posted 04-02-2013 08:45 PM               

Most of them have signed on a single item, such as the Aldrin "visor shot" photo signed by all three Apollo 11 crew members (and which comes with a Steve Zarelli Letter of Authenticity). In fact there will be two photos signed by all three crew members of Apollo 15 and Apollo 16.

With a few of the crews, the astronauts signed on two or even three separate items that go very well together.

I've offered a few of these for sale before. Here they are presented with new lower prices. Domestic Priority Mail is included for all items. International shipping, and insurance if desired, will be extra.

Please e-mail me with any questions, or if you would like a high-resolution scan or photo of an item sent.

Apollo 7 Crew

• Wally Schirra: signed "SpaceShots" card of the Apollo 7 launch.

• Walt Cunningham: signed photo of him on board Apollo 7.

• Don Eisele: signed index card. Perfect condition on front; some peeling on corners of the back from previous mounting.

posted 04-02-2013 08:47 PM               

Here are two First Day of Issue covers for the "In the Beginning" Earthrise stamp, both with Apollo 8 cachets. One is signed by Commander Frank Borman and Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell. The other is signed by Lunar Module Pilot Bill Anders (as "Anders") and by the entire crew of "Old 66", the SH-3D recovery helicopter from Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Four that picked the crew up from the spacecraft after splashdown.

They were pilot (and commanding officer) CDR Don Jones, LCDR Carl Frank, AWC Novel L. Wood and AW2 James B. Dorsey. Here is a USS Yorktown history web page listing that crew. Jones was also the pilot when "Old 66" picked up the crew of Apollo 11, with Chief Wood also repeating his role.

These two covers are great on their own, but they would make a wonderful display framed with perhaps photos of the launch and Earthrise, and then also a photo of the recovery. This one, for example, shows the Apollo 8 crew beaming as they step out of the helicopter, inside of which one of its crewmembers is clearly visible. This one doesn't show a crewmember, but it is in color.

I've never seen anything else signed by the full SH-3D crew. A cover signed only by Anders (who took the photo shown on the Earthrise stamp) sold just a few months ago for $435. A cover signed by all three Apollo 8 crew members sold at auction a year ago for $2,031; but they were all on one cover and it was from another astronaut's collection.

posted 04-02-2013 08:47 PM               

SOLD 8x10 NASA lithograph showing several scenes from this fascinating mission, with McDivitt signing on the CSM he was in, and Scott and Schweickart signing on pictures of them performing EVAs. Note that each signed with "Apollo 9" and then the abbreviation of their mission rank. On the verso there are four paragraphs explaining the images.

Recently Apollo 9 crew-signed photos have sold for $630, $471, and even just signed on the mat for $358.

posted 04-02-2013 08:48 PM               

• Thomas Stafford: 1970 TLS as "Chief, Astronaut Office", sending an autographed photo of the Apollo X crew (not present). He also says that for someone outside the USA to write "brings home the point that our exploration of space is for all mankind...") Small stain touching signature.

• John Young: Signed photo. Now, I'll admit that this is a shuttle era, orange space suit litho, and therefore not completely appropriate for an Apollo X crew collection. However, it is NOT personalized, which is very rare. He just wrote "Best wishes." Some condition issues: slight bends in several places, and provenance notes (signed in 1981) written on the back.

• Gene Cernan: signed Apollo X crew litho, inscribed to the same person who received the letter from Stafford.

The Stafford and Cernan items both have slight "tackiness" on the corners of the verso from previous mounting - a little adhesive remains, about as strong as a Post-It Note. This does not affect the front at all.

posted 04-02-2013 08:49 PM               

A vintage NASA glossy on "A KODAK PAPER" (with a description printed in purple on the verso) of the famous "visor shot": Aldrin on the lunar surface, with Armstrong and the LM's golden leg reflected in the visor. Signed by Armstrong in red, and Aldrin and Collins in black.

There is paper stuck around a couple inches of the margins from a previous mounting, and above the signatures is an inch wide area where some of the photo image peeled off, showing the white paper underneath. Still, it would matte like this:

This photo comes with a Letter of Authenticity from Steve Zarelli, including an image of the photo and a close-up of the signatures.

posted 04-02-2013 08:50 PM               

• Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon signed on an Apollo 12 postal cover with no cancellation.

