Philately - The Fiction Connection
The Mystery Box book is the proud winner of a Silver Medal awarded by the Chicago Philatelic Society CHICAGOPEX Literature Exhibit
Read the Book Review by Barbara Kinne of the APS American Philatelist
Part I :: Part II :: Part III:: Part IV
Masters of Detection is a series of quizzes drawn from unique sets of worldwide stamps featuring fictional detectives. The puzzles are designed to test the knowledge of mystery fiction aficionados and provide some strictly private eye information along the way.
Nicaragua is featured in this first set, Part I. In 1972, Nicaragua issued an unusual set of airmail stamps depicting famous detectives to celebrate 50 years of the International Police Organization (INTERPOL).
The central design element shows a bookshelf with one book open and facing the reader. The open page reveals a portrait of the detective with the name of the author appearing on the spine of the book directly to the left of the open book. To the left of the author's name a caption in Spanish reads Los Doce Detectives Mas Famosos De La Ficcion (The Twelve Most Famous Fictional Detectives). Interestingly several of the portraits are drawn from American film and television actors who helped to popularize the detectives.
Click on the stamps to reveal the answers.
Dorothy Sayers' detective Lord Peter Wimsey was introduced in
Whose Body? (1923). The urbane peer and amateur sleuth, whose
signature monocle can be seen to the right edge of his portrait, appeared in
ten more novels. Along the way he met mystery writer Harriet Vane, whom he
eventually marries. Harriet has been called Sayers' alter ego. Besides
mystery writing, both Dorothy and Harriet share an important distinction.
They were both:
A. Edgar awards nominees
B. Former Catholic nuns
C. Oxford graduates
D. Of noble birth
Is the portrait of private eye Philip Marlowe on this stamp
modeled after Dick Powell or Robert Mitchum? These are just two of the
Hollywood stars who played Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled detective.
See if you can match the star with the Marlowe role he played:
1. Humphrey Bogart
2. Robert Mitchum
3. Robert Montgomery
4. Dick Powell
a. Farewell, My Lovely
b. Lady in the Lake
c. Murder, My Sweet
d. The Big Sleep
Obviously, Bogie is the model for Sam Spade on this
stamp. The small bird in the background leaves no doubt that The Maltese Falcon
is the Dashiell Hammet novel the stamp designer has in mind.
Speaking of the
bird, the statuette is coated with lead to conceal a fortune in gems that once
belonged to the:
A. Knights Templar
B. Rosicrucians
C. Knights Hospitalers
D. Masonic Order
After you are done, continue with Part II
