James McDivitt

The first photograph of man in space, Ed White’s first American EVA over Hawaii

Gemini IV, June 3-7, 1965, orbit 3, 004:30:00 GET

Large-format presentation vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 27.7 x 35.5cm (11 x 14in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA MSC) [NASA S-65-30431]
27.7 x 35.5cm (11 x 14in)

Hope, p. 46; Cortright, p. 150; NASA SP-350, p. 38.

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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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James Hyslop

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Lot Essay

An extremely rare large-format of this major photograph of space exploration, the first showing a human being in space.

“Within days of splashdown, McDivitt’s pictures appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world, marking a turning point in the role photography played in the space program and in the popular conception of manned space exploration” (Schick and Van Haaften, p. 13).

“I wasn’t the only one who felt the power of those images from space,” noted space historian Andrew Chaikin. “Countless people saw them and understood their basic message: this was the edge of human experience” (Chaikin, Space, p. 12).

“When I saw these photographs for the first time I couldn’t believe it. I thought of Buck Rogers. It was scary to look at that stuff in the dark room with the lights out. When you saw those pictures gleaming up from a light table it gave you goose bumps.”
Les Gaver, former photography director, Public Affairs, NASA (Schick and Van Haaften, p. 34)