Add this celebrated Canadian icon to your collection with a set of four Official First Day Covers featuring acclaimed Canadian writer and musician Leonard Cohen. One Official First Day Cover bears all three Permanent domestic stamps from this issue, while the others feature the oversized-rate stamp, the U.S.-rate stamp and the international-rate stamp, respectively.

Each Official First Day Cover features a photograph of Cohen at a different stage of his illustrious career. On the reverse, engaging historical text tells the story of Cohen’s life, work, awards and achievements.

The stamps are postmarked in Cohen’s home city of Montréal, and each Official First Day Cover is cancelled with a different pictorial cancellation, inspired by art from his albums. The issue date of September 21, 2019, was chosen to coincide with the 85th anniversary of Cohen’s birth in 1934.

Born in Montréal in 1934, Cohen was an award-winning poet during his days at McGill University. More poetry and two novels followed after he graduated, including Beautiful Losers in 1966. The following year, Cohen launched a new career in music with an appearance at the Newport Folk Festival and the release of his debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. In 1984, Cohen released the album Various Positions. It features “Hallelujah,” his most popular and most covered song.

A member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Cohen has also been honoured with multiple JUNO awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cohen died in 2016 at the age of 82, one month after releasing his final album, You Want It Darker. The album’s title track would go on to win the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.

Product # 414118131

Leonard Cohen: Official First Day Cover - set of 4