An Alien in my Mailbox

In this world, galactic philatelists are few and far between, but tracking down each stamp, studying its illustrations and relating them to general and particular history is a fine craft, requiring a comprehensive knowledge of aliens in modern culture (touching on everything from science fiction to ufology and astrobiology) and the peculiarities of each.Space and spacecraft have been a classic theme on these little colored bits of paper since 1957. This has naturally appealed to Hollywood, where movie companies have jumped at the chance to leave their mark in the stamp world. Both Star Wars and Star Trek have had a lasting impact on philately. The presence of Mr. Spock and Yoda on these diminutive shipping tokens lies somewhere between ironic and beautiful.In the field of ufology, the subject matter is varied, ranging from ships manned by green-skinned, scaly creatures or bug eyed monsters to robots with metallic flesh, but also to specimens of the Spiritual Space Fleet. The palette of saucer culture is awash with pseudoscience, but also with a multitude of colorful religions in strange guises.Unlike UFO close encounters, there is no Hynek classification system for stamps. They certainly depict daytime saucers, physical evidence such as photos, and a gallery of aliens. But, more importantly, they encompass symbols associated with 20th-century cultural milestones that also often arrive in waves. These peaks of media interest are reflected in stamps from all over the world.Ufological stamps are an inherent part of popular culture. They are perhaps one of the most eccentric and yet most representative markers of the transition from the Nuclear to the Digital Age. From the mid-20th century to the beginning of the 21st, both flying saucers and stamps have passed from plenitude to near extinction. Read more