301 a
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

The official emblem of the first human lunar landing mission

Apollo 11, 1969

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA S-69- 34875” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin

301 b
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

The Apollo 11 crew poses for a photograph before the historic mission

May 1969

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in) , with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA MSC) [NASA S-69-31740]
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

301 b
Thomas, p.180

301 b
Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, La Lune: Du Voyage Réel aux Voyages Imaginaires, April-July 2019; exhibition catalogue, p. 34, no. 24, illustrated.

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Lot Essay

301 a
The emblem depicts an eagle descending toward the lunar surface with an olive branch, symbolizing America’s peaceful mission in space.

“We felt Apollo 11 was no ordinary flight, and we wanted no ordinary design.”
Michael Collins (from his 1974 book Carrying the Fire)

301 b
Left to right: Neil A. Armstrong, Commander; Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot; and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., Lunar Module Pilot.

“NASA presented the astronauts as robots. In fact, they are not robots. They are men who have an extraordinary balance between discipline and daredevilry. Robots could not have gone to the Moon, because a robot breaks down the moment there’s a fluctuation in the current” wrote Norman Mailer (Mailer, p.89).