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  What makes a postage stamp a "space stamp"?

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Author Topic:   What makes a postage stamp a "space stamp"?
DChudwin
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Posts: 1096
From: Lincolnshire IL USA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 08-28-2011 05:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for DChudwin   Click Here to Email DChudwin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I went to the post office to buy some stamps and bought a sheet of the new stamps showing Pixar characters. The official name for the sheet is "Send a Hello."

One of the stamps features the character Buzz Lightyear.

Is this a space stamp? What is your definition of a space stamp?

eurospace
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Posts: 2610
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 08-29-2011 04:51 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for eurospace   Click Here to Email eurospace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
My definition would first be that a space stamp refers to something that actually happened in space, such as a real spaceflight.

Characters like Buzz Lightyear are purely fictional. Would that make them fit into the category of science fiction?

But it really depends on the scope and the definition of your collection, whether thematic or astro. If you collect "Space in Arts and popular culture", then Buzz Lightyear is a prime choice.

Tykeanaut
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Posts: 2212
From: Worcestershire, England, UK.
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 08-29-2011 05:01 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tykeanaut   Click Here to Email Tykeanaut     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Buzz Lightyear is SF. Buzz Aldrin is fact.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42985
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 08-29-2011 06:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
For me, it's not about what the stamp depicts, but what it commemorates. For example, a stamp depicting the moon is not necessarily a space stamp but a stamp honoring the moon landings is.

Or to use the provided example: a stamp commemorating the 12-inch Buzz Lightyear action figure's flight aboard the International Space Station is a space stamp; a stamp depicting Buzz Lightyear as a celebration of Pixar's art is not.

astrobock
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Posts: 138
From: WV, USA
Registered: Sep 2006

posted 08-29-2011 11:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for astrobock   Click Here to Email astrobock     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I also wouldn't consider Buzz Lightyear a "space" stamp, but it would be fun to include him in a space stamp collection. There are plently of "space" stamps that depict fictional space crafts, which are alright for me. I wouldn't put stamps of planets or ones more related to astronomy in my collection though - just ones showing rockets, space crafts and humans (and animals) who participated in space exploration would usually make the cut.

spaceman1953
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Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 08-30-2011 02:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceman1953   Click Here to Email spaceman1953     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
To me, the Pixar Buzz Lightyear stamp is, very much, indeed a space stamp!

If you only want "science fact" stamps in your collection, then that "Space Fantasy" set of 5 the USPS put out several years ago, and the future space stamps they put out for a big stamp show in true souvenir sheet form several years ago, and the embossed envelopes showing the "wheel" space station (hologram stamped envelopes) none of them are space stamps either!

But, as always, stamp collecting and I guess "we" can extend it to space collecting, you collect what you like!

All times are CT (US)

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