NASA "Mercury 7" Signed Photo, ca. 1960
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GUEST:
This photo was given to myself and my husband from my father-in-law. He was a colonel in the Air Force, and they lived during this period of time, 1958 through '61, at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, which is where the Mercury program began. That was our first astronaut program. And my father-in-law being an officer, there was an area for the officers, and that would include of course these men who were officers too. These were the Original 7 astronauts, and they lived in their neighborhood.
APPRAISER:
Right, this is the Mercury 7, also known as the Original 7.
GUEST:
That's correct.
APPRAISER:
And your father-in-law got to know them very well?
GUEST:
Yes, my father-in-law and his family, my husband, lived in apartment 19B. Cooper lived in 19A. They were duplexes. Carpenter lived in the next duplex down. My husband babysat for Cooper and Carpenter's children. And they all knew each other-- all of the astronauts knew the officers that were there.
APPRAISER:
The astronauts themselves actually presented this to your father-in-law.
GUEST:
They did. He was such an officer and a gentleman. Everyone loved him. They're saying on this that they're giving it to him with regards and appreciation, so I'm sure he'd probably done a lot of nice things for them in his capacity.
APPRAISER:
Now, the Mercury 7 crew was appointed on April 9, 1959, and you said this photo and these autographs would have been done just a year or two later?
GUEST:
Yeah, I think probably maybe around '60 is my husband's guess because they left in '61.
APPRAISER:
This is a NASA image, a color glossy photo that's been mounted on mat board, and then they signed on the strip panel here below. This photo you brought in does have all seven of the signatures of the Original 7. The signatures are all very strong, with the exception of the one faded ballpoint here. They're all going to grade about a seven or an eight on a scale of one to ten. This is an image I've seen before signed by all seven, but in every other example I've seen, they signed either above their images or right across their bodies, and it was really nice to see that they had this dedicated strip panel that they did for the signatures. That would mean it was more of a presentation piece than just a promotional piece. Your provenance is exceptional with this item, having it be in the family like that. It's a great period piece circa 1960. Our estimate at auction would be between $5,000 and $7,000 at auction.
GUEST:
Okay. Well, we had no idea.
APPRAISER:
They were really looked at as heroes.
GUEST:
Yes, they were. Well, we all looked at them that way. We were all so proud of them, watching them on TV.
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