posted 03-23-2015 03:08 AM               

Last February 26th took place in London an auction on vintage NASA photographs. I wrote them the day after because I missed the auction, asking for some of the unsold lots. I am mainly interested in the AS11-40-5949 photograph, on "A Kodak Paper" (28x35 cm). They told me that the reserved price for that lot is £1200 (w/o taxes - 28.8%), i.e., around $2300. What do you think? It is a fair price?

posted 03-23-2015 04:17 AM               

I may be opening a can of worms here but in my opinion, the prices vintage photos sell for is ludicrous! As a photographer I think paying that kind of money is ridiculous for an image with dubious archival qualities at best... particularly when a modern reproduction of infinitely superior quality is likely to be available for just a few dollars.

Seeing auction prices running in to the thousands reminds me of the children's story about the emperor's clothes. I keep thinking that any moment now, somebody will pipe up and say "what on earth are you doing?" and the rose tinted glasses will suddenly lift from everybody's eyes and the reality will set in.

For the price quoted for one print you could (just about) purchase two flown Apollo 14 embroidered patches for instance that have been to the moon and back. I know which I would rather have.

That said, each to their own and I respect other peoples' collecting nuances. I guess it is as much about owning a contemporaneous print as it is the image itself.

posted 03-23-2015 05:08 AM               

Certainly the prices are high, just take a look at the auction's final prices.

Actually I was not looking for vintage pictures before I knew about the auction. That's why I couldn't say if the price was right or no. I don't know how many original and contemporaneous prints are of this Apollo XI pictures.