i. The antenna of the Gemini XI spacecraft, above the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, September 14, 1966
Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), numbered 'S-66-54676' in red on top margin on recto, with 'A Kodak Paper' watermarks on verso

i. The Agena Target Docking vehicle tethered to the Gemini XI spacecraft over the the Gulf of California, September 14, 1966
Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), numbered 'S-66-54810' in red on top margin on recto, with 'A Kodak Paper' watermarks on verso

This lot is offered without reserve.
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

A stunning and majestic view of the entire subcontinent of India (i) looking north northeast, Ceylon, Maldive Islands, Arabian Sea left, Bay of Bengal right seen from an altitude of 380 nautical miles in this photograph taken with the Hasselblad Super Wide camera and its 38mm lens.

“Gemini XI rose farther above the Earth’s surface on September 14, 1966, than men ever had gone before. The astronauts first realized how high they were when the whole subcontinent of India came into view. Commander Conrad was so impressed by ‘how small the world is’ that the sight always will be one of his sharpest niemories of the flight.

When photographed, India’s whole coast was nearly cloudless. A small low-pressure system lay in the north, the wind was toward the shore on all coasts, and there for India’s people it was a pleasant sea breeze” (NASA SP-171, p. 121).

“The photographs I remember best from Gemini XI were those taken during the high-altitude portion of the flight. We were in two revs going from a low point of about 160 nautical miles all the way up to 740 over Australia. I particularly remember that very famous one of the subcontinent of India in its entirety,” recalled Richard Gordon (Schick and Van Haaften, p. 80).