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ANTIQUARIAN, RARE & COLLECTABLE BOOKS & SOUTH EAST ASIAN ANTIQUES
ANTIQUARIAN, RARE & COLLECTABLE BOOKS & SOUTH EAST ASIAN ANTIQUES
Unique NASA Astronaut Correspondence Archive, 1963–1966 (Mercury & Gemini Programs) with signatures

Unique NASA Astronaut Correspondence Archive, 1963–1966 (Mercury & Gemini Programs) with signatures

LAN9968
$2,035.00 - $2,035.00
$2,035.00
$2,035.00 - $2,035.00
$2,035.00

A remarkable group of nine official NASA Manned Spacecraft Center letters sent to Ed Conifray of Irvington, New Jersey, between 1963 and 1966, together with a White House thank-you card and envelope (Nov 1964) bearing a printed Lyndon B. Johnson facsimile signature. The letters respond to Conifray’s congratulations on the Mercury and Gemini missions, each typed on NASA letterhead with embossed Great Seal watermark and signed with the names of the astronauts involved.

Contents

  • Mercury Faith 7 (July 17, 1963) – Gordon Cooper.

  • Gemini 4 (July 15, 1965) – James McDivitt and Edward White II.

  • Gemini 5 (Sept 13, 1965) – Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad Jr.

  • Gemini 6 (Jan 5, 1966) – Walter Schirra Jr. and Thomas Stafford.

  • Gemini 7 (Jan 14, 1966) – Frank Borman and James Lovell Jr.

  • Gemini 8 (1966) – Neil Armstrong and David Scott.

  • Gemini 9 (July 13, 1966) – Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan.

  • Gemini 11 (Oct 4, 1966) – Charles Conrad Jr. and Richard Gordon Jr.

  • Gemini 12 (Nov 29, 1966) – James Lovell Jr. and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.

  • Plus White House printed card and envelope (Nov 1964).

Condition

All letters are 1 page, 265mm x 203mm sheet, on official MSC letterhead with watermark. Original folds, light age toning and minor handling marks only. Housed in a later NASA folder with protective sleeves.

Authenticity note

NASA handled vast public correspondence during Mercury and Gemini, and many astronaut letters were autopen or secretarially signed. Collectors should assume a mixture here. Based on comparison with known autopen templates:

  • Most likely live signatures: Gordon Cooper (1963 Mercury Faith 7), James McDivitt (Gemini 4), Edward White II (Gemini 4). Edward White’s is particularly scarce and desirable, as he tragically died in the Apollo 1 fire.

  • Possibly live: Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. (Gemini 12) — his example here differs from standard autopen patterns, though certainty cannot be claimed.

  • Almost certainly autopen/secretarial: Neil Armstrong, David Scott (Gemini 8), James Lovell Jr., Frank Borman, Charles Conrad Jr., Richard Gordon Jr., Walter Schirra Jr., Thomas Stafford, Eugene Cernan.

  • The Lyndon B. Johnson card carries a printed facsimile signature.

Significance

This is a near-complete run of Gemini correspondence with astronaut names, including several who went on to walk on the Moon. Even allowing for autopens, the inclusion of live signatures from Cooper, McDivitt and White (and possibly Aldrin) makes this an exceptional collection of early NASA astronaut material.