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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.

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Paris, Avenue Hoche
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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

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[Apollo 17] PORTRAIT OF EUGENE CERNAN, THE LAST MAN ON THE MOON, WITH EARTH ABOVE THE ROVER'S ANTENNA Harrison Schmitt, 7-19 December 1972, EVA 3
[Apollo 17] HARRISON SCHMITT AT CAMELOT CRATER, STATION 5 Eugene Cernan, 7–19 December 1972, EVA 2
[Apollo 17] THE FINAL SCIENTIFIC SITE ON THE MOON AT TAURUS LITTROW (NASA's own copy, used and annotated, for the preparation of its final Apollo science report) Harrison Schmitt, 7-19 December 1972, EVA 3
[Apollo 17] THE EARTH ABOVE LM CHALLENGER: last seen by humans from the surface of another world (NASA's own copy, used and annotated, for the preparation of its final Apollo science report) Eugene Cernan, 7-19 December 1972, EVA 3
[Apollo 17] HARRISON SCHMITT AT TRACY'S ROCK, STATION 6 Eugene Cernan, 7–19 December 1972, EVA 3
[Apollo 17] THE FINAL GOODBYE SALUTE ON THE MOON: "We leave as we came, and, God willing, as we shall return—with peace and hope for all mankind." NASA, 7-19 December 1972, EVA 3
[Apollo 17] CSM AMERICA REUNITING WITH LM CHALLENGER IN LUNAR ORBIT FOR HUMANITY'S FINAL RETURN TO EARTH (NASA's own copy, used and annotated, for the preparation of its final Apollo science report) Harrison Schmitt or Eugene Cernan, 7-19 December 1972
[Apollo 17] HUMANITY'S FINAL DEPARTURE FROM THE LUNAR SURFACE: LM Challenger lifting off from Taurus-Littrow NASA, 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
[Apollo 17] FINAL ORBITAL LUNAR SUNRISE SEEN BY HUMANS, CAPTURED IN HIGH RESOLUTION WITH THE METRIC CAMERA Ronald Evans, 7–19 December 1972
[Apollo 17] A FINAL LUNAR SPECTACLE FROM A MANNED SPACECRAFT: the horizon above Crater Eratosthenes (NASA's own copy, used and annotated, for the preparation of its final Apollo science report) Eugene Cernan or Harrison Schmitt, 7-19 December 1972
[Apollo 17] STUNNING LUNAR TEXTURE: Tsiolkovsky, the most striking far side crater (high-resolution metric camera view) Ronald Evans, 7–19 December 1972
[Apollo 17] LM CHALLENGER REJOINS CSM AMERICA IN ORBIT AFTER HUMANITY'S FINAL LUNAR EXPLORATION Ronald Evans, 7–19 December 1972
[Apollo 17] RONALD EVANS ON HUMANITY'S FINAL DEEP SPACE SPACEWALK: farthest from any planetary body (NASA's own copy, used and annotated, for the preparation of its final Apollo science report) Harrison Schmitt, 7-19 December 1972
[Apollo 17] RONALD EVANS PERFORMING HUMANITY'S FINAL DEEP SPACE SPACEWALK, FARTHEST FROM ANY PLANETARY BODY Harrison Schmitt, 7-19 December 1972
[Apollo 17] THE LAST SPACECRAFT TO RETURN FROM ANOTHER WORLD: CSM America parachutes into the Pacific, triumphantly concluding Apollo (NASA's own copy, used and annotated, for the preparation of its final Apollo science report) Harrison Schmitt, 7-19 December 1972
[Viking 1] THE HISTORIC FIRST COLOUR PHOTOGRAPH EVER CAPTURED ON THE SURFACE OF MARS, THE RED PLANET: first published version NASA, 21 July 1976
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