posted 03-25-2017 03:28 PM            

• Buzz Aldrin signed "Magnificent Desolation"
  
• Andrew Smith signed "Moondust"
  
• Rick Stroud signed "The Book of the Moon"
  
• plus Apollo 11 commemorative coin.

This auction is specifically for the books "Magnificent Desolation," signed by Buzz Aldrin, "Moon Dust," signed by Andrew Smith, "The Book of the Moon," signed by Rick Stroud, and an Apollo 11 commemorative coin, all as pictured, along with the associated Royal Festival Hall seat ticket thrown in if anyone wants it.

And so to the little story behind my collection:

I am the current owner, Aldrin Armstrong Collins West, born a couple of days after the Apollo 11 landing, to a family captivated by the space race. Uniquely I believe, my birth names were Aldrin Armstrong, and in 2016, after a life-time of promising, I officially became Aldrin Armstrong Collins to honour Michael Collins too.

On July 4th 2009 I was lucky enough to get tickets to a talk by Buzz Aldrin, Rick Stroud and Andrew Smith that was held in the Royal Festival Hall in London as part of the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11.

Buzz Aldrin was not "live" signing but I bought "Magnificent Desolation" there, which has the pictured sticker insert that I believe is a genuine and not autopenned signature.

As I have said, also appearing on stage with Buzz Aldrin were Rick Stroud, author of "The Book of the Moon" and Andrew Smith, author of "Moondust."

I had been in brief email contact with both Rick and Andrew regarding any possibility of meeting Buzz, sadly I no longer have those emails, and of course, why should Buzz give me any more time than any other fan anyway. The long and the short of it is that both Rick and Andrew signed their books for me at the event (I already had a copy of "Moondust," but I purchased a copy of "The Book of the Moon" at the event).

After queuing along with many others to ask Andrew to sign my copy of his book, I introduced myself as the Aldrin Armstrong from the emails and Andrew kindly inscribed his book for me with, "To Aldrin! So nice to meet you. [Andrew's signature].ps - till the 50th!"

Similarly, I queued to speak to Rick and again introduced myself as the Aldrin Armstrong from the emails and Rick was kind enough to inscribe his book for me with, "To Aldrin Armstrong. Fantastic to meet you. Best Rick. 04.07.09 (Buzz Aldrin Day.)".

The books are sadly not in perfect condition but have until now been treasured by me, have been looked at regularly and I'm afraid that "Magnificent Desolation" and "Moondust" both have some discolourations due to damp after being kept on a windowsill. The worst of this discolouration can be seen in the photos.

The commemorative coin I have, without any case I'm afraid, was given to me by my father. I'm very sorry about the quality of the photos.

My reason for selling is simple. I have lived with financial problems for too long and am on the cusp of creating something life-changing for me, for which I need start-up funds and am finding it extremely difficult to find them. I will be very sad to say goodbye to these items, but sometimes in life needs must. I'm sure they'll end up with a collector who will enjoy them as much as I have.

I have considered whether my signing them may also add value, as I'm bound to be rich and famous myself soon, with my new venture lol, so if you're interested and bidding and win, then let me know and perhaps we can negotiate a deal on that. I can of course provide proof of my own name through birth certificates and deed poll documents, but really, who'd bother making something like this up!