Ralph Morse

Apollo 11 lifts off on its historic flight to the Moon

Apollo 11, July 16, 1969, 000:00:01 GET

Large-format presentation vintage chromogenic print on resin coated Kodak paper, 35.4 x 27.7cm (14 x 11in), with “Acme Photo Service” stamp and “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso
35.4 x 27.7cm (14 x 11in)

Thomas, p. 184.

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Specified lots are being stored at Crozier Park Royal (details below) or will be removed from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot has been transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm
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Lot Essay

“You have to realize that the rocket had to go through the camera, in a sense. It had to go through the camera’s field of view,” said famous Life Magazine photographer Ralph Morse (American, 1917-2014). “It took me two years to get NASA to agree to let me make this shot. Now, RCA had the camera contract at Cape Canaveral at that time, and they had a steel box-with optical glass-attached to the launch platform. We negotiated a deal with them and I was able to put a Nikon, with maybe 30 or 40 feet of film, inside the box, looking out through the glass. The camera was wired into the launch countdown, and at around minus four seconds the camera started shooting something like ten frames per second” (Time magazine, July 1, 2014, http://time.com/3880305/apollo-11-photos-of-what-liftoff-looked-like/).