Skip to main content
BonhamsCornette de Saint Cyr
Search
Ended

FOR ALL MANKIND

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
14 – 28 April 2025

Between 1961 and 1972, NASA astronauts, armed with the most advanced cameras of their time, became the first human beings to photograph another world. With Earth rising behind them and the Moon beneath their boots, they captured more than never-before-seen pictures: they created a new visual language, a cosmic perspective that forever redefined humanity's place in the universe.

Back on Earth, NASA's photo labs transformed these moments into silver-gelatin and chromogenic masterworks — hauntingly beautiful, technically groundbreaking. These are not just records of science, but masterpieces of 20th-century art.

The Victor Martin-Malburet Collection, exhibited in museums including the Grand Palais and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, is the most comprehensive private archive of these vintage NASA photographs — featuring both the rare published icons and the unseen gems kept in NASA's vaults for decades.

Now, 449 timeless photographs are available at auction. Each print is a physical witness to humankind's first steps into the cosmos, bearing original NASA stamps, mission watermarks, and the aura of authenticity.

As we return to the Moon and dream of Mars, these works speak louder than ever. They are the first self-portraits of humanity as a spacefaring species — as timeless as cave paintings, as bold as the Renaissance, as visionary as modernism.

For all mankind.

Please note that a full version of the catalogue is available by clicking on the icon "catalogue" on the right.

Online only
Paris, Avenue Hoche
Print Results
How to buy

Auction highlights

[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969. Sold for €28,160 inc. premium
[Apollo 11] THE FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON Buzz Aldrin, July 16-24, 1969[Apollo 11] THE FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON Buzz Aldrin, July 16-24, 1969. Sold for €8,960 inc. premium
[Gemini IV] COVER OF LIFE: the first U.S. space walk by Ed White James McDivitt, 3-7 June 1965[Gemini IV] COVER OF LIFE: the first U.S. space walk by Ed White James McDivitt, 3-7 June 1965. Sold for €7,040 inc. premium
[Apollo 17] THE FINAL EARTHRISE: a poetic crescent Earth above the Moon's dramatic horizon Ronald Evans, 7-19 December 1972[Apollo 17] THE FINAL EARTHRISE: a poetic crescent Earth above the Moon's dramatic horizon Ronald Evans, 7-19 December 1972. Sold for €3,584 inc. premium
[Apollo 4] THE HISTORIC FIRST LIFTOFF OF THE SATURN V ROCKET: NASA's crucial milestone for the Moon landing NASA, 9 November 1967[Apollo 4] THE HISTORIC FIRST LIFTOFF OF THE SATURN V ROCKET: NASA's crucial milestone for the Moon landing NASA, 9 November 1967. Sold for €3,072 inc. premium

