4 minute read
Space
338. Apollo 8 Recovery Collection (USS Yorktown). Collection of Apollo 8 recovery material from the collection of Ted Hurley, an ABC-TV technical director who covered the rescue of the Apollo 8 command module aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10) in December 1968. Highlights include: a swatch of gold Kapton foil ostensibly flown as part of the Apollo 8 command module and removed after splashdown; two Apollo 8 “ABC Television” Recovery Team patches; and 46 color photos, 5 x 3.5 and 3.5 x 5, each containing images of the Yorktown’s oceanic rescue of the Apollo 8 crew. In overall very good to fine condition. A more detailed listing of this collection can be found in our online description. Starting Bid $200
The 20-year-old Aldrin defines “success” in a college essay—“Success must be characterized by the performance of a service that actually benefits mankind”
339. Buzz Aldrin Handwritten and Signed Home-
work. Handwritten college essay by Buzz Aldrin, signed in the upper corner of each page, “Aldrin, Edwin E., Section 2B, 16 October 1950,” and at the conclusion, “Edwin E. Aldrin,” six pages, 8.5 x 11, entitled “Success and the Individual.” In part: “Success is the ultimate goal of everyone in the world. We certainly cannot deny that statement, for if we did, we would be saying that some people intentionally fail in their lives. The same person just does not think this way. But what exactly constitutes this success for which everyone is striving?” He goes on to comment on the meaning of success, weighing the importance of money and happiness. Evaluating his own definition of success, he writes: “Success must be characterized by the performance of a service that actually benefits mankind.” In fine condition. A remarkable, insightful autograph manuscript by the youthful Aldrin, anticipating his service as an adult: on the Apollo 11 mission, he and Neil Armstrong would leave a plaque on the moon bearing the inscription: ‘We came in peace for all mankind.’ Starting Bid $200
color 8 x 10 NASA lithograph of Neil Armstrong in his white space suit against a lunar background, boldly signed in blue felt tip. In fine condition. An ultra-desirable, uninscribed example boasting a nice autograph of the first man on the moon. Starting Bid $300
341. Neil Armstrong Signed Magazine Cover. Cover
from Life Magazine’s ‘Off to the Moon’ special issue of July 4, 1969, 9.75 x 12.75, signed in thick black felt tip by Neil Armstrong. In very good to fine condition, with trimmed edges, light creasing, and poor-to-moderate signature contrast. An unusual oversized format signed by the first moonwalker. Starting Bid $200 342. Neil Armstrong Signature. Felt tip signature and
inscription, “To Bob & Judy Aitken—with best wishes, Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11,” on an off-white 4.5 x 6.5 sheet of Cyrillic-language ‘National’ stationery, dated May 30, 1970, at Leningrad, USSR. Matted and framed to an overall size of 9 x 11. In fine condition, with a central horizontal fold. A desirable example that dates to Armstrong’s five-day visit to Leningrad as part of a goodwill tour of the Soviet Union. Starting Bid $200
Beautiful ‘Editor’s Copy’ of An Unforgettable Flight signed by the Apollo 11 moonwalkers
343. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
Signed Book. Signed book: Bill and Moya Lear: An Unforgettable Flight. Deluxe first edition, ‘Editor’s Copy.’ Reno, Nevada: Jack Bacon and Company, 1996. Hardcover bound in black calf leather with gilt titling and marbled endpapers and a matching gilt-stamped slipcase, 6.5 x 10, 259 pages. Signed in blue ink and felt tip by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, as well as by former American President Gerald Ford, and test pilots Hank Beaird and Clay Lacy. The next page is signed by author Moya Olsen Lear, and a cut signature of William P. Lear is also included. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
344. Dar Al Gani (DAG) 521 Meteorite.
Carbonaceous chondrite, CV3. Al Jufrah, Libya, found 1997. End cut with polished face and large CAI. Weighing 115.9 grams and measuring 96 mm x 32 mm x 26 mm. Dar al Gani (DAG) 521 is a carbonaceous chondrite that belongs to the CV3 group, the same classification as the celebrated Allende meteorite that fell in Mexico in 1969. The “V” is a reference to Vigarano, a meteorite that fell in Italy in 1910 and is the first known example of this group. CV3s show large chondrules but little alteration, meaning they have survived, largely unchanged, since the birth of our solar system. An early hot desert find, DAG 521 consisted of a single stone weighing 1,567 grams which was recovered in 1997 on a limestone plateau in Libya, known as Dar al Gani. It was examined and classified by the Museo Nazionale dell’Antartide, Universita di Siena in Siena, Italy. DAG 521 was acquired and prepared by meteorite expert Allan Lang of R.A. Langheinrich Meteorites, shortly after its 1990s recovery and has remained in his collection until now. This rare CV3 is seldom available to collectors and we have not seen a specimen offered for sale in many years. Note the remnant fusion crust on the exterior and the white calcium-aluminum inclusion (CAI), and multiple large chondrules. CAIs are believed to be the oldest substances in the solar system. Starting Bid $200
