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Apollo 8 Flown Unopened Bottle of Coronet Brandy from the Personal Collection of Mission Command Module Pilot James Lovell....
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Description
"...this was the only alcohol aboard Mercury, Gemini or Apollo spacecraft."
Apollo 8 Flown Unopened Bottle of Coronet Brandy from the Personal Collection of Mission Command Module Pilot James Lovell. This is an amazing item with an amazing story behind it: a two ounce still-sealed bottle of Coronet VSQ California Grape Brandy, 100 proof, that was included in Lovell's holiday dinner aboard the Apollo 8 spacecraft during its historic journey on Christmas 1968. A recent book, How Apollo Flew to the Moon by W. David Woods (Chichester UK: Praxis Publishing, 2008), documents this story: "On Apollo 8, the crew found an extra treat on Christmas 1968. 'It appears that we did a grave injustice to the food people.' said Jim Lovell to Mike Collins in Houston. 'Just after our TV show, Santa Claus brought us a TV dinner each, which was delicious, turkey and gravy, cranberry sauce, grape punch; outstanding.'... Additionally, the Apollo 8 crew found that three small bottles of brandy had been packed among their Christmas food rations. Borman, however, pulled rank and said they could not partake of the brandy until they got home." (page 166). We don't know the disposition of the other two bottles; we do know that James Lovell saved his for all these nearly forty years and that we're proud to offer it to some lucky collector. This is one of the most unique space-flown collectibles to ever come to market. Excellent condition.This bottle of brandy is incredibly well documented with two letters signed by Lovell included with it. The first certifies that this "Bottle of Brandy" was on the Apollo 8 spacecraft. He has added below one signature, in his own handwriting: "This bottle of brandy was included in my Christmas day dinner coming home from the moon. Borman and Anders each had a bottle. To my knowledge, this was the only alcohol aboard Mercury, Gemini or Apollo spacecraft. James Lovell".
The second signed Letter of Authenticity from Lovell on his letterhead states: "I hereby certify that this bottle of brandy was part of the Christmas Day dinner on board the Apollo 8 spacecraft. Apollo 8 circled the moon on December 25, 1968. This bottle of brandy is from my personal collection of space artifacts and has been in my possession since the mission."
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