posted 03-29-2012 07:41 PM               

I quickly came across his old NASA scrapbooks and picked them up hoping I could find some gems. There were three books in all, one for Apollo, one for Skylab, and the largest for the Shuttle missions.

Inside were tons of original NASA photos. They all had what looked like typed or stamped descriptions with Kennedy Space Center numbering, some even had Original Film on them. These photos ranged from everything from lunar surface flag salutes to shuttle images. There were also a ton of original NASA lithographs, with logos and descriptions on the backs as well.

There were also covers from every mission with the KSC stamp on the date of every launch.

However, what appear to be the biggest gems in the collection were buried deep in the books. The highlights included a flag presentation flown on STS-1, a presentation of two patches flown on STS-36 with all crew signatures, a Skylab Medallion made from flown metal, a lunar surface flown piece of safety line from Apollo 14, an STS-1 Mission Chart, an STS-1 Crewmember Mission Overview, an Apollo 13 launch pass, and tons of other things I don't want to bore anyone with.

The man who this collection belonged to was a distinguished member of NASA's team and there was even a hand written happy birthday note from the NASA director. I still can't believe all the crazy things I was lucky enough to find, but now I rely on all your opinions.

Is this truly a special find? What is the rarity of some of these items? My favorite piece is an original photo from Apollo 15 of Irwin saluting the flag. The back has "Original Film" with the date 8/11/71. Does this have any significance?

posted 03-30-2012 05:55 AM               

In terms of the photos, lithos in general have very little value but original glossy photos can be quite collectible. The key thing, apart from condition, is the watermark on the back of the paper. "A KODAK PAPER" indicates a vintage photo from the Gemini or Apollo era, whilst any other multi-line watermark indicates a later printing with much less value.

posted 03-31-2012 07:54 PM               

You are likely to receive (if you have not already) some offers to "help you out" by taking some items off your hands for what sounds like very good prices. Resist the urge to accept these offers -- almost certainly, the person offering knows exactly what the items are worth, and they are trying to get you to sell them for less than they are worth.

My first piece of advice would be, if you have any inclination at all to keep the collection, then by all means that would be your best option. Also, if you can gather some biographical information about the NASA worker who owned the collection (along with maybe a few pictures of him/her) then that would add to the interest of the collection.

I think the biographical info is also desirable for the flown items, so you may want to make extra copies to go along with the flown flags, etc, in case you decide to sell them -- collectors will appreciate having some information about the person who was presented with the awards.

Finally, if you would like to know some information about the items or possibly what they might be worth, go ahead and post them here. If you don't know how, someone can certainly help you (I'd be happy to, although I will be unable to assist until Thursday as I will be out of town the next 4 days). There are lots of knowledgable folks here who are honest and trustworthy and will give you valuable opinions to help you understand what you have.

posted 04-01-2012 12:52 PM               

With the exception of the few Apollo lithographs, all the other pictures are genuine NASA photos on Kodak paper, with documenting stamps on the back.

The awards and newspaper articles give a little glimpse into this former employee's career. After doing a little more research of my own, I'm sad to report that he had passed on from cancer in the mid-90's, however, I'm glad people can appreciate his impressive legacy with all the space programs.

posted 04-01-2012 04:44 PM               

So yes, great advise!