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Author
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Topic: Identifying authentic Apollo press kits from copies?
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Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 06-09-2011 09:01 PM
  
Does anyone claim any specialist knowledge of Apollo press-kits? There are many of these on eBay, but how can you be sure they are genuine original press-kits, not photocopies? I bought an Apollo press-kit which I was assured was genuine, but it is now clear that it is a copy. Can anyone offer any advice on this (apart from going through the eBay resolution process)? |
Tykeanaut
Member Posts: 2212
From: Worcestershire, England, UK.
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 06-10-2011 04:49 AM
I know this may seem ridiculous but old documentation that I've had since childhood (about 40 years) often has a little rusting around the staples. Whether this would be an indication of genuine age or not I don't really know? |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 06-10-2011 05:02 AM
In later years many of the shuttle press kits I was sent from the PAO at JSC were photo copies. The Apollo press kits I own are all "originals" but it is conceivable the photo copy precedent for later shuttle flights was set during the Apollo era. Without seeing the kit you purchased Geoffrey it is possible the eBay seller sold you the Apollo press kit in good faith; that kit was contemporaneous to the mission. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 06-10-2011 02:07 PM
The "rusty staple" test isn't foolproof, but it tends to suggest significant age. In my case I think the seller did sell the press kit in good faith, but I had asked before bidding for confirmation that it was an original, not a photocopy. Once I looked through it I noticed a number of tell-tale signs proving it was a copy (i.e. twin black dots at the top left of every left-hand page). Let's take the Apollo 14, 15 and 16 press kits as examples. Are they always printed on one side only? Rick: how do you KNOW your Apollo press kits are originals? I know my ASTP press kit is an original because I got it from the NASA press office in Cocoa Beach the day after launch. Any tips at distinguishing originals from copies would be appreciated! |
DChudwin
Member Posts: 1096
From: Lincolnshire IL USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 06-11-2011 08:28 AM
All of the NASA press kits I have from the 1969-1971 era have toning of the paper (even though they have been kept in the dark). The brightness of the paper might help in distinguishing at least recent photocopies. Some of them have trace staple rust (as noted in a post above), but not all of them. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 06-11-2011 08:43 AM
The rusty staples are an indication of age. However, I recently removed the rusty staples in my press kits because the rust was bleeding into the pages. Press kits usually have thin card stock for the back cover. The toning of the pages is good because old press kits had "flat" not bright pages. If you have the envelope that they came in, keep it as proof of age. If someone made a copy of photos in an old press kit, the photos may not appear as sharp as the originals would. If a collector makes a copy of a press kit for some purpose, should he/she stamp COPY or Reproduction on the front? I agree that you should ASK the seller if it is an original. |
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