Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 40

Manuscript and Collectibles Auction

Avaitors & Austronauts

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 18		Rare 1909 Bleriot Signed Banquet Menu After His Famous Cross-Channel Flight. Banquet Menu Signed in pencil," 8½" x 5½" (London, 16 Sept. 1909). Very good; some creases and discoloration; a 2 inch separation at the bottom fold. The September 16, 1909 banquet was held in honor of Blériot by La Colonie Francaise de Londres after his famous cross English Channel flight. Blériot signed in pencil on the left front of the four page card menu. Measures, with. Included is a 1982 Smithsonian Air and Space Museum book, "Blériot XI The Story of a Classic Aircraft," illustrated, 143 pages. Estimated Value $1,250 - 1,500. Ex-Sotheby's 26 June 1997 auction, lot 795, where it was stated that the signature was obtained by the vendor's grandfather, who was present at the 1909 banquet. The lot realized 564.60 Pounds and is sold with copies of the relevant catalog pages and invoice from the 1997 sale. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $750
Lot 19		Lindbergh, Charles A. Autograph Letter Signed, on his personal letterhead, 2 pp (conjoining leaves), 7¾" x 5¾", New York City, 29 May1934. Fine; light creasing only. With original autograph transmittal envelope, addressed to Donald Hall, the man who was responsible for the design of Lindbergh's record-setting plane, the "Spirit of St. Louis." Lindbergh writes Hall with a business proposition. In part: "Some of my friends are considering the manufacture of a small low wing monoplane. About 3 or four [?] with approximately 150 H.P. and cruising in the vicinity of 150 miles per hour or better. They asked me if I knew of an engineer who could develop a plane of this type I told them that you had been working on a similar design for several years and that I would find out whether you were in a position to consider either designing a plane of this type or arranging to have your present design manufactured in St. Louis. Please tell me whether you are interested…." He adds a postscript: "If you are in a position to consider this proposition I will ask my friends to send you full details of their plans and organization." Estimated Value $3,500 - 4,500. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 20		Lindbergh, Charles A. Autograph Letter Signed, on his personal letterhead, one page with integral leaf, 7¾" x 5¾", New York City, 13 June 1934. Fine; light creasing only. With original autograph transmittal envelope, addressed to Donald Hall, the man who was responsible for the design of Lindbergh's record-setting plane, the "Spirit of St. Louis." Hall was trying to establish his own aircraft manufacturing company and Lindbergh agrees to put the designer in touch with one of the original backers of Lindbergh's New York to Paris flight, Harry F. Knight. In full: "Thank you very much for your letter. I am forwarding it to Harry Knight in St. Louis, who is one of the men interested in the design I wrote you about. I will let you know as soon as I hear from him." Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,000. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 21		Rickenbacker, Eddie (1890-1973) World War I flying ace; auto racer; pioneer in air transportation. Check Signed "E.V. Rickenbacker," New York, 9 June 1970. Paid to The Regency Hotel for $2820.39. Bank stamp does not affect the large, bold signature. Estimated Value $150 - 200. View details	Realized $115
Lot 22		(Wright Brothers) Very Rare Piece of Original Wing Fabric from the 1903 Kitty Hawk Airplane. A 1 1/2 inch square section of fine weave fabric originally used on one of the wings of the Wright Flyer which flew at Kitty Hawk in 1903. It is applied to a certificate of authenticity reading "When Orville Wright prepared the Kitty Hawk machine for public exhibition, the original fabric had to be replaced, as it had been under water during the Dayton Flood of 1913. He substituted new fabric of identical material. After his death in 1948, we found that he had preserved some of the original coverings of the wings. We certify that this piece of fabric was used by Orville and Wilbur Wright on 17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in the world's first heavier-than-air flights in which man achieved free, controlled, powered, and sustained flight." It is signed by Harold Miller, Co-Executor of the Orville Wright estate and Ivonette Wright Miller, the Wright Brothers niece. With a magazine article showing a photo of Ivonette and an envelope inscribed "Merry Christmas to Mark Baker from Ivonette Wright Miller". Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,500. Ex-Sotheby's 26 June 1997 auction, lot 801 where it realized 1,178.75 Pounds. Sold with copies of the relevant catalog pages and invoice from the 1997 sale. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $6,325
Lot 23		Aldrin, Buzz. "Recognition of Outstanding Merit" Award to Scout Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr." for the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon Landing." This unique award was presented to Buzz Aldrin and is inscribed thusly on a certificate with a violet and white Boy Scout Patch, "The 22nd World Scout Conference on behalf of 97 member associations with a membership of over 12 million Scouts and leaders in 150 countries and territories present this Recognition of Outstanding Merit to Scout Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. for demonstrating to peoples throughout the world one of scouting's most enduring qualities - the spirit of daring and courageous adventure - by completeing with distinction the first manned landing on the moon, taking mankind's first step outside his own planet and giving the world, particularly the youth, an inspiring example of extraordinary team discipline, personal courage and technical skill." In addition, on a lambskin parchment, 255 scouts and/or leaders signed their names and countries of origin, encompassing scouts from all over the world. The certificate has affixed the original Smithsonian Institution inventory tag, applied some years ago when our national museum inventoried all of Aldrin's awards and memorabilia, so they could choose certain items to be held for posterity in the Smithsonian. The balance of the collection was returned to Aldrin for disposition as he decided, whereby this unique piece of Moon Landing memorabilia appears in the public marketplace. Framed to an overall size of 35" x 24.5". A rare opportunity to acquire a unique item of great historical importance relating to the 1969 Moon Landing and International Boy Scouting. Estimated Value $5,000 - 7,000. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 24		Apollo 11 Signed Covers. Beautiful Set of three Apollo 11 Covers, individually signed by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins ("M Collins"), each cancelled "Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 Jul 16 AM 1969." Mint condition. Estimated Value $800 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,323
