SYD KRONISH | Stamps

Zora Neale Hurston -- novelist, folklorist and anthropologist -- is honored for her artistry and celebration of black culture on a new 37-cent stamp by the U.S. Postal Service. It is the 19th in the Literary Arts series.
Featured is a portrait of Hurston in a 1934 black-and-white photograph taken of her in Chicago by Carl Van Vechten. Her name appears boldly atop the stamp.
Hurston (1891-1960) was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, a flowering of black literature, music and the performing arts in the 1920s and '30s. Although her writing went out of fashion in the 1950s, it enjoyed a dramatic comeback in the 1970s.
She began her career as a writer in Washington, D.C., when she was a student at Howard University. Her first published story appeared in the 1921 issue of Stylus, Howard's literary magazine. Hurston moved to New York in 1925 when the Harlem Renaissance was under way and soon became a favorite there with her wit and style.
This woman of many talents also wrote short stories, plays and an autobiography. Her novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," portrayed a black woman's search for identity and freedom.
Hurston was born in Notasulaga, Ala., but was raised in Eatonville, Fla., a self-governing, all-black town near Orlando. Many of her folklore items were about life in Eatonville.
The Hurston stamp will be released Jan. 24 with first-day ceremonies in Eatonville during a festival in her honor.
First-day covers and stamps are available at (800) STAMP-24.
Stamp collecting
Starting a stamp collection for yourself or a member of your family? Acquired some stamps, from the United States or a foreign country?
The first thing to remember is to protect your stamps so they don't get damaged or lost. You can attach your stamps to loose-leaf paper and put them in a three-ring binder or arrange them in a formal album, which you can buy at your local dealer.
When placing a stamp in your album, it is best to use a stamp hinge -- a small strip of thin material with gum on one side for attaching. Hinges are inexpensive and can be bought at the same store. Hinges are perfect for protection against damage because they can be peeled off the page with no ill effects.
Glassine envelopes are also important. They are made of see-through paper that protects stamps from grease and dirt. You can use the stamps whenever you want or keep them until you're ready to place them in your album.