Lot gallery

449 lots available

[Apollo 11] THE FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON Buzz Aldrin, July 16-24, 1969
[Gemini IV] FIRST U.S. SPACE WALK: Ed White floating in space over New Mexico James McDivitt, 3-7 June 1965
[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH (large format) OF THE WHOLE PLANET EARTH TAKEN BY HUMANS William Anders, 21–27 December 1968
[Apollo 4] THE HISTORIC FIRST LIFTOFF OF THE SATURN V ROCKET: NASA's crucial milestone for the Moon landing NASA, 9 November 1967
[Apollo 17] HARRISON SCHMITT, EARTH, AND THE U.S. FLAG: the first photograph of a human with his home planet Eugene Cernan, 7-19 December 1972, EVA 1
[Mercury Atlas 6] FIRST SPACE SUNSET: captured by the first human to photograph from space John Glenn, 20 February 1962
[Apollo 11] LM EAGLE AND EARTHRISE: the only photograph in history showing every human in the universe except the photographer Michael Collins, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 15] JAMES IRWIN'S SALUTE AT HADLEY BASE, BESIDE THE LM FALCON AND THE FIRST LUNAR ROVER David Scott, 26 July - 7 August 1971, EVA 3
[Apollo 11] THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPH OF NEIL ARMSTRONG ON THE MOON Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 8] FIRST EARTHRISE: the iconic first color photograph of Earthrise taken by humans William Anders, 21–27 December 1968
[Apollo 9] OUTER-SPACE VIEW OF DAVID SCOTT TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE SPACECRAFT HATCH Russell Schweickart, 3-13 March 1969
[Gemini VI-A] FIRST RENDEZVOUS IN SPACE: Gemini VII spacecraft above the blue Earth Thomas Stafford, 15-16 December 1965
[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH (large format) OF THE WHOLE MOON TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN EARTH William Anders, 21–27 December 1968
[Gemini XII] BUZZ ALDRIN RIDING ABOVE EARTH: stand-up EVA through the open spacecraft hatch NASA, 11-15 November 1966
[Project Mercury] THE "RIGHT STUFF": NASA's first three astronauts poised for launch before the Redstone rocket Ralph Morse, February 1961
[Apollo 8] HUMANITY'S FIRST ORBIT OF THE MOON: stunning view of Goclenius Crater William Anders [Apollo 8], 21-27 December 1968
[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN POSING FOR A 'TOURIST' PHOTOGRAPH AT THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC SITE ON THE MOON Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 12] ALAN BEAN STRIDES ACROSS THE SUNLIT SEA OF STORMS (large format) Pete Conrad, 14-24 November 1969
[Apollo 16] LUNAR F1 GRAND PRIX: John Young puts the Rover through a speed workout Charles Duke, 16-27 April 1972, EVA 1
[Apollo 15] LUNAR SURFACE PANORAMA: the majestic Hadley-Apennine valley, station 6a James Irwin, 26 July - 7 August 1971, EVA 2
[Gemini IV] FIRST U.S. SPACEWALK: Ed White Floating Above the Clouds Over Southern California James McDivitt, 3-7 June 1965
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN SALUTING THE FIRST U.S. FLAG ON THE MOON Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 14] THE CSM KITTY HAWK TRIUMPHANTLY PARACHUTING BACK TO EARTH NASA, 9 February 1971
THE OPENING OF THE FINAL FRONTIER: First U.S. rocket, V2 No. 3, reaches outer space US Army, 10 May 1946
[Project Mercury] THE ICONIC MERCURY SEVEN: NASA's first astronauts introduced to the world NASA, 30 April 1959
[Project Mercury] PIONEERING ZERO-GRAVITY TRAINING: Mercury astronauts floating in simulated weightlessness for the man-in-space program NASA, 1959
[Project Mercury] STUNNING PORTRAIT OF THE FIRST THREE AMERICANS IN SPACE: Gus Grissom, John Glenn and Alan Shepard NASA, March 1961
[Project X-15] ICONIC PORTRAIT OF NEIL ARMSTRONG, THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON, AS A YOUNG NASA X-15 PILOT NASA, 30 November 1960
[Project Mercury] NIGHT VIEW OF A PRECURSOR TO HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT: early Atlas missile (9B) on the launch stand at Cape Canaveral DeFillips / US Army, 17 November 1958
[Project Mercury] THE MERCURY SEVEN'S ICONIC PORTRAIT AT LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE: from test pilots to space pioneers Bill Taub, 20 January 1961
[Mercury Redstone 2] HAM, THE FIRST CHIMPANZEE IN SPACE NASA, January 1961
[Project Mercury] ICONIC PORTRAIT OF THE MERCURY SEVEN: NASA's first astronauts, in silver spacesuits Ralph Morse, July 1960
[Project Mercury] PIONEERING ASTRONAUT TRAINING: Walter Schirra entering the centrifuge trainer NASA, 1960
[Mercury Redstone 3] THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST AMERICAN IN SPACE: Alan Shepard Gazing Up at the Redstone Rocket on the Pad (diptych) Bill Taub, 5 May 1961
[Mercury Redstone 3] ALAN SHEPARD READY TO MAKE HISTORY: the first American in space minutes before launch aboard Freedom 7 Bill Taub, 5 May 1961
[Mercury Redstone 3] THE HISTORIC LIFTOFF OF THE FIRST AMERICAN IN SPACE ALAN SHEPARD ABOARD FREEDOM 7 NASA, 5 May 1961
[Mercury Redstone 3] THE BIRTH OF MISSION CONTROL: NASA legend Chris Kraft overseeing America's first manned space mission Bill Taub, 5 May 1961
[Mercury Redstone 3] COVER OF LIFE: 'A-OK!' THE U.S. IS IN SPACE, iconic helicopter recovery of the first American in space Alan Shepard Dean Conger, 5 May 1961
[Mercury Redstone 3] 'MAN, WHAT A RIDE!': the triumphant return of the first American in space Alan Shepard after his historic mission aboard Freedom 7 Dean Conger, 5 May 1961
[Mercury Redstone 4] PORTRAIT OF GUS GRISSOM IN FRONT OF THE ILL-FATED LIBERTY BELL 7 BEFORE LAUNCH NASA, 21 July 1961
[Mercury Redstone 4] THE ILL-FATED LIBERTY BELL 7 PREPARED FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE SECOND U.S. SPACE MISSION NASA, July 1961
[Mercury Redstone 4] COUNTDOWN TO LAUNCH: Capcom Astronauts John Glenn and Alan Shepard at Mission Control for the Second U.S. Space Mission NASA, 21 July 1961
[Mercury Redstone 4] NEAR-TRAGIC RECOVERY OF LIBERTY BELL 7 (diptych): Gus Grissom, second U.S.. man in space, rescued after almost drowning NASA, 21 July 1961
[Mercury Atlas 4] LAUNCH OF THE FIRST U.S. UNMANNED ORBITAL MISSION NASA, 13 September 1961
[Mercury Atlas 5] PIONEERING ORBITAL VIEW OF EARTH CAPTURED FROM THE CAPSULE CARRYING ENOS, THE FIRST CHIMPANZEE IN ORBIT NASA, 29 November 1961
[Mercury Atlas 6] THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST AMERICAN IN ORBIT: John Glenn boarding Friendship 7 NASA, 20 February 1962
[Mercury Atlas 6] THE HISTORIC LIFTOFF OF THE FIRST AMERICAN IN ORBIT JOHN GLENN ABOARD FRIENDSHIP 7 NASA, 20 February 1962
Load moreJump to gallery filters

News and stories

News
Read News

To The Moon And Back: The Martin-Malburet Collection achieves Astronomical Results at Bonhams Paris

Play
Read Story

Bonhams Magazine | Moon shot

News
Read News

For All Mankind Nasa's Photographic Treasure: The Martin-Malburet Collection offered at Bonhams Paris

Additional information