First Earthrise seen by human eyes, Apollo 8, December 21-27, 1968
Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA caption on verso.

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
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Lot Essay

The Apollo 8 astronauts saw the first Earthrise ever witnessed by human eyes during the fourth revolution of the spacecraft around the Moon. William Anders took three photographs with the 250mm telephoto lens during the event. The first was black and white, followed by two color photographs, including this celebrated view of planet Earth appearing over the bleached lunar horizon.

Different versions of the image (with different contrasts and tones) were published by NASA, including this one matching closely the photograph published in Life Magazine on January 10, 1969.

“The happy combination of a long lens, color film, my varying f-stops as I shot, and a much cleaner window on my side of the spacecraft, all resulted in one of the pictures from my camera’s magazine being selected by NASA as what has since become the iconic ‘Earthrise’. ”
William Anders (Jacobs, p. 33)