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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 11] THE EAGLE HAS WINGS: LM Eagle descends for humanity's first landing on the surface of another world Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] CSM COLUMBIA ABOVE THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY: seen from LM Eagle before landing Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] FIRST HUMAN VIEW OF ANOTHER WORLD: the Sea of Tranquillity seen from LM Eagle's pilot window after landing Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] THE EAGLE HAS LANDED: extremely rare unpublished photograph showing the first human view on the surface of another world Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] THE FIRST-EVER PHOTOGRAPH ON THE SURFACE OF ANOTHER WORLD TAKEN BY HUMANS Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN EXITS THE LM EAGLE FOR HUMANITY'S FIRST EXPLORATION OF ANOTHER WORLD Neil Armstrong, 16–24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN CLIMBING DOWN THE LM EAGLE LADDER TO MAKE HUMANITY'S FIRST STEPS ON ANOTHER WORLD Neil Armstrong, 16–24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION: Buzz Aldrin standing on the LM Eagle footpad before making humanity's first steps on another world Neil Armstrong, 16–24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF A HUMAN ON THE SURFACE OF ANOTHER WORLD Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] 'ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND': the astronaut bootprint on the Moon Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] THE ONLY COLOUR IMAGE OF BOTH NEIL ARMSTRONG AND BUZZ ALDRIN ON THE MOON NASA, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] 'WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND': the iconic commemorative plaque left on the Moon Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN'S PORTRAIT BESIDES THE FIRST US FLAG ON THE MOON (large format) Neil Armstrong, 16–24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] STRIKING CLOSE-UP OF BUZZ ALDRIN ON THE MOON: setting up scientific equipment at Tranquillity Base Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] A HUMAN AND HIS SPACECRAFT ON ANOTHER WORLD: Buzz Aldrin beside LM Eagle at Tranquillity Base Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN WALKING ACROSS THE SEA OF TRANQUILLITY WITH SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN ON THE MOON WITH THE REFLECTION OF LM EAGLE AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER IN HIS GOLD-PLATED VISOR (large format) Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN DEPLOYING THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC SITE ON THE MOON Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] CLOSE-UP OF LM EAGLE AT TRANQUILLITY BASE: the first spacecraft to land on another world Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN GAZING AT THE LM EAGLE AND U.S. FLAG AT TRANQUILITY BASE Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN WALKING ON ANOTHER WORLD Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] EARTH ABOVE THE LM EAGLE: humanity's first view of home from another world Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN RETRIEVING EQUIPMENT FROM LM EAGLE AT TRANQUILLITY BASE Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[APOLLO 11] BUZZ ALDRIN STRIDING ACROSS THE SEA OF TRANQUILLITY WITH SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN FACING THE CAMERA BESIDE LM EAGLE AND THE SOLAR WIND EXPERIMENT Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] LM EAGLE'S FOOTPAD AND HUMANITY'S FIRST IMPRINTS IN LUNAR SOIL Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN COLLECTING FINAL SAMPLES AT TRANQUILLITY BASE BEFORE RETURNING TO EAGLE FOR LIFTOFF Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] LITTLE WEST CRATER: the landmark Neil Armstrong explored after skilfully avoiding it during LM Eagle's historic landing Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN WITH THE LM EAGLE, U.S. FLAG, AND SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS AT TRANQUILLITY BASE (large format) Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] LONELY EARTHRISE: seen from CSM Columbia during LM Eagle's lunar landing Michael Collins, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] LUNAR HORIZON ABOVE TRANQUILITY SCIENTIFIC SITE: captured from LM Eagle's window after humanity's first exploration of another world Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] THE FIRST HUMAN FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON BESIDE EAGLE'S SHADOW: captured from the LM window after humanity's first exploration of another world Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] COVER OF LIFE: the first U.S. flag standing on the Moon, captured from LM Eagle Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] THE FIRST PORTRAIT ON ANOTHER WORLD: Neil Armstrong inside LM Eagle after the historic moonwalk Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] LM EAGLE'S SHADOW ON THE SEA OF TRANQUILLITY BEFORE HUMANITY'S FIRST LIFTOFF FROM ANOTHER WORLD Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] FOOTPRINTS SURROUNDING THE U.S. FLAG AT TRANQUILLITY BASE: rare unpublished photograph from B&W magazine 39/Q Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] GLORIOUS EARTHRISE: the first Earthrise captured after trans-Earth injection Michael Collins, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] GHOSTLY MOONSCAPES FROM THE SPACECRAFT ON ITS THIRD ORBIT (four photos) Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, or Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] CRATER DAEDALUS ON THE FORBIDDING FAR SIDE OF THE MOON: seen by the loneliest human in the world aboard the CSM Columbia Michael Collins, 16–24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] ABSTRACT MOONSCAPES FROM THE SPACECRAFT ON ITS SIXTH ORBIT Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin or Neil Armstrong, 24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF THE FIRST MOON EXPLORERS, WELCOMED BY PRESIDENT NIXON NASA, 24 July 1969
[Apollo 11] SPLASHDOWN OF CM COLUMBIA: humanity's historic first return from the surface of another world NASA, 24 July 1969
[Apollo 12] HUMANITY'S SECOND DEPARTURE TO THE LUNAR SURFACE FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTRE NASA, 14 November 1969
[Apollo 12] STREAKED SPACE WINDOW: a view from CSM Yankee Clipper en route to the Moon Richard Gordon, 14-24 November 1969
[Apollo 12] EXTRAORDINARY VIEW OF THE HALF-ILLUMINATED PLANET EARTH Alan Bean, Pete Conrad or Richard Gordon, 14-24 November 1969
[Apollo 12] 'FANTASTIC' VIEW OF CRATER COPERNICUS AT SUNRISE: seen from LM Intrepid about to descend to the lunar surface Pete Conrad or Alan Bean, November 14-24, 1969
[Apollo 12] FIRST CRESCENT EARTHRISE Pete Conrad or Alan Bean, November 14-24, 1969
[Apollo 12] STRIKING LUNAR SUNRISE OVER THE FRA MAURO HIGHLANDS FROM ORBIT Pete Conrad or Alan Bean, November 14-24, 1969
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