Master of metaphors and metaphysics

The holy grail of the author's own collector's quest is the 1961 1s 3d Parliamentary Conference stamp, which he recalls as being "the most beautiful small object I had ever seen" as a boy. On this stamp, the head of the queen, which should by rights have occupied the top half of the stamp, was missing -- leaving an enchanting and suggestive blank space.

By Ed Park

June 15, 2008