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Lot 158
[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHOLE PLANET EARTH TAKEN BY HUMANS William Anders, 21–27 December 1968
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche€3,000 - €5,000
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[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHOLE PLANET EARTH TAKEN BY HUMANS
William Anders, 21–27 December 1968
Printed 1968.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS8-16-2593].
Numbered "NASA AS8-16-2593" in red in the top margin, with "A KODAK PAPER" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
One of the most profound images in history, in its very rare original Hasselblad square format.
On Apollo 8, humankind truly left its home planet for the first time. Looking out from their spacecraft on the way to the Moon, William Anders, James Lovell, and Frank Borman became the first humans to witness the transformative sight of Earth as a glowing sphere suspended in the vast darkness of space.
William Anders captured this historic first human-taken photograph of the whole Earth just 4 hours and 36 minutes after launch, from a distance of approximately 27,000 km (16,777 miles). He used a Hasselblad 500EL equipped with an 80mm lens.
On December 25, 1968, poet Archibald MacLeish captured the meaning of this moment in The New York Times:
"To see the Earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the Earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold—brothers who know now they are truly brothers."
The photograph later graced the cover of LIFE magazine ("The Incredible Year 1968," January 10, 1969).
Printed 1968.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS8-16-2593].
Numbered "NASA AS8-16-2593" in red in the top margin, with "A KODAK PAPER" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
One of the most profound images in history, in its very rare original Hasselblad square format.
On Apollo 8, humankind truly left its home planet for the first time. Looking out from their spacecraft on the way to the Moon, William Anders, James Lovell, and Frank Borman became the first humans to witness the transformative sight of Earth as a glowing sphere suspended in the vast darkness of space.
William Anders captured this historic first human-taken photograph of the whole Earth just 4 hours and 36 minutes after launch, from a distance of approximately 27,000 km (16,777 miles). He used a Hasselblad 500EL equipped with an 80mm lens.
On December 25, 1968, poet Archibald MacLeish captured the meaning of this moment in The New York Times:
"To see the Earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the Earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold—brothers who know now they are truly brothers."
The photograph later graced the cover of LIFE magazine ("The Incredible Year 1968," January 10, 1969).
Footnotes
[original NASA caption for AS8-16-2593] A striking view from the Apollo 8 spacecraft showing nearly the entire Western Hemisphere, from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, including nearby Newfoundland, extending to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. Central America is clearly outlined. Nearly all of South America is covered by clouds, except the high Andes Mountain chain along the west coast. A small portion of the bulge of West Africa shows along the sunset terminator.
From the mission transcript after translunar injection (photograph taken at T+004:36:00 after launch):
004:06:36 Collins: How close to a radial burn can you get without losing sight of the S-IVB (booster), Frank?
004:06:41 Borman:Well, I don't know because I can't see the Earth now, Mike. [...]
004:06:51 Borman: We can pitch down some. Jim has the Earth in the optics so we could pitch some and get pretty close to one (a radial burn), I guess. [...]
004:17:11 Collins: Roger, Frank. You could help us out if you would explain where you are relative to the booster. In other words, with respect to the Earth and the radius back there, are you above or below or one side, or where exactly is the booster relative to you?
004:17:27 Borman: Well, it's as I said before. We can't definitely find the Earth. I think we are in front and a little bit above - a little bit above the - almost in front of the - directly in the front of the booster. [...]
004:36:00 Anders: Roger. If it will help you any, Mike, the Earth is plus-Y about 45 degrees in a minus-X. I can see it out my side window, and it's a beautiful view with numerous cloud vortex. [...]
004:36:51 Anders: It's behind us to the right, if that will help.
004:36:54 Collins: Roger. [Long pause.]
004:37:15 Borman: I can still see the Cape and isthmus of Central America.
Literature
LIFE, 10 January 1969, cover
National Geographic, May 1969, p. 614
TIME, 10 January 1969, p. 42
Space: A History of Space Exploration in Photographs, Chaikin, p. 81
The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography, 1962–1972, Schick and Van Haaften, p. 95
Apollo: Through the Eyes of the Astronauts, Jacobs, p. 35
Images from Space, The Camera in Orbit, Arnold, cover
Watch more
CLICK HERE : Apollo 8 - 16-mm magazine H
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