posted 01-11-2005 05:02 PM               

Do you have space junk or space treasure in your closet? Bring it to the Space Road Show at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center for a free appraisal. Victoria Campbell of Aurora Galleries International will be at the Cosmosphere, 1100 N. Plum St., Thurs., Jan. 20 and Fri., Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, to evaluate and appraise space and aviation memorabilia and collectibles at no charge.

Aurora Galleries International, Inc. is the world leader in auctions of space and aviation memorabilia. Their large and widely respected auctions are conducted twice a year in Los Angeles, Calif., each taking two days to sell up to 1,800 lots. Several customers, through previous Space Road Shows, have consigned items and realized thousands of dollars; one customer realized over $200,000 in a recent sale, said Campbell.

Items included in these auctions range from NASA and space related literature, to items that were flown to and used on the Moon. Collectors are particularly interested in literature and technical manuals (which can realize hundreds of dollars) and equipment and artifacts used in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle programs, such as an Apollo spacesuit oxygen hose connector ($2,500), a Shuttle food tray ($400), and contractors’ models like a 27” tall NASA Skylab Model ($7,750). In the last Aurora auction, a photograph signed by all seven Mercury astronauts brought $4,250!