Buzz Aldrin Portrait, V2, and First Earthrise Top Bonhams Moon Photo Sale

Topping Bonhams' auction featuring 449 vintage NASA photographs from the collection of space historian Victor Martin-Malburet was a photograph by Neil Armstrong showing Buzz Aldrin on the Moon with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor on Apollo 11 which sold for €28,160.

The online sale in Paris also included a shot of the V2 rocket captured from the Germans which on May 10, 1946 became the first U.S. rocket to reach outer space. It sold for €24,320.

Other highlights of the auction focusing on early space exploration included:

•    the first photograph of Earthrise captured by William Anders during Apollo 8 (€12,800)
•    the first photograph of the whole planet earth taken by humans captured by William Anders during Apollo 8 (€9,600)
•    the footprint on the Moon, July 21, 1969 by Buzz Aldrin symbolizes human space exploration (€8,960)
•    the first U.S. space walk by Ed White, James McDivitt, 3-7 June, 1965, featured on the cover of LIFE magazine (€7,040)
•    the Hadley-Apennine Valley, Apollo 15 landing site, original panorama captured by James Irwin (€4,864)
•    the first photograph of a human in space, captured by James McDivitt during the first American spacewalk on Gemini 4 (€4,684)
•    the first color photograph of Mars, taken by the first probe to land on the planet in July 1976 (€4,864)
•    the final Earthrise captured by humans, December 7-19, 1972, photographed by Ronald Evans (€3,584)
•    the first photograph of a human on another world, captured by Neil Armstrong in the early moments of Apollo 11’s moonwalk, as Buzz Aldrin deployed the Solar Wind Experiment (€3,840)
•    Apollo 17, the final nighttime launch to the Moon (€1,664)

“NASA’s vintage post-mission prints are artistic artefacts brought back from the unknown for all mankind," said Victor Martin-Malburet. "They are now entering the collections of art lovers around the world. Over 25 years, I meticulously unearthed and showcased these visual treasures in museums, which had long been overlooked despite their unparalleled cultural and aesthetic magnitude. I am thrilled that they will now inspire passion and emotion in their new homes.”