The Race to the Moon Chronicled in Stamps, Postcards, and Postmarks

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Sputnik Triggers the USSR–USA Competition

   • Umberto Cavallaro

   Pages 1-64

3. Man in Space

   • Umberto Cavallaro

   Pages 65-106

4. The Space Race changes direction

   • Umberto Cavallaro

   Pages 107-152

5. The astronaut sits in the driver’s seat

   • Umberto Cavallaro

   Pages 153-208

6. Two tragedies block the race in space

   • Umberto Cavallaro

   Pages 209-240

7. The final leap

   • Umberto Cavallaro

   Pages 241-290

8. First Lunar Landing: The Philatelic Side of Apollo 11

   • Umberto Cavallaro

   Pages 291-314

9. Back Matter

   Pages 315-338

   PDF

The story of the famed race to the Moon between the US and the USSR has been told countless times. The strategies of these two superpowers have often been paralleled in a way that highlights their fight for dominance and efforts to develop needed new technologies. This book will show how beneath these surface similarities, the two competing nations employed very different core tactics. It provides a new perspective of the history of the space race by analyzing that history through philately - that is, from the images on postage stamps, post cards, and letters in circulation at that time. Through this fascinating historical visual record, the author shows how the propaganda-heavy approach of the USSR eventually lost out to the more pragmatic approach of the United States.

• Cold War memorabilia
• 20th century philately
• Space Race postage stamps
• Gemini program
• Apollo program
• Space Race covers
• Soviet space race propaganda
• United States space race strategy

“This book … covers a thriving field of space memorabilia collection derived from a practical commercial application, i.e. sending letters. … Even space aficionados otherwise immune to the joys of philately will be fascinated to find their favourite history can be traced from Sputnik to Apollo by way of stamps … .” (Mark Williamson, Room, Vol. 20 (2), June, 2019)

“It is also a beautiful, softbound edition with almost all of its illustrations in full colour and will make a valuable addition to any collector’s library. … this information will be interesting to collectors ofspace-related philatelics who might be wondering what they are seeing (and not seeing) on their Moon-race-era philatelic collectibles. Umberto’s book provides examples of these Moon-race era commemorative stamps, special cancels, and covers that help illustrate many of the spaceflight events that he discusses in the text.” (Jim Reichman, Orbit, January, 2019)

“This handsome book reads like a novel and brings several seldom know facts about this Race to the Moon, especially marked on gray print in the book.” (Cosmo Express, Vol. 223 (4), 2018)

• Italian Astrophilately Society, Villarbasse, Italy

  Umberto Cavallaro

Umberto Cavallaro is founder and current president of AS.IT.AF (Italian Astrophilately Society), as well as the editor of its quarterly journal, AD*ASTRA. His professional activity led him to cooperate for many years with ESA, the European Space Agency. Author of “Propaganda e Pragmatismo in gara per la conquista della Luna” (“Propaganda & Pragmatism in race to the Moon” Impremix, Torino 2011) and “Donne nello Spazio” (“Women inSpace”, Mursia, Milano 2015), he has translated into Italian several publications, including “The All-American Boys” by Walter Cunningham, an Apollo VII astronaut.

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