An Alien in My Mailbox

Luis R González Ediciones Coliseo Sentosa 2021 Pb, 277pp, £10.30, ISBN 9798482984208

Since Kenneth Arnold’s momentous sighting of a string of flying objects in 1947, the UFO phenomenon and images of UFOs have infiltrated every form of popular culture. One medium which has created an enormous quantity of UFO-related images – and a great deal of other fortean and folkloric imagery – is postage stamps, and there are now many collectors who concentrate on these topics.

The first UFO stamps appeared in 1975 from Equatorial Guinea, showing imaginative images of UFOs. In 1977 the West Indian state of Grenada issued a set of UFO stamps marking its Prime Minister Eric Gairy’s initiative in holding a UFO debate at the United Nations.

Many of the stamps depicting UFOs and related topics have come from postal authorities which are, to say the least, debatable. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, a number of “stamp-issuing entities” emerged. Even if a stamp has the name of a legitimate country, there is no guarantee that it has any official authority. Many of these stamps are speculative productions for the international collectors’ market, but are often nicely produced and interesting. In some cases they do try to give an accurate impression of the phenomenon.

The detailed descriptions and hundreds of full colour illustrations will be a vital guide, catalogue and handbook for all collectors navigating this tricky branch of philately, and also to those interested in how images of the UFO phenomenon are transmitted in popular culture. It’s not just for stamp collectors.

The volume is beautifully produced, every page replete with high-quality colour reproductions of the stamps described. An excellent addition to any philatelic or ufological library.

A longer version of this review is on the Magonia website. John Rimmer ★★★★★