The Eagle, the Rocket, and the Moon: U.S. Postal Iconography at the End of History

In this Photoarticle, we survey what will call the post-historical U.S. postage stamps of last third twentieth century. We focus on depicting space race and travel, as well linkage some those to 1992 Olympic games, analyze iconographic narrative consequences an increasing turn toward commercialization postal services. The consider coincide with a series new commercial strategies part United States Postal Service (USPS) broad resurgence in public interest travel. While many critics during 1960s considered be distraction from more pressing political concerns—such urban poverty or war Vietnam—by 1980s 1990s, travel had become less controversial endeavor (perhaps due its large-scale defunding), astronauts, especially Apollo 11 were widely lauded heroes. have chosen “topical” (as stamp collectors say) for two reasons. First, iconography exploration is dominated by one specific moment, when lunar module Eagle touched down moon July 20, 1969. Despite ongoing history before after 1969, landing, argue, was treated timeless event —a climactic technological triumph that seemed announce Francis Fukuyama, influential essay, called “the end history.”