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Lot 23
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN SALUTING THE FIRST U.S. FLAG ON THE MOON Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €2,048 inc. premium
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[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN SALUTING THE FIRST U.S. FLAG ON THE MOON
Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5874].
Numbered "NASA AS11-40-5874" 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
In one of the 20th century's most iconic images, Buzz Aldrin salutes the American flag at Tranquillity Base, his right hand clearly visible beside his helmet. To the left, the Lunar Module Eagle is partially in view, while the first human footprints on another world stand out sharply in the foreground.
While this salute honoured the nation that sent him to the Moon, Aldrin later reflected that it was, in a way, a salute for all mankind—the countless people who had contributed to this achievement and the millions watching back on Earth:
"Being able to salute the flag was one of the humbler yet proud experiences I've ever had. To be able to look at that American flag and know how much so many people had put of themselves and their work into getting it where it was. We sensed, we really did, this almost mystical unification of all the people in the world at that moment."
—Buzz Aldrin (LIFE magazine, August 22, 1969, p. 26)
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5874].
Numbered "NASA AS11-40-5874" 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
In one of the 20th century's most iconic images, Buzz Aldrin salutes the American flag at Tranquillity Base, his right hand clearly visible beside his helmet. To the left, the Lunar Module Eagle is partially in view, while the first human footprints on another world stand out sharply in the foreground.
While this salute honoured the nation that sent him to the Moon, Aldrin later reflected that it was, in a way, a salute for all mankind—the countless people who had contributed to this achievement and the millions watching back on Earth:
"Being able to salute the flag was one of the humbler yet proud experiences I've ever had. To be able to look at that American flag and know how much so many people had put of themselves and their work into getting it where it was. We sensed, we really did, this almost mystical unification of all the people in the world at that moment."
—Buzz Aldrin (LIFE magazine, August 22, 1969, p. 26)
Footnotes
Literature
Moon: Man's Greatest Adventure, Davis Thomas, ed., p. 195
Spacecam: Photographing the Final Frontier from Apollo to Hubble, Hope, p. 24
Apollo: Through the Eyes of the Astronauts, Jacobs, ed., p. 59
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 11 Moonwalk Part 2 of 4
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