Gray’s Auctioneers presents vintage NASA photographs Dec. 1
CLEVELAND – Gray’s Auctioneers is delighted to announce a 388-lot auction to take place December 1. It will feature a unique collection of NASA memorabilia and collectibles from James Foster Fanseen. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Fanseen served at NASA as a consultant to its administrator, and also as the NASA liaison to the White House and Capitol Hill. The collection features photographs and memorabilia from NASA and the White House gathered during Fanseen’s tenure.
Notable selections from the Fanseen collection include a series of magnificent and iconic NASA photographs dating to the Golden Age of the space race. Chief among them is a NASA large format chromogenic photograph of the whole of the planet Earth, taken during the Apollo 17 lunar mission. It carries an estimate of $800-$1,200. Another powerful NASA image that shares the same estimate is simply titled Tranquility Base and shows an astronaut standing on the moon’s surface and facing a flagpole decorated with an American flag.
A third NASA large format chromogenic photograph offering of note, which is also estimated at $800-$1,200, bears the simple but effective title Man on the Moon. The first 125 lots of the sale are drawn from the Fanseen collection. In addition to NASA photographs, it includes Reagan Presidential memorabilia, Space Shuttle program memorabilia, patches, pins and medallions, flown mission crew patches, a flag and a Presidential memorial plaque.
The auction also contains jewelry, paintings, decorations, rugs and also a collection of African art and artifacts. Highlights from this material includes a cheerful oil on canvas seasonal landscape by Boris Bessonof (Russian, 1862 – 1934), simply titled Winter Scene and estimated at $3,000-$5,000, as well as an 18K yellow gold and diamond ring that boasts a 2.5-carat radiant-cut diamond in the center. It carries an estimate of $10,000-$15,000.
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