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  [Heritage] Images of Apollo (Sep 2021)

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Author Topic:   [Heritage] Images of Apollo (Sep 2021)
Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 47078
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 09-08-2021 12:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
collectSPACE
Archivist's vintage 'Images of Apollo' photo prints land on auction

A private archivist known for unearthing rare images from the early years of human spaceflight is now selling a treasure trove of NASA prints representing some of the most iconic photos ever taken.

J.L. Pickering has dedicated the past 50 years to researching the visual history of space exploration and, in the process, has amassed a collection of more than 150,000 photo prints. Heritage Auctions on Tuesday (Sept. 7) began accepting bids on a few hundred of Pickering's pieces, focusing on the "Images of Apollo."

spacemc
New Member

Posts: 7
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: Jul 2015

posted 09-24-2021 06:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spacemc     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Congratulations to all of us who have amassed tons of flown Gemini-Apollo material, especially flown to the surface ones, unique ones and signed ones. If a red photo of Buzz on the moon is worth 125K, the rest of us should start buying private jets soon.

hbw60
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Posts: 221
From:
Registered: Aug 2018

posted 09-24-2021 06:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hbw60   Click Here to Email hbw60     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It's stunning to see how much some of these photos are worth. Every year, the red number photos seem to go higher and higher. Space has been in the news a lot this summer, and it seems like prices are reflecting that. I'm dreading what the prices are going to look like in next month's Heritage/RR auctions.

A huge congratulations to Mr. Pickering on the final outcome! His archival work is a major service to space history, and he's helped me locate rare images on more than one occasion. So I'm very happy to see him reap a well-deserved reward for his work.

Rick Mulheirn
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Posts: 4392
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 09-25-2021 04:40 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Personally, I don't get it. Whatever floats your boat: I appreciate the historic significance of period red serial number glossies. But I don't appreciate the yellowing degrading images that have few of the archival properties of a modern print.

Kind of reminds me of the child's story about the kings clothes. Sooner or later somebody is going to pop up and shout... "these photos are rubbish"!

spaced out
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Posts: 3174
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 09-29-2021 12:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaced out   Click Here to Email spaced out     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Some crazy prices in there, but at the same time there's a few images in there that are truly rare. The shot that has Armstrong working by the LM is rare and sought-after, but the two shots of Aldrin in the LEM I don't think I've ever seen as vintage prints before.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 47078
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 09-29-2021 05:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Heritage Auctions release
Iconic Moon Landing Image Rockets Past Previous Records in September Sale

Original print of legendary "Visor" photo fetches $125,000 at Heritage Auctions Space Exploration event

In the summer of 1969, NASA's Apollo 11 lunar landing mission famously resulted in "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Now, more than 50 years later, an iconic photograph from the groundbreaking mission has experienced a giant leap of its own.

On Sept. 24, during Heritage Auctions' Images of Apollo: The J.L. Pickering Collection Signature Auction, the legendary image known simply as "Visor" landed a winning bid of $125,000 — a record-breaking price for a vintage print of the history-making photograph and possibly a record for any 8x10 NASA photo. "The bidding for this photo was unforeseen," says Brad Palmer, consignment director/cataloger for Heritage's Space Exploration department. "We can't find anything close to it. These prints are becoming more and more coveted among collectors."

Part of space historian J.L. Pickering's personal collection, the original chromogenic print features Buzz Aldrin standing full length on the moon with photographer Neil Armstrong's reflection visible in his visor. The color image bears a "red number" AS11-40-5903 signifying that it's from the photo's original printing back in 1969.

As iconic as it is, it was this print's pristine condition, however, that drove what Palmer calls "frenzied" bidding at the September sale. "It's one of the sharpest ones we've ever seen," he says. "All these photos came out directly after the mission, so they're 50 years old, and they get faded over time. This one is still super, super sharp. If they're exposed to any light for a long period of time, they're going to yellow. This didn't look like it had seen much light at all."

Considered one of the foremost historians of space travel and exploration, Pickering has been collecting historic NASA images for more than 40 years. And, along with "Visor," the other 300-plus featured lots from his treasure trove realized $714,871 — which means some other space-loving collectors can now enjoy the fruits of Pickering's personal decades-long mission.

Blackarrow
Member

Posts: 3369
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 09-29-2021 05:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Blackarrow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Rick Mulheirn:
But I don't appreciate the yellowing degrading images that have few of the archival properties of a modern print...
A fair point. What is more important? An old, yellowing, low-contrast image, or a modern, colour-corrected, high-contrast copy? Depends on what you want.

I have dozens of old original B&W NASA glossy photos (with those bluish-ink descriptions on the back). They don't suffer from the colour-fading problem, and they look as good (or as mediocre) as they did 50 years ago. But they don't show the details that many sources can now display.

Compare some of the old prints from the late 60s/early 70s with the newly scanned images in books like "Full Moon." There is no comparison! I can download some B&W EVA images from Apollo 12 which were over-exposed and use my computer to adjust the contrast, etc, to produce very significantly improved images which reveal details that simply weren't visible in those vintage prints. I do get it that original prints have historical value, but if the important thing is to see what the astronauts saw, modern prints are very significantly better.

I run the risk of being accused of double-standards, because I am on record as singing the praises of original documents like original Apollo Flight Plans. They are generally a little yellow, perhaps with some tarnishing (or even rust) on the staples, and they may smell of the former owners' cigarette smoke! But, unlike old photos, 50-year-old Final Flight Plans, while bearing signs of age, are clearly legible and (if stored reasonably) are as good a source of information today as they were 50 years ago.

(How are the prices looking on those Apollo B&W photos with blue text?)

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