Star Wars Stamps Available in Post Offices Today
From USPS
Thirty years ago today, a film premiered in just over 30 theaters across the country. Not the biggest first-day showing a movie has ever had, but the ripples from those select theaters sent shockwaves across the cinematic universe still being felt today.
Star Wars — the movie, the cult phenomenon, the biggest grossing film series in history — hits the streets today as 15 stamps honoring characters from the film go on sale at Post Offices nationwide. The buzz for these stamps has been building since March, when the first R2-D2 wrapped collection boxes began appearing on street corners across America and at military bases here and abroad.
It’s expected the Star Wars stamps will be as popular as the movie. To make sure there are enough of them, USPS has printed 30 million sheets. That’s a total of 450 million Star Wars stamps for fans to collect.
A special first-day-of-issue ceremony is being held in Los Angeles tonight, but you don’t have to wait until then to purchase the stamps. They may come from a galaxy far, far away — but they’re available now at a Post Office close, close to you.
USPS: Star Wars Stamp Sheet Available for Pre-Order
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Can’t wait? The U.S. Postal Service announced customers may pre-order the set of 15 Star Wars stamps today.
The stamps will officially go on sale Friday, May 25, following a special dedication ceremony at Star Wars Celebration IV, the biggest Star Wars event in the galaxy, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
For $6.15 customers can ensure they receive these stamps by going to www.usps.com or by calling 1-800-STAMP-24. All Star Wars stamps pre-orders will be shipped on May 25.
Voting continues for America’s favorite stamp
Voting continues through May 23 on www.uspsjedimaster.com. The winning stamp will be announced at the first-day-of-issue ceremony of the Star Wars stamp sheet on May 25 during Star Wars Celebration IV in Los Angeles and will be honored with the issuance of a single stamp, which will be for sale later this summer.
Which one is your favorite? Luke Skywalker; Han Solo and Chewbacca; Princess Leia Organa with R2-D2; C-3PO; Yoda; Queen Padmé Amidala; Obi-Wan Kenobi as seen in Episodes IV through VI; Anakin Skywalker battling Obi-Wan Kenobi; Darth Vader; Emperor Palpatine; Darth Maul; Imperial Stormtroopers; Boba Fett; the Millennium Falcon; or an X-wing fighter.
Check www.uspsjedimaster.com for regular updates on voting — it’s up to America to choose which Star Wars stamp wins the honor of a single-stamp sheet release.
Pre-order the Star Wars pre-paid Express Mail envelopes
This set includes three pre-paid Express Mail envelopes featuring artwork images of Yoda, Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi and the postage will be the Marine One Express Mail stamp. The set of three envelopes costs $48.75 and will be available only from May 6 through Sept. 1. Customers may pre-order the envelope set now at www.usps.com, by telephone at 1-800-STAMP-24 and in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog. The set is not available in post offices.
Become a Jedi shipping and mailing master to win a trip
Through May 7, customers can enter this sweepstakes by solving six different challenges about Postal Service products and services featuring a Star Wars theme. As each question is answered correctly, customers are automatically moved to the next challenge. At the start of the sweepstakes, customers enter their contact information into a sweepstakes form. There is a limit of one entry per challenge, for a total of six entries.
The Jedi shipping and mailing master challenge is a fun, interactive Web tool that reminds customers of the quick, easy and convenient suite of services available from the Postal Service, including ZIP Code Lookup, International Shipping, Flat-Rate Boxes, Click-N-Ship, Priority Mail and free Package Pickup. The winner of this sweepstakes will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for four to the 30th Anniversary Star Wars Celebration IV in Los Angeles, which runs from May 24 to May 27. (For details, go to www.starwars.com/celebration.)
(Note: To obtain a downloadable 300 dpi image of these stamps visit the 2007 Commemorative Stamp Program release link at http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007stamps/starwars/welcome.htm)
Editorial: New Star Wars Stamps May Violate USPS Guidelines
’Star Wars: Episode VII — The Philatelic Menace’
Light sabers at 50 paces! Stamp collectors are up in arms about plans for 15 new “Star Wars” stamps, to be issued for the 30th anniversary of the film in May. “From a galaxy far, far away . . . to your mailbox,” crows the U.S. Postal Service. The problem? The stamps picture Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisherand Natalie Portman– a seeming violation of USPS guidelines that prevent depictions of living people.“The advisory committee felt as though we are honoring the characters of the ‘Star Wars’ saga, not the individuals who portrayed them,” explained David Failor, director of stamp services, who showed off the first-class stamps last week.
Historically, USPS guidelines allowed stamp depictions only of people who have been dead at least 10 years (except U.S. presidents). Fred Baumann, spokesman for the American Philatelic Society, says there are “stamps with real, living people, but no one knew who they were” — a 1932 Arbor Day stamp with the engraver’s two kids; WWII soldiers depicted in 1945; firefighters on a 9/11 stamp. The “Star Wars” actors, however, are easily recognizable (if poorly rendered) on the stamps. “It’s not a direct photographic image of Mark Hamill,” Baumann said. “It looks like an airbrushed photo on the side of a van.”
Still, it’s a blow to purists, who think stamps should continue the tradition of celebrating individuals and events of historic importance to the country — not celebrities du jour. “That gets you into egomaniacs honoring themselves,” says Chicago collector Eliot Landau.
The 41-cent stamps are expected to be enormously successful, possibly surpassing the Elvis Presley, the best-selling commemorative stamp of all time. “We think it’s going to give Elvis a run for his money,” said Failor, who noted that some folks are upset about that one, too: “They think Elvis is still alive.”
Article published in Washington Post’s Reliable Source Column
USPS Star Wars Stamps compiled by PostalReporter.com