LOT #50079 |
Sold on Nov 21, 2020 for: Sign-in
or Join (free & quick)
Jules Verne: From the Earth to the Moon Book Signed by Ten Apollo Astronauts including Eight Who Flew From the Ear...
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
Sold on Nov 21, 2020 for:
$5,250.00
Bid Source: Mail/Fax bidder
Get one of these:
Explore Available Items
Description
Eerily accurate predictions
Jules Verne: From the Earth to the Moon
Book Signed by Ten Apollo Astronauts including Eight Who Flew
From the Earth to the Moon. Direct in Ninety-Seven Hours and
Twenty Minutes: and A Trip Round It (London: Sampson Low,
Marston, Low, & Searle, 1874), a heavily-illustrated third edition
of the novel originally published in 1865, 323 pages, purple and
gilt cloth cover, octavo. A handsome early edition of this popular
early science fiction novel, signed on two free front endpapers by
ten astronauts, eight of whom actually made the amazing journey
described in the book at least once, as follows: " Walt
Cunningham/ Apollo 7 LMP", " Dave Scott/ Apollo 9 CMP,
Apollo 15 CDR", " James Lovell/ Apollo 8, 13 CDR", "
Jim McDivitt/ Apollo 9", " Al Worden/ Apollo 15 CMP",
" Charlie Duke/ Apollo 16 LMP", " Michael Collins/ Apollo
XI CMP", " Frank Borman/ Apollo 8 CDR", " Fred Haise/
Apollo 13 LMP", and " Richard Gordon/ Apollo XII CMP".
The signatures are all clear and neat; the addition of their
mission numbers and positions is very desirable. An extremely
important and very displayable addition to any collection. Please
note that the Apollo signature pages have been professionally
inserted, but are well-matched. Original owner's name on recto of
frontispiece, dated 1875. General wear, good.What makes this book so fascinating to space historians is the amazing number of similarities between the flight in the book and the eventual moon flights more than a century later. Let's take a look at just some of these:
(1) The first manned launch to the moon would be accomplished by the United States.
(2) Three astronauts in the Verne spacecraft just like the Apollo missions.
(3) A December launch from Florida with a splashdown in the Pacific by parachute, just like Apollo 8.
(4) A controversy between Texas and Florida as to which would be the launch site with Brownsville being one of the finalists both in the book and in NASA's list.
(5) Apollo 11's Command Module was named Columbia, very similar to the Columbiad of the book.
(6) The Verne spacecraft used retro-rockets as did the Apollo vessels.
(7) Verne predicted weightlessness, though he was wrong in that his crew only experienced it at the mid-point of the flight.
(8) The crew names on Verne's spacecraft were Ardan, Barbicane, and Nicholl, sounding a lot like the Apollo 8 crew of Anders, Borman, and Lovell.
(9) The size, weight, material, and design of the two spacecrafts are quite similar.
(10) When adjusted for inflation, Verne's mission cost $12 billion. The Apollo program, through Apollo 8, cost $14 billion.
Finally, this science fiction classic was actually mentioned by Neil Armstrong during a television broadcast back to earth from Apollo 11 on July 23, 1969, the day before splashdown: "A hundred years ago, Jules Verne wrote a book about a voyage to the Moon. His spaceship, Columbia [sic], took off from Florida and landed in the Pacific Ocean after completing a trip to the Moon. It seems appropriate to us to share with you some of the reflections of the crew as the modern-day Columbia completes its rendezvous with the planet Earth and the same Pacific Ocean tomorrow."
Auction Info
2020 November 21 - 22 Space Exploration Signature Auction - Dallas #6231 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
November, 2020
21st-22nd
Saturday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 6
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,304
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $300,000 (minimum $19), plus 20% of any amount between $300,000 and $3,000,000, plus 12.5% of any amount over $3,000,000 per lot.
Shipping, Taxes, Terms and Bidding
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms
Important information concerning Sales Tax and Resale Certificates. Learn More
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms