If you were on this planet in 1969, do you remember July 20th, the date the first person walked on the moon?
The Postal History Foundation celebrates the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first lunar landing with the exhibit, Small Steps, Giant Leaps, and Lasting Memories: Celebrating the 1969 Moon Landing. People all over the globe huddled around television sets July 20, 1969, in awe and anticipation as Neil Armstrong bounced out of the Lunar Module and, for the first time, stepped foot on lunar soil. For a few brief moments, geopolitics disappeared; citizens around the world came together and shared the experience of witnessing an event of enormous significance.
The lunar landing was celebrated contemporaneously by postal services around the world. Over 50 stamps commemorating the Apollo 11 mission were issued by various countries from nearly every continent. Several of these stamps are represented in the exhibit.
The United States issued its own 1969 stamp, designed by Paul Calle. The stamp showed what the world had been anticipating: a human’s first step on the moon. A die of the stamp’s image was taken into space by the astronauts; this die was later used in the printing process to manufacturing the stamps. A “moon letter” was also sent with the astronauts. The United States Post Office Department had hoped that the letter would be postmarked July 20 on the moon’s surface. Unfortunately for astrophilatelists, the moon letter never made it to the surface of the moon and was postmarked on July 22 (backdated to July 20) aboard the Columbia on the flight home. A facsimile of the moon letter and images of the die are on display in the exhibit.
The United States has returned to the lunar landing many times as inspiration for postage stamps. Despite U.S. regulations restricting anniversary commemorations on stamps to every 50 years, the U.S. issued a 20th anniversary stamp in 1989, a 25th anniversary stamp in 1994, and a commemoration in 1999 as part of the Celebrate the Century (1960s) series. The exhibit shows stamps and covers of all these events and more, as well as from stamp commemorations from other countries.
The United States Postal Service’s 50th anniversary stamps will be issued on July 19. There are two designs. The first is a photograph taken by Neil Armstrong of Buzz Aldrin, unrecognizable in his space suit. The second is a photograph of the moon taken by Gregory H. Revera. A USPS pictorial postmark for the stamp issuance has also been created. The Postal History Foundation will create special cachets to celebrate this significant event that will include the new stamps and the pictorial postmark. The cachets will be on display in the exhibit as well as for sale (sold out!).
Small Steps, Giant Leaps, and Lasting Memories: Celebrating the 1969 Moon Landing will run through mid-October 2019 in the Slusser Library at the Postal History Foundation. Please check our calendar or call 520-623-6652 to ensure the library is open during the time you’d like to visit.
