posted 05-09-2015 09:06 PM               

The White photo shows him in his silver space suit with a model of the Gemini spacecraft he flew in to become the first American to walk in space. It is inscribed "To Congressman Clausen with appreciation for your support of the space program" and signed Edward H. White II.

The Collins is a business suit portrait, with him wearing his astronaut pin. It is inscribed "To Congressman Don Clausen with best wishes" and signed Michael Collins. He then added "Gemini X." The vast majority of Collins autographs were signed after Apollo 11, so it's interesting to see one signed in the three years between Gemini X and that mission.

These were probably the glossies with red serial numbers on the borders (not the more common lithographs), but we can't be sure because unfortunately to frame them Clausen trimmed them a bit, to 7" x 10". He also attached them both to that thin, hard cardboard you see on the backs of photos sometimes. (I'll send scans of the backs upon request.) Finally, they both have a 0.25" chip or two missing from the margins — you can see them in the top left of the Collins photo, for example.

Most White signed photos are from his Gemini 4 extravehicular activity. They tend to sell for around $2000. I did find two past sales of the same portrait as this one, with inscriptions of similar length. One sold for $943, while the other went for $1256.

Because of the condition issues (please see above), this White photo, inscribed to a member of Congress, is just about half the amount those others sold for: $575.

Michael Collins signed photos range from over $500 for really nice Apollo 11 shots down to about $250 for pre-Apollo photos (which are more rare but not as in-demand). This one is $195.