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  Russian space memorabilia dealer Maxim Martynov

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Author Topic:   Russian space memorabilia dealer Maxim Martynov
Dirk
Member

Posts: 933
From: Belgium
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 05-27-2014 02:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dirk   Click Here to Email Dirk     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does any one know Russian space memorabilia seller Maxim Martynov or can give some feedback about his items?

hinkler
Member

Posts: 573
From: Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 05-27-2014 03:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hinkler   Click Here to Email hinkler     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
He has some amazing items and also has some very questionable items. Seems to have no trouble locating extremely rare items such as Soyuz 11 signatures.

SpaceCadet1983
Member

Posts: 227
From: United States
Registered: May 2012

posted 05-27-2014 03:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceCadet1983   Click Here to Email SpaceCadet1983     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, Dirk, I've known Martynov for a number of years. He's picked up a number of Soviet/Russian Space medals, pins, and books for me over the years. He seems to have access to memorabilia that few have, and although he's had some questionable items, I've never had any problems in my dealings with him.

Bob M
Member

Posts: 1745
From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 05-27-2014 04:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Bob M   Click Here to Email Bob M     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
His long record with Soviet cosmonaut autograph material is quite controversial and many would recommend that collectors avoid his cosmonaut autograph material, including Soviet space officials.

cosmos-walter
Member

Posts: 691
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 05-27-2014 05:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for cosmos-walter   Click Here to Email cosmos-walter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
By far most of the signatures offered by Maxim Martynov are fakes. In earlier days he asked more for better faked signatures compared with not so good fakes.

From time to time he also offered a very desirable item. However, you have to be very experienced to recognize it.

There were already threads about Maxuta on collectSPACE (see here and here).

Steve Zarelli
Member

Posts: 731
From: Upstate New York, USA
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 06-05-2014 10:47 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Steve Zarelli   Click Here to Email Steve Zarelli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In my opinion, items that source from this seller continue to surface:

datkatz
Member

Posts: 176
From: New York, NY
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 06-05-2014 12:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for datkatz   Click Here to Email datkatz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks, Steve.

spaceflori
Member

Posts: 1499
From: Germany
Registered: May 2000

posted 06-07-2014 07:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceflori   Click Here to Email spaceflori     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Steve Zarelli:
Looks like a 5th generation photo. Was this even available in Gagarin's lifetime?

The Nicolayev and Popovitch signatures on many of these items are so special — they must have used a different style just to sign for him.

Not going detailed into Gagarin, but I can say for sure that none of the several hundreds of Popovitch/Nicolaev signatures from dozens of sources I have handled over the the past two decades match his style.

Bob M
Member

Posts: 1745
From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 06-08-2014 10:54 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Bob M   Click Here to Email Bob M     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Many of us who have followed this seller's long and lucrative career selling Soviet cosmonaut signatures are very familiar with his questionable merchandise. Many, including at least three professional cosmonaut autograph authenticators and authorities, have long been dismayed at the never ending parade of questionable autograph material coming from this source.

He was one of the first, over ten years ago, to sell very controversial Soyuz 11 crew signed material (photos, covers, postcards) and has continued with a steady stream of Yuri Gagarin signatures and of every early cosmonaut - much of it multi-signed. He has continued with material signed by Sergei Korolev ("The Chief Designer"), who's name wasn't known in the West until after his death in 1966, and signatures and letters by K. Tsiolkovsky and among others, Stalin, Khruschev, etc.

The volume of his signature material seen over the years is overwhelming, along with the large number of venues where it has also appeared, such as eBay, Superior, Regency-Superior, Aurora, etc, and as a consequence, has spread throughout the hobby.

With some experience and study, comparing his signatures of Gagarin, Belyayev, Komarov, Nikolayev, etc., with known genuine examples will quickly indicate the variation and differences between his material and what is considered authentic and standard.

By flooding the hobby for so long with so many Gagarin signatures, in particular, they have become almost plentiful and easy to find and affordable. So the result is that about anyone can afford an autograph, and as many as they want, of the first man in space, that should, logically, be scarce and fairly expensive.

Steve Zarelli
Member

Posts: 731
From: Upstate New York, USA
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 06-08-2014 02:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Steve Zarelli   Click Here to Email Steve Zarelli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Spot on, Bob.

If we could wave a magic wand and make all the bad Gagarins disappear, the sudden scarcity of authentic Gagarins would be breathtaking... And it would rightly be a $1,500+ signature.

spaceflori
Member

Posts: 1499
From: Germany
Registered: May 2000

posted 06-09-2014 07:47 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceflori   Click Here to Email spaceflori     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It's not a scarce signature in itself (lots of documentaries report that Gagarin spend the rest of his life signing autographs and doing public appearances), but certainly it would lift his price into a more appropriate (Armstrong) category.

Luckily - in my opinion - these questionable Gagarin autographs have certain traits revealing them easily to the experienced eye.

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