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Lot 253
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN'S PORTRAIT BESIDES THE FIRST US FLAG ON THE MOON (large format) Neil Armstrong, 16–24 July 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche€4,000 - €6,000
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[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN'S PORTRAIT BESIDES THE FIRST US FLAG ON THE MOON (large format)
Neil Armstrong, 16–24 July 1969
Printed 1969.
Large format vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5875].
With NASA - USAF caption numbered "AS11-40-5875" and dated "20 July 1969" and "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA White Sands Test Facility, New Mexico).
28 x 35.6 cm. (11 x 14 in.)
Historical context
A stunning and rare large-format print of one of humanity's most iconic images.
This extraordinary photograph captures humankind's first-ever encounter with another world. Buzz Aldrin stands at Tranquillity Base beside the first American flag planted on the Moon. Taken by Neil Armstrong, this image epitomizes the triumph of human exploration and vision, fulfilling our greatest dream.
A rare detail makes this photograph even more exceptional: Aldrin's face is visible through his helmet visor. Normally, the gold-plated visor obscures an astronaut's features, but here, the direct sunlight illuminates Aldrin at just the right angle, allowing his face to shine through.
This makes it one of the very few Apollo lunar surface photographs where an astronaut's face is distinguishable—a rare and poignant glimpse of humanity on another world.
Printed 1969.
Large format vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5875].
With NASA - USAF caption numbered "AS11-40-5875" and dated "20 July 1969" and "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA White Sands Test Facility, New Mexico).
28 x 35.6 cm. (11 x 14 in.)
Historical context
A stunning and rare large-format print of one of humanity's most iconic images.
This extraordinary photograph captures humankind's first-ever encounter with another world. Buzz Aldrin stands at Tranquillity Base beside the first American flag planted on the Moon. Taken by Neil Armstrong, this image epitomizes the triumph of human exploration and vision, fulfilling our greatest dream.
A rare detail makes this photograph even more exceptional: Aldrin's face is visible through his helmet visor. Normally, the gold-plated visor obscures an astronaut's features, but here, the direct sunlight illuminates Aldrin at just the right angle, allowing his face to shine through.
This makes it one of the very few Apollo lunar surface photographs where an astronaut's face is distinguishable—a rare and poignant glimpse of humanity on another world.
Footnotes
Literature
TIME, 8 August 1969, pg. 21
Space: A History of Space Exploration in Photographs, Chaikin, p. 53
Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, Reynolds, pp. 2-3
Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (NASA SP-350), Cortright, ed., p. 214
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 11 Moonwalk Part 2 of 4