posted 10-21-2023 10:49 AM               

If you have been reading collectSPACE long enough, you may know that I have had a stack of the programs since before the site first came online in 1999. I've always liked the context the ceremony programs provided for the stamos by associating them with a date and place, as well as the people who spoke at the ceremony.

I described them as a stack because I could never find a way to store or display them other than just stacking them in a drawer. Recently, though, I was able to find three used ceremony program albums made by Fleetwood that holds most of the collection (eight of the programs are too large to fit).

Now having a way to properly care for them, my interest has renewed in completing the collection. I just don't know of a reference that lists every program that exists so I know what is missing.

My list is below. Do you know of any I am missing? Any info would be appreciated. (The asterisk denotes a program too large to fit in the album. If you know of a similar first day program album with larger pages, please share that info, too.)

• 1960 Dec 15 - Echo 1 Communications for Peace
  
• 1964 Oct 04 - Robert H. Goddard *
  
• 1967 Sep 29 - Twin Space Stamp
  
• 1969 May 05 - Apollo 8
  
• 1969 Sep 09 - Moon Landing
  
• 1969 Sep 09 - Moon Landing philatelic memento
  
• 1971 Aug 02 - Space Achievement Decade
  
• 1974 May 14 - Skylab
  
• 1975 Feb 28 - Pioneer Jupiter
  
• 1975 Apr 04 - Mariner 10 Venus/Mercury Mission
  
• 1975 Jul 15 - Apollo-Soyuz Test Project *
  
• 1978 Jul 20 - Viking Mission to Mars
  
• 1981 May 01 - Space Achievement *
  
• 1985 Feb 14 - Landsat (Aerogramme) *
  
• 1989 Jul 20 - Moon Landing
  
• 1989 Nov 27 - 20th Universal Postal Congress (Future Mail Delivery) *
  
• 1991 Oct 01 - Space Exploration
  
• 1992 May 92 - Space Accomplishments *
  
• 1992 Aug 31 - Theodore von Kármán
  
• 1992 Sep 01 - Theodore von Kármán (Second Day of Issue)
  
• 1993 Jan 25 - Space Fantasy
  
• 1993 Jun 03 - Space Priority Mail
  
• 1994 Jul 20 - Moon Landing *
  
• 1995 Jun 22 - Challenger
  
• 1995 Jun 28 - Challenger (Special Presentation - Rayburn Building)
  
• 1995 Aug 04 - Shuttle Endeavour (Americover '95)
  
• 1995 Aug 04 - Shuttle Endeavour (Americover '95)
  
• 1997 Dec 10 - Mars Pathfinder
  
• 1998 Oct 01 - Space Shuttle Discovery *
  
• 1998 Nov 19 - Space Shuttle Endeavour
  
• 1999 Sep 17 - Man Walks on Moon (Celebrate the Century 1960s)
  
• 2000 Jan 12 - Space Shuttle Program (Celebrate the Century 1980s) *
  
• 2000 Apr 10 - Edwin Powell Hubble
  
• 2000 Jul 10 - Space Achievement and Exploration *
  
• 2011 May 04 - Alan Shepard / MESSENGER
  
• 2016 May 31 - Views of Our Planets
  
• 2016 May 31 - New Horizons
  
• 2018 May 23 - Sally Ride
  
• 2019 Jul 19 - 1969: First Moon Landing
  
• 2022 Sep 08 - James Webb Space Telescope
  
• 2023 Sep 22 - OSIRIS-REx Return to Earth

posted 10-21-2023 11:27 AM               

Benjamin Banneker - mathematician ans astronomer - issued on February 15, 1980.

The two X-15 stamps were issued on March 17, 2006.

From Linn's:

The earliest-known program specifically for a first-day ceremony is for the Booker T. Washington stamp (Scott 873) issued April 7, 1940, although there are earlier programs for events that also included a first day of issue.

If you are interested in researching a particular U.S. stamp or specifically its first day ceremony, these programs are an excellent starting point for your research. Contact the APRL at library@stamps.org to see what ceremony programs may be available in the U.S Stamp files for the stamps you collect and research.

posted 10-21-2023 12:44 PM               

Personally, I draw a line between astronomy and space exploration-related stamps, so the Palomar observatory and Banneker stamps do not fit in my collection (similarly, I exclude the 2021 Total Eclipse of the Sun stamp, among others).

Regarding the X-15 stamps, the USPS says they were issued at the 2006 Mega Stamp Show in New York but there were "no philatelic products available for this stamp issue," so I do not know what that means for the existence of a program.

quote:

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Originally posted by Axman:
...missing the Fort Bliss Centenary (1948) and Mercury Program (20 Feb 1962) stamps from your space related list.

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posted 11-17-2023 04:55 PM               

• 3 Sep 1975 200 Years of Postal Service (stamp shows Westar satellite for mailgrams)
  
• 24 Nov 1986 Future Mail Delivery (SS of 4)
  
• 1 Oct 1998 Space Discovery (Strip of 5)
  
• 9 Nov 1998 Shuttle Landing Priority Mail
  
• 26 May 1999 U.S. Launches Satellites (Celebrate the Century 1950's)
  
• 18 Nov 1999 Pioneer 10 (Celebrate the Century 1970's)
  
• 2 May 2000 Return to Space (John Glenn) (Celebrate the Century 1990's)
  
• 4 Apr 2002 34c Greetings from America (Florida stamp shows Space Shuttle launch)
  
• 25 Oct 2002 37c Greetings from America (Florida stamp shows Space Shuttle launch)
  
• 1 Oct 2012 Earthscapes (Glacier and icebergs, Volcanic Crater and Center-pivot irrigation stamps from images taken by IKONOS and Landsat 7 spacecraft)
  
• 22 Feb 2016 Moon
  
• 6 Apr 2018 STEM Education (Engineering stamp shows Apollo CSM)

posted 11-28-2023 11:38 AM               

• June 20, 2017 - Total Eclipse of the Sun

posted 12-08-2023 10:21 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Axman:
Have you managed to find an album for the larger items?

If so, could you post an image and/or description. I too need an album for extra large philatelic space covers.

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For what its worth, I would recommend looking at art portfolios in addition to traditional albums.

Personally I use ITOYA brand art portfolios, which come in many different page sizes. They have high quality clear pages, each with an archival black paper insert. I have all of my oversized covers, letters, and larger items stored this way and am very happy with it. I appreciate that I can easily buy more of the same type when needed.