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  STS-51D presentation: Jarvis/Walker patch

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Author Topic:   STS-51D presentation: Jarvis/Walker patch
velocity
Member

Posts: 83
From: Scotland
Registered: Oct 2017

posted 02-12-2023 04:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for velocity   Click Here to Email velocity     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hi folks. I'm looking to get a bit more info on my STS-51G (Jarvis/Walker) mission patch presentation.

It was presented to Paul E. Gilsdorf who I believe is the retired Vice President of sales and marketing at the AB Emblem Company.

The patch itself is immaculate although the presentation board does show a bit of age. It's signed by Brandenstein, Creighton, Fabian, Nagel Lucid, Walker and Jarvis (although these signatures may be printed).

It comes with the following text below the patch:

This patch, the insignia of the original 51D space shuttle mission did not and never will fly aboard the space shuttle Discovery, Challenger or Columbia.

Presented to Paul Gilsdorf, for your contributions to the STS-51D mission that 'vaporized' before our very eyes. Your support and dedication were sincerely appreciated by the 'bridesmaids' of 51-D.

Does anyone know how rare this patch actually is and have an idea as to its value?

cosmos-walter
Member

Posts: 779
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 02-13-2023 12:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for cosmos-walter   Click Here to Email cosmos-walter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am proposing that you have a look at the signatures through a microscope. Thus you can recognize whether the signatures are hand-written.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 49961
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-13-2023 01:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Another of the same presentations can be seen here (under STS-51D).

The presentations are different (e.g. different margins on the signed sheet), as are the signatures, ruling out they are printed. They also do not match known autopens (at least after a quick, cursory look).

velocity
Member

Posts: 83
From: Scotland
Registered: Oct 2017

posted 02-13-2023 05:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for velocity   Click Here to Email velocity     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Unfortunately I don’t have a microscope but my first thought was that they were definitely printed, but the more I looked the more I wondered if they were actually original signatures for some of the reasons you suggested Robert. Usually it’s the other way round....the more you look, the worse they look!!

OV-105
Member

Posts: 899
From: Ridgecrest, CA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 02-15-2023 12:08 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for OV-105   Click Here to Email OV-105     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The STS 51-D patch never went into large production. I have heard around 500 maybe less were produced which went to NASA/ crew. The flight was combined with STS 51-E. The Bobko crew was reassigned to 51-D with Walker replacing Patrick Baudry since his payload was already on Discovery. It is one of the rare pre Challenger cancelled flight patches to find. Others are the 51-E Baudry only.

p51
Member

Posts: 1764
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 02-15-2023 10:40 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Look at the back, are there an indentations where pens met the paper?

velocity
Member

Posts: 83
From: Scotland
Registered: Oct 2017

posted 02-15-2023 01:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for velocity   Click Here to Email velocity     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by p51:
Look at the back, are there an indentations where pens met the paper?
It’s backed onto card as part of the presentation, so unfortunately can’t check that.

I’m thinking the value lies in the patch itself rather than the signatures, albeit they would certainly add to the item. I’m not generally a patch collector so had thought about selling this, hence I just wondered about its current value and rarity. I know it is fairly rare, just not sure how rare and as nice a piece as it is, it’s just not what I generally collect.

cosmos-walter
Member

Posts: 779
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 02-16-2023 04:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cosmos-walter   Click Here to Email cosmos-walter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Don't underestimate the signatures including Greg Jarwis.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 49961
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-16-2023 08:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
According to Chris Spain's Crew Patches website, two of these presentations previously sold for $677 (in 2013 on eBay) and $366 (in 2018 through Lunar Legacies).

Without the presentation, the patch has recently sold for $244 in 2021 and $170.80 in 2022 (both through Lunar Legacies).

All times are CT (US)

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