Changes: Star Trek US postage stamp

Revision as of 12:08, 31 December 2016

Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

File:Star Trek 1999 postage stamp.gif

The 1999 stamp

1999 Hallmark Enterprise Stamp — The stamp on the Hallmark ornament

The US Star Trek postage stamp was released 17 September 1999 by the United States Postal Service.

The thirty-three cent stamp was part of the Postal Service's "Celebrate the Century" initiative, which recognized significant events representing each decade of the 20th century. The Star Trek stamp, issued on a pane with fourteen other stamps representing the decade of the 1960s, was one of the winners in the Arts and Entertainment category. The story of the stamp was featured in the 20 July 1998 issue of Time magazine and in the Trekkies 2 film.

Keith Birdsong was chosen as the artist and his image depicts the USS Enterprise in orbit set against the Starfleet emblem.

Upon its release, a number of Star Trek stamp-related items were released including coffee mugs, T-shirts, and a 1999 Hallmark Christmas ornament.

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+{{real world}}
+[[File:Star Trek 1999 postage stamp.gif|thumb|The 1999 stamp]]
-The first day of issue of the ''Star Trek'' stamp fell on September 17, 1999. The stamp was part of the US Postal Services "Celebrate the Century" initiative, which recognized significant events representing each decade of the 20th century. The public was asked to vote for prospective subjects by decade. The ''Star Trek'' stamp, issued on a pane with fourteen other stamps representing the decade of the 1960s, was one of the winners in the Arts and Entertainment category. Voting took place between May 1 and May 30th of 1998. ''Star Trek'' garnered 257,000 votes. News of the successful vote was cited on page 73 of the July 20, 1998 issue of ''Time'' magazine. The story of the stamp was also featured in Roger Nygard’s ''[[Trekkies 2]]'' in 2004.
+[[File:1999 Hallmark Enterprise Stamp.jpg|thumb|The stamp on the Hallmark ornament]]
+The '''US ''Star Trek'' postage stamp''' was released {{d|17|September|1999}} by the {{dis|United States Postal Service|real world}}.
+The thirty-three cent stamp was part of the Postal Service's "Celebrate the Century" initiative, which recognized significant events representing each decade of the 20th century. The ''Star Trek'' stamp, issued on a pane with fourteen other stamps representing the decade of the 1960s, was one of the winners in the Arts and Entertainment category. The story of the stamp was featured in the 20 July 1998 issue of ''Time'' magazine and in the ''[[Trekkies 2]]'' film.
-The issuance of the thirty-three cent ''Star Trek'' stamp in 1999 marked the thirty-third anniversary of ''Star Trek''{{'}}s debut in 1966. Oklahoma artist Keith Birdsong's rendering depicts the USS ''Enterprise'' of the original series in celestial orbit. Set against the bright gold Starfleet emblem above a vortex of swirling clouds, the ''Enterprise'' soars on its five-year mission to the final frontier.
-''Star Trek''{{'}}s place on the ballot was the result of a thirteen-year, fan-driven campaign of letter writing, petition signing, and appeals to the media. The campaign succeeded in the face of great odds and a nearly intransigent Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, which initially objected on the grounds that ''Star Trek'' was a commercial enterprise and, therefore, in violation of postal guidelines. In spite of such resistance, the drive elicited 146 endorsement letters from some of the most recognizable names in science, science fiction, education, and the US Congress. Letters came from, among many others, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, NASA, Caltech, MIT, the US Space and Rocket Center, Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto, and the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium.
+[[Keith Birdsong]] was chosen as the artist and his image depicts the {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}} in orbit set against the Starfleet emblem.
-The ''Star Trek'' Stamp Committee, the force behind the drive, was spearheaded by Bill Kraft, of Sauk Rapids, MN. Other committee members included Mark Schnoor, Aberdeen, SD, Todd Miller, New York, NY, Lori Kilpatrick, Fort Wayne, IN, and Deborah Cecchi, Palatine, IL. Their efforts, along with eighty endorsement letters, are chronicled in Bill Kraft's book, ''Maybe We Need a Letter from God: The Star Trek Stamp''. The book was added to the National Postal Museum Library at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC in 2014.
-For collectors, ''Star Trek'' stamp-related items on the market were coffee mugs, T-shirts, shot glasses, key chains, and the 1999 Hallmark Christmas ornament.
+Upon its release, a number of ''Star Trek'' stamp-related items were released including coffee mugs, T-shirts, and a [[Hallmark#1999 releases|1999 Hallmark Christmas ornament]].
-[[Category:Star Trek Stamp]]
-[[Category:U.S. Postage Stamp]]
+[[Category:Collectibles]]
-[[Category:Fan Campaigns]]
-[[Category:Endorsement Letters]]