stsmithva
Member Posts: 1933
From: Fairfax, VA, USA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 03-21-2015 07:51 AM
   
The book The Astronauts: The Story of Project Mercury, America's Man-in-Space Program was written by Martin Caidin in 1960, just a year after the Mercury 7 astronauts were introduced to the public and before any manned missions had flown. The description on the dust jacket's front flap starts "Sometime in 1961 one man will walk to a launching pad at Cape Canaveral..."
This copy was signed by all seven of America's first astronauts during that time period, as they signed in ways they soon stopped using: - Virgil I. Grissom
- M. Scott Carpenter
- Donald K. Slayton
- Walter W. Schirra Jr.
- John H. Glenn, Jr.
- Leroy G. Cooper, Jr.
- Alan B. Shepard Jr.
 Very soon after they started signing autographs, "Virgil I." became "Gus", Carpenter dropped the "M.", "Donald" was often "D", Cooper signed as "Gordon", and four astronauts stopped writing their middle initials and "Jr." The inscription (with the personalization being just one word, not a distracting longer one) was written by Carpenter. (Have you ever noticed how often, on items signed by the Mercury 7, it was Carpenter who wrote the thoughtful dedication?) It comes with a Letter of Authenticity from respected space autographs expert Steve Zarelli.  This book is in excellent condition. The pages are bright and clean, the binding is tight, and the dust jacket only has a little wear at the upper and lower spine. (Notice the exceptional condition of the front.)  (The cover looks a little white, but that's just the flash's reflection on the textured paper of the dust jacket.) As for its contents, here is an excerpt from a vintage review: "[Caidin] explains the methods being used for selection of the first astronaut; and describes the design, development and testing procedures of the capsule. A startling subject treated with dramatic calm, this highly objective text can compete with top score science fiction for dramatic impact." Several other copies of this book have sold at auction in recent years. This one sold for $6,572. It has a nice inscription and it's dated... but the signatures are much lighter than on the one I am offering. Both Grissom and Slayton, for example, used a pen so fine and light that their autographs are actually hard to see. Another one sold for $5,078, and finally one with an interesting note from the author reached $4,915 despite the stains on the pages. This price of this one is $4200, insured shipping included. I'd be happy to accept three monthly payments of $1400 each. This is a chance to get a superb item (really, the centerpiece of an astronaut autograph collection) signed by those pioneers just as they began their historic achievements. |
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