Lot 25		(Astronauts and An Aviator - 15 Signed 1st Day Covers). Fourteen Covers, most with space-related cachets signed individually by: Charles Conrad, Michael Collins, Jim Irwin, Al Worden (2), Gordon Cooper, Dick Gordon, Frank Borman, Story Musgrave, John Glenn, Don Eisele, Gerald P. Carr. An Apollo 17-cacheted envelope is signed by the parents of Edward White, who was killed in the Apollo 1 tragedy, and an Apollo 14-cacheted cover is signed by the parents of Alan Shepard. Accompanied by a FDC Signed and dated "Douglas Corrigan / 12-19-67" with "Wrong Way to Ireland 1938" also written in his hand. Very fine. Estimated Value $550 - 750. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 26		Conrad, Charles & Gordon Cooper. Four 8 " x 10" Signed Photographs, one by Chares Conrad and Gordon Cooper and three by Cooper only. One photo of Cooper is in civilian clothing; the remainder are all in space suits. Conrad (1930-99) was the pilot of Gemini V and was one of twelve moonwalkers. Cooper (1927-2004) was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and served as command pilot on Gemini V. The two men established a new space endurance record by traveling a distance of 3,312,993 miles in an elapsed time of 190 hours and 56 minutes. Cooper also became the first man to make a second orbital flight. Estimated Value $250 - 350. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $150
Lot 27		(Cosmonauts). Photograph Signed by nine cosmonauts including Gagarin, Titov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Tereshkova, Bikovsky, Leonov, Komarov, and one other, 4¼" x 8¼", n.p., n.d. A smiling photo of the early, much-decorated cosmonauts. Matted with a typed list of their names to an overall size of 11" x 14". Very fine. Estimated Value $500 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $920
Lot 28		(Cosmonauts - Voskhod 2) Leonov and Belyayev. Three rare color photographs (one of Leonov in his space suit, one of Leonov and Belyayev in their space craft, and one group picture with other cosmonauts), all three with early signatures of Leonov, and two with the signature of Belyavev. Two have inscriptions and the number 180965. Aleksei Leonov became the first person to walk in space on 18 March 1965. Pavel Belyavev, the commander, became the first cosmonaut to manually fire the retro rockets after the autopilot failed. Estimated Value $200 - 300. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 29		(Cosmonauts) Document Signed By Ten Cosmonauts. Typed Document Signed by ten cosmonauts, including Gagarin, Titov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Tereshkova, Bikovsky, Leonov and three others, one page, Russian, 10¾" x 8", 1965. Untranslated. Variously signed in purple, black, and blue ink. Very fine. Estimated Value $600 - 800. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 30		Gagarin, Yuri (19334-68) Soviet cosmonaut; in 1961 he became the first man to travel into space; died during a routine training flight. Photograph Inscribed and Signed in Russian, 9" x 6½", n.p., n.d. A smiling, chest-up portrait. Signed in purple ink. Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $460
Lot 31		(Soviet Union Space Program Memento). A 1967 Russian desk plaque in aluminum, black plastic and bronze, 4.25" x 4.25", commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1917 Russian Revolution, with a poetic motto implying their goal to be the first nation to land on the moon. Slight wear, otherwise good condition. Estimated Value $300 - 400. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 32		Pair of Official Lockheed Concept Models for the Space Shuttle? Two early project models in aluminum, one painted white at 6.5", one natural color at 7.25", of what may be the Space Shuttle or another advanced aircraft and possibly used for wind tunnel testing. Both are marked "US Navy Navordsyscom Lockheed Misslies & Space Co. Inc" and in good condition. Estimated Value $500 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $920
Lot 33		Aviation - World War I Pursuit Pilot Document Lot. Paper document lot to 2nd Lt. Robert R. Litterer, consisting of Jan 1918 Aeronautic School Graduation Certificate, April 1918 appointment as 2nd Lt., various training and travel orders, official cards and papers, Sept 1918 embarkation order for France, small serving son flag with one blue star and a June 1919 Discharge. Estimated Value $450 - 550. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 34		Bi-plane Glass Negative, c. 1920s. 5" x 7", showing a bi-plane sitting on a body of water with trees in the background. A man is piloting the plane and a woman passenger in a dress and hat, holding a dog, sits beside him; both are smiling at the photographer. At the tail of the plane, a man stands hip-high in the water as he prepares to help with take-off. Fine condition. Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 35		(Dirigible USS Akron). 1933 date-stamped cacheted cover signed by the three crew members (out of 70) who survived the crash of the of USS Akron off the coast of New Jersey: H. Wiley, the commander of the ship, as well as R.E. Deal, and M. Erwin. Attached to the back is an actual piece of the fabric that was part of the inner cell of the ill-fated Akron, signed and dated in pen by the Cachet Director of the Lakewood Philatelic Society, May 31, 1933. A typed statement by the Director states that only 40 of these were in existence at that time. Estimated Value $300 - 400. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $242
Lot 36		World War I Era Aviator Document Lot; Commission, Log Book, Photos. A group of early USA aviation related documents to 2nd Lt. Henry Rowland Halsey, Aviation Section (Flying Status) Signal Corps. Consists of Aeronautic School Graduation Certificate, 1919 Officer's Commission, two different discharges, Log Book showing flying activities in various aircraft during 1918-19, group photo in uniform and one dated 1936. Halsey enlisted 28 Aug 1917 and was discharged March 24, 1919, having served in the USA during the war. Estimated Value $550 - 650. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold