culture, portraying writers and painters and cohtest provocation, and Keller looked now at a set of French seave you a real sense of the artists’ power

And of course there was the Spanish set honoring Goya One of the stamps showed his nude portrait of the Duchess of Alba The painting had caused a stir when first displayed, and, years later, the stathe stanifier, wishing fervently that the staer

In the current issue of Linn’s, as in ale in the letters colusters to the hobby Evidently boys and girls were less strongly drawn to philately in a world full of co staeneration of adult collectors co considered the question, had decided that he didn’t care All he wanted to do was add to his own collection, and he didn’t really give a da on theirs Without new collectors joining the fold, staht eventually decline in value, but he didn’t care about that, either He wasn’t going to sell his collection, and what difference did it make what became of it upon his death? If he couldn’t take it with hiure out what to do with it

But others clearly did care about the hobby’s future The US Post Office evidently saw a very profitable sideline threatened, and had responded by issuing sta collector When Keller was a boy, stareat American writers and inventors and statesmen, people hetheir ireat deal about them, and about the history in which they’d played a part

Nowadays, sta As Bunny and Daffy Duck

Keller thought it over and decided they were doing it wrong He’d collected avidly as a boy not because staned for kids but because it was sorown-up that he could enjoy If it had felt like kid stuff he wouldn’t have had any part of it

Would a sta Keller to whip out his lass for a closer look?

Not a chance If they wanted to get the kids interested, he thought, let the naked ladies on the "I hope it’s not too early," he said

"Fiveis the washing up, and that’s fine with ," he said "About the client"

"Refresh my memory, Keller Didn’t we already have this conversation?"

"Suppose you were to call whoever called you," he said "Suppose you ask how the client feels aboutbusiness, Keller?"

"Innocent bystanders," he said "Drug dealers call theht in the crossfire"

"That’s char dealers?"

"I read an article in the paper"

"That’s where you get your figures of speech, Keller? Fro at," he said, "is suppose soot in the way"

"Oh, I see where you’re going"

"And the art gallery’s another possibility, but there too you uy so he can get in a huddle with the client"

"Right"

"And I report back to you, and then what? Don’t tell ets done and we can all move on"

"Sure," he said "What else?"

Keller sat in front of the Hopper poster, taking it in If you wanted to hang so on the wall, you couldn’t beat a poster Ten or twenty bucks plus fra roo before you ran out of wall space? No, if you were going to collect art in a so One albuether a tiny Louvre all your own

He could go either way He could start a topical collection, art on stamps, or he could look for a few more posters that hit hiot on a crosstown bus

It was ridiculous, he thought, walking fro he liked best, 19 on the laer ones, and the price they were asking was 12,000 It would be nice to be able to look at it whenever he felt like it, but he could walk over to Central Park anytiet as close as he wanted and it wouldn’t cost hiraduate sat behind the desk, reading the sa for her Wall Street prince to co her head-he wasn’t sure how she ed that-and went back to her book while he crossed the roo

And there it was, as vivid and powerful as ever He felt himself drawn into the picture, sucked into the trunk and up the branches He let himself sink into the canvas This had never happened to him before and he wondered if it happened to other people He stayed in front of the painting for a long ti it up He had theif he wanted

He’d tell the girl he wanted to buy it, and they’d take his name and perhaps a deposit-he wasn’t sure how that part worked Then they’d record it as sold, and when the show came down at the end of the month he’d pay the balance and take it home

And have it framed? It was minimally framed noith flat strips of dark wood, and that worked okay, but he suspected a professional fra that enclosed the painting without drawing attention to itself Those carved and gilded fraer withlike this, and-