215 a
Frank Borman

First human-taken photograph in lunar orbit; Crater Langrenus

Apollo 8, December 21-27, 1968, orbit 1, 069:51:16 GET

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 / North American Rockwell) [NASA AS8-16-2615]

215 b
William Anders

Diptych: Crater Goclenius seen during man’s first orbit around the Moon

Apollo 8, December 21-27, 1968,orbit 1, 069:56:33 GET

Two vintage gelatin silver prints on fiber-based paper, each 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA MSC captions numbered “AS8-13-2224 and AS8-13-2225” on the versos, the first numbered “NASA AS8-13-2224” in black in top margin and with a restoration (minor folding) in the upper portion of the image

215 c
William Anders

Mountains on the lunar farside horizon, first seen by humans

Apollo 8, December 21-27, 1968, orbit 1, 071:12:51 GET

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 / North American Rockwell) [NASA AS8-13-2244]

The photograph (inverted in error when it was printed) was taken looking southeast with B&W magazine 13/E and the 80mm lens.
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

215 a
Schick and Van Haaften, p. 97.

215 b
Schick and Van Haaften, p. 99 (second photograph).

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Lot Essay

215 a
For three days the Apollo 8 astronauts journeyed outward toward a goal they could not see. The Moon would fill their view once they slipped into orbit around it. This historic photograph of the 132-km Crater Langrenus was taken by Borman from an altitude of 240 km looking southwest with the 80mm lens and color magazine 16/A after acquisition of signal with Earth on the lunar nearside following the successful lunar insertion burn. Latitude / longitude: 9° S / 61° E.

From the mission transcript during the first two revolutions around the Moon:

069:33:52 Lovell: Go ahead, Houston, (This is) Apollo 8. Burn complete. Our orbit (is) 169.1 by 60.5; 169.1 by 60.5 (nautical miles).
069:34:07 Carr (Mission Control): Apollo 8, this is Houston. Roger, 169.1 by 60.5. Good to hear your voice. [...]
069:49:47 Lovell: For information, we’re passing over just to the side of the crater Langrenus at this time, going into the Sea of Fertility. [...]
069:51:04 Carr: Apollo 8, Houston. What does the ole Moon look like from 60 miles? Over. [Pause.]
069:51:16 Lovell: Okay, Houston. The Moon is essentially grey, no color; looks like plaster of Paris or sort of a grayish beach sand. We can see quite a bit of detail. The Sea of Fertility doesn’t stand out as well here as it does back on Earth. There’s not as much contrast between that and the surrounding craters. [Pause.] The craters are all rounded off. There’s quite a few of them, some of them are newer. Many of them look like - especially the round ones - look like hit by meteorites or projectiles of some sort. [Pause.] Langrenus is quite a huge crater; it’s got a central cone to it. [Long pause.] The walls of the crater are terraced, about six or seven different terraces on the way down. [...]

070:06:36 Anders: What did you take a picture of, Frank? Do you remember?
070:06:43 Anders: And Frank took a took a picture on camera 2, magazine A, which is now reading 40.
070:07:04 Anders: Now we’re going to change - take off magazine A. [...]

070:50:48 Anders: This is a report of the photography accomplished on Rev 1. We got target 68 [Langrenus], target 72 [craters near Colombo], target 90 [Capella], and the terminator photography - near-side terminator, Rev 1, south. I had cameras 1 and 2 configured properly.

215 b
Two overlapping frames of an oblique photographic sequence taken by Anders looking southeast with the 250mm telephoto lens and B&W magazine 13/E.
The 70-km Crater Goclenius (latitude / longitude: 10.0°S 45.0°E) lies on the southern edge of the Sea of Fertility. Numerous rilles scarring its floor can be seen; one rille extends across the entire crater floor, over the central peak, and across the rim into the smooth mare. In the background, the two large craters with smooth floors are the 41-km Craters Colombo A (left) and Magelhaens. Magelhaens A, the crater with the irregular floor, is about 35 kilometers (20 statute miles) in diameter. The 20-km Crater Gutenberg D is at the upper right of the second photograph (top).

069:56:33 Anders: Now we’re coming upon the craters Colombo and Gutenberg. Very good detail visible. We can see the long parallel faults or grabens. [Pause.] And they run through the mare material right into the highland material.

215 c
The photograph (inverted in error when it was printed) was taken looking southeast with B&W magazine 13/E and the 80mm lens.

The 110-km Crater Doppler (cut off at right center, latitude 13°S, longitude 160°W) sits directly abutting the southern rim (foreground) of the huge walled-plain Crater Korolev (named America by the crew).

071:11:19 Lovell: No, we’re right in the middle of America, right now.
071:11:25 Lovell: You’ve got two other craters sticking up [garble]. [...]
071:12:13 Lovell: There is the big [garble] down below us.
071:12:17 Anders: Is that it?
071:12:19 Lovell: Yes. [Garble] down south right now.
071:12:32 Anders: Why, the rim of America is very hard to see, isn’t it? [...]
071:12:46 Lovell: Boy, it sure feels like you’re running [garble]. Very pretty.
071:12:51 Anders: Okay, getting target 10. (Target of opportunity 10 is an area of the far side south of the Crater Doppler)