posted 02-15-2019 05:49 PM               

One thing that I would point out is that both Charlie Duke's and Dick Gordon's Apollo flown combs have come to auction at Heritage, and both those combs are curved. They are however made by two different manufacturers, so it wouldn't be surprising if there was at least one other manufacturer of combs for missions, and that manufacturer could have gone with a straight backed comb.

posted 02-15-2019 07:22 PM               

As a minimum, if you are interested in buying this item, contact the seller for more information (like, why would Mattingly give the comb to his mother, was she a friend, co-worker, doctor, something else?).

If you are satisfied with the story, ask if the seller will be willing to include a signed and notarized statement including a picture of the item and everything he knows about the chain of custody.

posted 02-16-2019 06:47 AM               

I've seen some shocking buys in my time and one very big one recently where people just did not think to question the authenticity or conduct any due diligence, whether that is inexperience or ignorance I'm not sure, but foolish nonetheless.

But with that said we all know that authenticity for a lot of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo pieces can sometimes be loose. In such instances we're obliged to piece together the story ourselves and fill in the blanks. A little bit of detective work can pay off.

When I look at pieces like this, I think to myself how easy it would be to fake and whether it would be worth someone's time to do so. Forgers generally have little knowledge of the hobby they're faking and so often stick to things like flags, etc. which even most laymans can understand without any significant thought. This seems like a very unlikely thing to fake and it does fit with other pieces from the era (as shown by Robert above). I'd err on the side of it being real, but that is just my opinion.

posted 02-16-2019 02:44 PM               

That certainly does not mean that the item is not authentic and as described, but it is interesting to note.

posted 02-16-2019 04:15 PM               

Given what we can discern from the plaque's appearance though, I feel fine accepting the comb as flown — if and until evidence is presented to the contrary.

The plate attached to the plaque is engraved with the astronauts' dedication and signatures. The font and style of the signatures are a match for the other known examples of Apollo 13 crew-gifted plaques, as is the treatment of the wood and mounting. Those details are not simple, nor inexpensive to fake such that they would pass a careful inspection.

posted 02-17-2019 04:37 AM               

I think the question also needs to be posed why has he offered such an item on eBay when he is likely to achieve a better sale price via auction or even via this forum.

posted 02-17-2019 06:47 AM               

There is of course the connection between his mother and Mattingly! And why would he give this away? But most of all the plaque was not damaged in a hurricane!

Wood may be damaged by hurricanes, not metal and it is obvious that wood and cloth patch have no damage front or back. That metal label has been peeled off of this or another display. It did not fall off it was pried off and damaged as a result of that.

The comb and the patch are very cheap items and it is the attached metal ID that gives the provenance and that is the only piece that has been obviously altered. (I have no idea why.)

I can think of no reason to peal off the dedication and then glue it right back in the same place and once it has been tampered with the question of why should always come up.

posted 02-18-2019 01:58 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Chuckster01:
I can think of no reason to peal off the dedication and then glue it right back in the same place and once it has been tampered with the question of why should always come up.

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I've had a closer look at the plaque, zoomed in and enhanced it with a photo program and it appears the circular mark just under Jim Lovell's signature has been made from the underside of the plaque. Rather than a from the front dent it appears that the metal has been pushed up and dented from the underside. That simply could not have happened if the plaque had not been removed. The other ridges on the plaque also indicate that it has been prised off. Potentially the circular mark could result from a sharp mark (such as a screwdriver) being used to prise the plaque off.

posted 02-18-2019 07:08 AM               

That is why I haven't added any "flown" Apollo 8 or 13 checklist pages to my collection. Because 95% of them only have the astronaut's signature without the magical words of "flown" being strapped to it. I don't care how many photos a person has showing what appears to be that page being removed from its original binder that has "flown" inscribed on the cover.

Personally, anything I would purchase from an astronaut either directly or consigned would need to have the provenance hand inscribed by them or no sale. There is no way to guarantee the comb in question has flown unless an astronaut from that mission is willing to state that it was and provide definite proof to the item. In this case of the comb, it doesn't state who's comb it was? As far as we know, it could be a comb that someone purchased at a drug store, mounted to this plaque, added a patch and paper document claiming "flown" status. If you like, I could have 10 flown comb presentations from Apollo 11 by this afternoon for anyone interested in purchasing "flown" items... oh, and they would look just like this one too. This is only my opinion to this topic.

posted 02-18-2019 03:00 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by garyd2831:
If you like, I could have 10 flown comb presentations from Apollo 11 by this afternoon for anyone interested in purchasing "flown" items... oh, and they would look just like this one too.

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posted 02-18-2019 06:43 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
The presentation is similar in style to other Apollo 13 flown items gifted on behalf of the crew, e.g. this utility light cord given to Paul Weitz and this eyepiece given to John Young.

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posted 02-20-2019 05:59 AM               

However, personally I wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on a piece like this based only on the idea that it is 'likely' flown. For this particular item I'd definitely want to talk to Ken Mattingly to see if he recognized it and the story behind it.

These post-flight presentations were clearly put together in a spirit of fun and sharing, and no thought was given to preserving their provenance by signing them by hand or by including signed letters with them.