Author
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Topic: What makes a postage stamp a "space stamp"?
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DChudwin Member Posts: 1096 From: Lincolnshire IL USA Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 08-28-2011 05:07 PM
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 Member Posts: 2610 From: Brussels, Belgium Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 08-29-2011 04:51 AM
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.
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Tykeanaut Member Posts: 2212 From: Worcestershire, England, UK. Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 08-29-2011 05:01 AM
Buzz Lightyear is SF. Buzz Aldrin is fact. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42985 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-29-2011 06:57 AM
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 Member Posts: 138 From: WV, USA Registered: Sep 2006
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posted 08-29-2011 11:19 AM
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 Member Posts: 953 From: South Bend, IN Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 08-30-2011 02:27 PM
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! |