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| A NASA "Earthrise" photo photograph taken by William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission, affixed with the Apollo 8 stamp and postmarked at Houston, Texas, with a hand cancel on May 5, 1969. |
The
Apollo 8 stamp was issued on May 5, 1969. The stamp designer, Leonard E. Buckley, based this design on the "
Earthrise" photograph taken by William Anders on December, 24, 1968. The words "In the beginning God..." were the first words read by the astronauts, taken from the first 10 lines of the Book of Genesis.
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| An Apollo 8 stamp First Day Cover, postmarked at Houston, Texas, with a machine cancel on May 5, 1969, and signed by the stamp’s designer, Leonard E. Buckley. |
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| A plate block of four U.S. Apollo 8 stamps, issued on May 5, 1969, signed in the wide top selvage by the Apollo 8 crew — James Lovell, Frank Borman and William Anders. The stamps originate from the family collection of Robert T. Sakowitz. - Heritage Auctions |
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| Photo: "Apollo 8 STAMPS AND COVERS. Post office workers prepare for the expected rush Monday, when stamps commemorating the Moon-circling Apollo 8 mission go on sale. But don't expect to buy the first ones, for, appropriately enough, the first covers will go to the children of the Apollo 8 crew, James Lovell, Frank Borman and William Anders." Photo by Medford Taylor, Chronicle Staff. May 4, 1969. |
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| Photo: "COMMEMORATIVE RECALLS FLIGHT. A local U.S. Post Office employee, Debra Maas, secretary to Roy C. Cox, director of administrative services, moistens an Apollo 8 commemorative stamp prior to placing it on an envelope. First day cancellations were made Monday at the Apollo 8 Substation set up in the Rice Hotel. The model of an Apollo 8 spaceship in the background was part of the display to celebrate the eighth anniversary of America's first space flight." Photo by Curtis McGee, Chronicle Staff. May 6, 1969. |