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Author
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Topic: Old Astronaut Photo
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bahman
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posted 12-19-2005 06:33 PM
   
I have an old b/w autographed photo of: Schira, Carpenter, Glenn Jr., Shepard, Grissom, and Coooper. It was a Project Mercury photo of them touring the Atlas missile plant. I also have the press release describing their tour dated 1959.Does anyone know what something like this is worth, or know someone who I could contact? Thanks for your help. |
fabfivefreddy
Member Posts: 1067
From: Leawood, Kansas USA
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 12-19-2005 07:58 PM
Welcome to collectSPACE!
If the item is authentically signed and in good shape, it could be worth several thousand dollars. I noticed that you did not mention if it was signed by Slayton also.
It is still quite valuable even without Slayton, but less so.
You can post an image of it here so we can help you out. -Tahir |
bahman
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posted 12-19-2005 08:45 PM
Slayton was not included.The photo came from a family member who was retired Air Force and working at Convair at the time. In addition to this pic, I have several other b/w "photo ops" pictures of their visit w/o autographs. The back of the photos are marked Unclassified. Thanks    [This message has been edited by collectSPACE Admin (edited December 21, 2005).] |
fabfivefreddy
Member Posts: 1067
From: Leawood, Kansas USA
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 12-22-2005 06:20 PM
Those are cool pictures!
The signatures are hard to see due to fading, which hurts the value significantly.
From what I can see, they seem authentically signed.
Hope this helps. -Tahir |
FFrench
Member Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 12-22-2005 06:49 PM
Excellent photos, taken just down the road from here. Judging by who was there, the suit shades, ties and the location, this photo:
http://collectspace.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/001612.html was taken on the same day too - one of my favorites. FF |
spaced out
Member Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 12-23-2005 02:17 AM
The signed photo is very nice but as Tahir says the faded signatures do not help the value. Also, the fact that it is missing Slayton means that it's not the complete "Mercury Seven". That said, it does have the complete set of flown Mercury astronauts.It's pretty difficult to estimate the price for a piece like this as so few are sold. A Mercury seven signed piece sold not long ago for about $2500 if I remember rightly, but that one had very clear signatures and was complete. If I had to guess I would say that this one could fetch somehere in the region of $1000 to $1500, but it could be more. What's silly is that a Grissom signature alone on an uninscribed portrait shot of him would likely fetch a similar amount. Possible auction locations include eBay (of course), AstroAuction.com (no fees), RRauctions.com (monthly), AuroraGalleriesonline.com (next space sale in Spring), SwannGalleries.com etc. Be sure to let us know here if you decide to sell it. |
Philip
Member Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 12-24-2005 04:06 AM
Never seen photos before for me in any case...Although I don't collect autographs I do know that a GRISSOM signature is expensive! |
bahman
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posted 12-25-2005 06:48 PM
The signatures were done in blue ballpoint pen, and are very readable in person. I Don't think felt tips were widely used in 1959. Cooper's signature (far right) is the lightest. His pen apparently started to run out of ink during the last few letters of his name, but the impression is defintely readable. |
bahman
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posted 12-31-2005 01:51 PM
Another question,Would it be worth getting the photo/ signatures officially authenticated (although I know it's authentic)? If so, who are reputable authenticators? Thanks, & Happy New Year! |
bahman
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posted 01-06-2006 09:49 AM
Hello again!I've decided that I would like to sell my picture set. I've been offered $1500 by an autograph collector/reseller. They said the photo looked good, except for a little bit of "crazing" which is not uncommon in old photos. If anyone is interested in purchasing for an amount greater than $1500 please let me know. Thanks, John (biodude35@hotmail.com) |
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