Posts: 3772
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 01-29-2024 04:34 PM               

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One of the most popular space cover series of engraved printed cachets were done for the 10 two-manned Gemini spacecraft missions in 1965 and 1966. They were the cachet design artwork of long-time space cover producer and dealer Bill Ronson of Orbit Covers. His multi-faceted montage cachets are still extremely popular with space over collectors worldwide, despite the fact that many of Orbit's Gemini and early Apollo covers have unofficial postal cancels from Cape Canaveral.

Ronson of New York City throughout the 1960/70's mostly did launch day space cover events from the Cape, however, featured here are some special or unusual Orbit covers with only onboard cancel dates of their designated Gemini Prime Recovery Ships. Most are on airmail envelopes that Ronson never used for any routine space shots.

This particular set of Orbit Covers (though missing GT-6 and GT-8 of which I had thought to be a full set originally) were owned by the astronaut family of Edward H. White II and note the beautiful crew signed cover for GT-4 in which Ed White became the first American astronaut to walk in space. I believe the original Gemini cover collection had been gifted to Air Force Major General Edward H. White Sr., also a West Point graduate as his astronaut son was.

The ship's cachet on the back-side even features a rare Captain's Cover (Commanding Officer) blue printed GT-4 USS Wasp cachet on June 7, 1965.

What makes them more distinct are the added U.S. Navy official rubber stamps and/or printed ship's cachet on each of the cover's back-side surfaces. I have no idea of how many Ronson produced in this special way nor how the White family acquired the set.

Of particular interest is the first of the series, Gemini III (GT-3) in March 1965, with a nice machine cancel from the USS Intrepid (CVS-11). Below the postal cancel is an interesting label or sticker of a lined drawing of an aircraft carrier to what appears to be applied over the address area. Very odd it seems to me and I have no idea of why it had been used or just had forgotten. Do any of our prime recovery ship avid cover collectors and specialists know anything more about this unique series of Gemini Orbit/PRS covers?

Posts: 346
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023

Posts: 3772
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 01-30-2024 11:51 AM               

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Thanks Alan as it means a lot coming from you!

Hopefully I may still have the missing GT-6 and GT-8 Orbit/PRS covers as they may be in other Gemini space cover boxes. For more provenance, though, the Orbit/PRS "cover set" was part of a purchase buy from Ed White II when he visited me at my home during the early 1990's. That was about the same time I was consulting with Eddie of Space Ventures, Inc. on his new Space Shots series of collector trading cards.

Posts: 1019
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 01-31-2024 12:23 PM               

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There was a blue binder labeled "Gemini Album" that had a page for each of the Ronson Gemini covers. I believe it was about $12 in the late 60's.

Mine has 31 heavy cardstock pages for Orbit covers and souvenir pages. Found covers for GT -1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 12, an engraved series cover (all 10 manned), and a large 8.5 x 11 "Project Gemini Parchement Sheet dated September 29, 1967. It has the US Gemini Twin stamps.

Posts: 552
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 02-01-2024 09:03 AM               

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I've managed to collect all 11 Orbit covers from Gemini PRSs the hard way, one at a time. That's made up of 10 for the manned missions plus an extra one for Gemini 12 which commemorates all the Gemini missions. Below are the ones for Gemini 6 & 8.

Interestingly I have two Gemini 6 Orbit covers, one with the Navy cachet on the back and one without it. My Gemini 4 Orbit cover also has the Captain's cover on the back.

Posts: 3772
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 02-01-2024 04:45 PM               

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Great assembly of getting 11/12 of all the Gemini Orbit/PRS covers Ross and did it take many years to acquire them? If you would like to part with one of your extra GT-6 issues, I would be interested. I don't recall ever seeing any GT-1/2 Orbit/PRS covers beforehand.

Yes, David, I do remember Ronson's blue binder collection of all Gemini launch day covers by Orbit Covers along with a parchement sheet added. I have a couple of them, but one of them is not complete (I'll have to add the missing Gemini Orbit covers as a I do have many extras). They seemed more popular during the late 1960's and early 1970's when first advertised and recall seeing them listed in earlier aerospace magazines like Space World, etc., but rarely see them today. Ronson also created some large combo-engraved covers (such as GT-6/7 and Apollo 8/11 that I do have a few of as well).

Posts: 893
From: Denver, CO USA
Registered: May 2003

Posts: 552
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 02-02-2024 08:00 AM               

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Ken, I would normally be happy to sell you a spare cover. However my two Gemini 6 covers are different with one having the Navy cachet and the other not. Therefore I'm keeping both.

I don't know what you mean by Gemini 1/2. I've never seen any Orbit covers from either Gemini 1 or 2. My set are Gemini 3-12 plus the extra one for 12.

Randy, unfortunately I don't have a spare Gemini 11 cover.

Posts: 3772
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 02-02-2024 08:36 AM               

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My mistake Ross as when you first said "11" of the Orbit/PRS covers you had, I was thinking of either one for GT-1/2 and not the commemorative GT-12 cachet depiction of all the flown Gemini astronaut crews. And no problem whatsoever in keeping both of your 6's which is quite understandable.

For Randy, I only have the single GT-11 Orbit/PRS cover my friend, so sorry I can't be of any help this time.

Posts: 893
From: Denver, CO USA
Registered: May 2003

posted 02-02-2024 07:47 PM               

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There are also prime recovery ship covers for Apollo missions with both the Orbit Covers and Navy RSC.

I have covers for Apollos 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 17. I haven't seen Orbit/Navy RSC covers for the other missions and I've seen the Apollo 17 cover only once (and I bought it). Apollo 8 is also hard-to-find.

Posts: 863
From: Northville MI USA
Registered: Aug 2005

Posts: 552
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003

Posts: 3772
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 02-03-2024 09:27 AM               

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Tom, just caught your latest post on this topic right about the same time I was going to post another panel of display covers (which is below).

Besides the Orbit/PRS cover series in reference to here, Tom and others along with Ross' excellent ship website, how about discussing other popular and official-type emblem mission or patch-type cachet covers that only bear PRS cancels with added official Navy rubber stamps and possibly any printed Beck recovery ship cachets added.

Here is a sample of splashdown and recovery covers that fall into those categories. I do not have any other unmanned Apollo flights in this capacity that I know of at the moment, nor any Apollo 8 official emblem crew covers with PRS markings. All the others from Apollo 9 onwards I do have up until the last crewed Skylab (SL-4) flight. Most pertain to official NASA, Exchange, and "on-center" mission patch-type cachet covers.

Also got a few (very limited) crew emblem insurance covers and note at bottom left the USS Iwo Jima hand cancel on a Heritage/Crafts cachet cover for Apollo 13, which I consider a partial or secondary insurance-type cover if signed pre-launch under certain conditions (but that's another story altogether).

Besides the Orbit/PRS series of Gemini and Apollo in this category that I do have or know of, what about official NASA cachets (ONCs) and Kennedy Space Center VIP cards as well? At the moment I can't recall any ONC covers with no launch cancels but rather PRS impressions of cancels and/or both with USN ship cachets.