• Alan Bean signed on an 8x10 glossy photo of him descending the lunar module's ladder. Unfortunately poor contrast.

posted 04-02-2013 08:50 PM               

Signed Apollo 13 launch cover. This cover was addressed and actually mailed. Usually this is a liability, but interestingly this cover was sent to Thomas N. Downing, a Member of Congress from Virginia who joined the Committee on Science and Astronautics in 1961. His name appears on such documents as NASA's 1963 report to Congress about the first American manned orbital flights, and the 1967 investigation of the Apollo 1 fire.

In fact, as the crew of Apollo 13 passed around the moon on its perilous voyage home, the name "Thomas N. Downing" lay on the lunar surface below them. His was one of dozens of names etched onto the silicon disk of Goodwill Messages left on the surface of the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts. (You can search for "Downing" on this list of signers.)

The cover was signed years ago by Lovell and Swigert, and Haise signed it at the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation event a few months ago.

A similar launch cover signed by the crew sold at auction recently for $776, but with Lovell and Haise autopens also on it, which detracts.

posted 04-02-2013 08:52 PM               

Signed launch cover — well, actually it appears to be that from the front, but if one looks at the verso one will see that it is an envelope-sized postcard.

(You might notice that Shepard signed as "Al", which he did occasionally — on this note, for example.)

An Apollo 14 launch cover sold at auction last year for $896.

posted 04-02-2013 08:52 PM               

SOLD Signed red-serial-number Kodak glossy, with a great story behind it. It was originally owned by (and inscribed to) Danny Lawler. Lawler was a nationally known golf professional who became "Pro to the Astronauts" in 1969 when he was asked by Jim Lovell to give lessons to many of the astronauts.

This 1971 newspaper photo (which will be included) shows him giving Jim Irwin a lesson just days after splashdown!

The buyer will also receive a photocopy of a 1990 obituary, which mentions that Lawler became acquainted with many baseball players as a golf instructor, and as a hitting instructor for the New York Yankees suggested in 1949 that some players wear golf gloves while at bat. He introduced batting gloves to the game!

And finally, the buyer will receive a holiday card Mr. Lawler sent out during the Apollo program, with the autographs of dozens of astronauts reproduced under an interesting picture of lunar golfing.

posted 04-02-2013 08:54 PM               

Signed large (20x24) photo mat. (I'm sorry that I'm only noticing now that my camera flash obscured the CM as it approaches splashdown.) It's a little brighter/lighter than this photo would indicate.

The original photo of the Apollo 16 splashdown on the matte has an inch-long scratch that the original owner tried to cover it with marker, and a couple of smaller ones. It's also a little faded.

I took the liberty of getting a new 16x20 print of an even better photo of the Apollo 16 splashdown, on archival photo paper. As you can see, the new photo (which I've just placed on top; it would be up to the buyer to attach it or not) perfectly covers the old, damaged one and the inscription, making a wonderful display piece for your home.

Recent sale prices of Apollo 16 signed photos include $1231 and $1056. One red-serial-number Kodak glossy even sold for $2911. However, a more direct price comparison is the $717 for the crew's signatures on a mat, just like this one, only smaller.

There is a bend at the top left corner of the mat, and a couple of marks at the top middle. $395

Or you could buy this NASA crew litho (inscribed by Mattingly, judging by the pen)...

posted 04-02-2013 08:55 PM               

SOLD A wonderful, large (21"x12") print on Kodak paper of the incredible photo of Harrison Schmitt standing next to a boulder the size of a house, with the lunar rover on the other side. Signed boldly by all three crew members and in excellent condition.

posted 04-03-2013 02:34 PM               

I actually deliberately left off an explanation, since I know in the past I've mentioned child care expenses and a new minivan as reasons for selling items, and I figured people didn't want to know the story behind the sales every time. But I'll say that it's for a positive reason: my wife and I hope to move this summer to a house closer to the school where we both teacher, and in which our four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter will have their own rooms. Time to fix up our nice little townhouse to put it on the market, and build up a down payment for the new place.

posted 04-04-2013 04:42 PM            

That brings me back to the featured picture: I see subtle differences between my three signatures and the three on the picture for sale but I wonder how many of these Apollo 15 crew autopen sets were distributed, and how certain is the seller that this is not one of them, but the real deal?