Did Someone Say NASA? And Question About Authentication

[Paleo_joe]

I saw a mention of NASA somewhere on a thread. I went to a sale last weekend and found a NASA collection and bought just about everything. Maybe 40 items. Lots of autographed pictures including several by moon crews, lots of badges and passes, other memorabilia, but this was the cream of the crop. It is a picture inscribed "To our good friend Albert McLaughlin with best wishes from the Mercury astronauts" and signed by all seven original astronauts, the "Mercury Seven." John Glenn, etc. Worth maybe $1000 - $3000, I'm guessing.

I didn't care to spend the time or money authenticating the autographs, but I am reconsidering that. I used to deal a lot in arrowheads, and I remember thinking how dumb it was for a seller to try and sell a really expensive point without a COA, regardless of the guarantee. And I used to buy points, have them authenticated, and sell them for a good profit.

I am guessing the same might be true for autographs. I have compared these and used a loupe, and I am satisfied they are real, but maybe it is worth my while to send this off for certification?

 

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[Paleo_joe]

Something else: this person had collected most autographs in person as they were inscribed to him. Yet he used like $5 walmart frames for everything. Had the framing been of the same quality as the signatures and pictures, I would have never gotten everything so cheap.

 

[NJcigarman]

They look great and bring back memories. When those Mercury guys went up everything stopped in America. In grade school in the early 60's it was on TV. We prayed in church for their safety, because once they went up we didn't know if they would get back safely. These guys paved the way for the Apollo program and the USA winning the space race and walking on the moon. This was one of JFK's promises that the USA would win this race.

 

[GibH]

If I were looking to get toward the high end, I would have it authenticated. I've got a John Wayne autographed photo, if authentic would be worth around $600. It isn't worth the $100 risk to me to send it off.

 

[tamrock]

Great find! Love those adventurous times.

This older lady wants me to look in to selling Elvis here. She said when she was in College in 1962 she'd clean dorms for extra cash. This was left in a box of books and records in a dorm room she cleaned after the folks moved out. I looked over the signature with a loupe and it is done with a fountain pen and has pressure points on the photo. The original pic has a rip in it. This image was doctored up some. The rip doesn't cut into Elvis though. Told her get it authenticated and I sell it for 30% if real. She still has it, but won't risk the charge to have it looked at by an expert in autographs.

 

[Mr.T]

What GibH said- get it all checked and then you will learn even more than you know now, maybe you can piece together a bit of undiscovered history.
I would be fascinated to hear how this pans out. Great save- post pics of the other stuff

hh

rory

 

[Paleo_joe]

I just used PSA/DNA's quick opinion service and got a rating "likely genuine." They need the auction number and $10.

 

[GibH]

Those guys were a different breed. While not technically an astronaut, I met Joseph Kittinger several years ago at Air Commando reunion. He jumped from the edge of space (102,800ft) in 1960 and held the altitude record for a free fall jump until just recently. He was a consultant to Felix Baumgartner and helped Baumgartner break his own record.

My dad served with him in Viet Nam.

 

[cazisme]

If your close to Las Vegas take to pawnstars pawnshop I bet they would have their expert look at them. Then if authentic pay the money to get certified and sell not to the pawnshop.

 

[OldSowBreath]

I'm a huge NASA guy and have a lot of stuff. I've also looked at thousands of pieces. I'm almost 100% certain the signatures are real, and if you plan on selling it, I would send it off and get it authenticated. BTW, that capsule is what's known as a boilerplate. The were made unmanned and super-sturdy to test configurations of the Mercury capsules (and ones for Gemini and Apollo). That one or one similar was probably shot up on the Little Joe rocket (solid fuel and much cheaper than the liquid fuel Redstone and Atlas) for testing descent rates, parachutes, water landing, etc.

It also looks like Gordo Cooper wrote the salutation.

 

[OldSowBreath]

And..., not always, but generally, official photographs taken by NASA will have on the back "Kodak Paper" or "A Kodak Paper". Sometimes hard to see the embossing. One that early may not be marked.

 

[Paleo_joe]

I'm a huge NASA guy and have a lot of stuff. I've also looked at thousands of pieces. I'm almost 100% certain the signatures are real, and if you plan on selling it, I would send it off and get it authenticated. BTW, that capsule is what's known as a boilerplate. The were made unmanned and super-sturdy to test configurations of the Mercury capsules (and ones for Gemini and Apollo). That one or one similar was probably shot up on the Little Joe rocket (solid fuel and much cheaper than the liquid fuel Redstone and Atlas) for testing descent rates, parachutes, water landing, etc.

It also looks like Gordo Cooper wrote the salutation.

Thank you for the info!!!! I appreciate it! I went back to that sale today and found this. It was in a display mount with a larger document missing. I didn't know what it was until I googled MSFC and saw who the director was in the 1960s - Werner Von Braun. I have been researching it and I believe it is good as well.

 

[GTzer]

Definitely get it authenticated. Mercury 7 with Gus's signature is a hard to get item with much demand. Try Kim & Sally Poor-Nova Graphics or Astronaut Central for some advice on where to send it.
Sally gave me a lead to an expert on Neil Armstrong's signature. Didn't cost me anything to find out is was not worth paying to authenticate.
My other Neil is real.

 

[GTzer]

And about the cheap frames--------was a long period of time that these autographs were low value. You could even write to many of these guys and have something signed free if you didn't make it to see them in person. Thousands were just kept in drawers and just laying around.

 

[Paleo_joe]

Once again thanks everyone for the GREAT info!