To the Moon!

I have always held an admiration and fascination with the brave pioneers who have explored space. These astronauts of the Gemini and Apollo programs were selected for their strong physical attributes and mental stamina. In February 2009 I attended the Hollywood Collector's Show and was perusing the offerings on several dealers tables. One dealer had some astronomy and space books, all in impeccable mint condition, obviously taken specially good care of. I purchased 3 of the books for $5 each, which I was more than happy with the purchase price. Two of the books I bought to read but it was the "We Land On The Moon Coloring Book" that really caught my interest. In mint condition, with no tears, bends or any of the pages colored or marked on, this was an item that I had never seen before, let alone in this wonderful condition. A collectible in itself, I quickly imagined and saw the potential in getting the various astronauts to autograph their portraits in the coloring book. Also, Spacefest was being held the very next weekend in San Diego so I would have the opportunity to get to work on this project immediately.

Spacefest was held February 19-22, 2009 in San Diego at the Town and Country resort. Many astronauts were making appearances over the course of the weekend, including two of the three crew members of Apollo XI (Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin), most of the 9 surviving moon walkers and a 40th anniversary reunion of the Apollo 9 crew. Of course I wanted every astronaut in attendance to sign my new found treasure, but I was immediately faced with the constraints of a limited budget, as each of the astronauts had fees for signing your item. Aldrin was $350 per item and he does not sign any other time for free except at book signings and even then it is limited to his book. Collins is reclusive and never makes appearances such as Spacefest. While his fellow comrade Neil Armstrong is universally clamored for by collectors and has been evaluated as the "most expensive living autograph", there are few authentic Michael Collins autographs on the market. So I decided to go with a mix of rarity and quantity, acquiring those autographs that are the most difficult to obtain from astronauts who make infrequent public appearances and those who represented a relative good value for the price.

So here is my Hall of Fame, the astronauts that I had autograph my book with photographs of the accompanying results:

ALAN BEAN: I had previously met Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the moon, several years ago at a gallery signing of an art book comprised of Bean's depictions of the moon. Since walking into history books, Alan Bean has become an accomplished artist and his paintings from his observations while on the moon are outstanding. Knowing that Bean has a aesthetically beautiful signature I decided to have him sign my book. At $90 plus an additional surcharge for additional inscriptions, Bean was pricey but his stature as the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo XII made him a necessary addition for my project. Bean is dedicated to his life as an artist, even charging for autographs through the mail as he believes it takes time away from his art. Bean is extremely personable, taking time to chat with each person as they approached him for an autograph. Because of this, there was a line of 6 or 7 people ahead of us, which took 20-30 minutes before it was our time at the front of the line. I mentioned to Bean that I had met him years before and he said that he had never seen a copy of my "We Walk On The Moon Coloring Book." I had Bean autograph it with a blue ballpoint pen, which would be the same kind of pen that would've been used to sign the item had it been signed when the book was originally published back in 1969. Sharpies were around but not in common use until at least 1975, so I have had wonderful results in getting vintage items signed in vintage blue ballpoint ink. As you can see in the pictures, the results are wonderful and ballpoint doesn't bleed on the delicate newsprint paper of the book like a marker.

GENE CERNAN: Co-pilot of Gemini IX, serving as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo X and finally the Commander of Apollo 17, Gene Cernan made a total of three ventures into space. Dubbed "the last man on the moon" since he was the last person to re-enter the lunar module capsule during the United States of America's last trip to the moon. No collection would be complete without Cernan's stylistic signature, also incorporating "Gemini IX" into the autograph. Cernan was a bit on the quiet side, not saying too much but he signed the book in blue ballpoint pen. Cernan was also on the higher end of the pricing tier at $150 per autograph but because of his status as "the last man on the moon" I thought it was integral to get his signature.

MICHAEL COLLINS: Making two spaceflights, first as a member of Gemini 10 and subsequently as the Command Module Pilot of Apollo XI, Michael Collins is notorious for keeping a low-profile and shunning the public eye. I can not recall Collins making any previous appearances and this Spacefest appearance was touted as Collins' first and probably only appear ance ever. At $250 per autograph the price was steep but when considering how difficult it is to find any signatures of this iconic astronaut, it is money well spent. As we approached the table where Collins was signing, I spotted him in a chair about 15 feet away from the table. He had his back turned away, as if he wanted to avoid any unnecessary public interaction and was reading a newspaper. I told the lady at the table that I wanted to have Mr. Collins sign my book and sheepishly she asked, "You do know it's $250, right?" I replied yes but I really wanted the chance to add him to my coloring book. I paid her the fee, she got Michael's attention and he came to the table and signed my book, adding Apollo XI underneath his signature. Collins was quiet, not saying too much and we also posed for a few photographs with him. It's not everyday that you get to meet a legend of the US space program, let alone an astronaut from Apollo XI so this was quite exciting for me. My sister laughed and commented on me shaking as I met not only Collins but each of these astronauts. I hold these aviation heroes in such high regard for their unselfish contributions and realize that these space exploration pioneers are effectively the last of the explorers. Even with any future space explorations or traveling to new planets, these men will forever go down in history as among the first men to go into space.

RICHARD GORDON: Flying as pilot of Gemini 11 and as Command Module Pilot of Apollo XII, the second manned mission to land on the moon, Richard Gordon was a lock choice to sign my book. Priced at $40 per signature, Gordon was significantly less than some of his colleagues and represented a great value. He was the first person I approached and Gordon and his wife were situated at a table. Both are friendly and liked my coloring book, appreciating the uniqueness of the item. I showed Gordon both his images but mentioned to him that unfortunately I had only budgeted for him to autograph one of them. Gordon signed both of his portraits in the book and his wife only charge me for one autograph. Gordon also gave us magnets that promoted his website at http://www.richardgordon.com/.

JIM MCDIVITT: Command Pilot for Gemini 4, a member of the Apollo 7 crew and Commander of Apollo 9, Jim McDivitt also appeared as himself on an episode of "The Brady Bunch" that dealt with UFOs.