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Gemini 12 mission slides from the estate of John Glenn - ebay auction

  1. rcs914 May 16, 2018

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    https://www.ebay.com/itm/JOHN-GLENN...209615?hash=item56abd76d4f:g:Zr8AAOSwa59arBttPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

    Found these on ebay today when perusing - a box of slides under glass from John Glenn's estate, supposedly from Gemini 12. Here's the blurb on the auction:

    "For sale is an incredible collection of fifteen original Gemini 12 glass slides fresh to the market from the estate of US test pilot and astronaut, John Glenn. Slides are accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from Greater Washington Estate Services, which ran the estate sale, attesting to their provenance from Glenn's estate.
    Each slide measures 3.25 x 4 inches, and is a first generation positive copy from the original film used on the mission. This means they are as beautifully clear and high resolution as any one can find from the mission, and closer to the original than the press photos made in subsequent generations. Condition is generally excellent, although one has glass broken on one side (the color film is still in fine condition, and replacing the glass would make it like new). The original photographs used to make these were taken by legendary astronauts, James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin. I am not sure how Glenn got hold of them... possibly they were gifts to him from his fellow astronauts or he simply requested them from NASA, possibly for his own use or during a presentation of some kind. This was the final Gemini mission before the Apollo missions, and I have been unable to find any other period slides from this particular mission.

    While there were a lot of interesting items in his estate in terms of personal items and clothing, there was very little from his days in NASA. The Air and Space Museum and National Museum of the Marine Corps snagged most of his interesting flight items literally minutes up until the estate sale opened. These slides were hidden in a cabinet in his basement, and thus were left behind. An interesting collection from the estate of one of the seminal US astronauts."

    So when I went and looked at the Nasa Archive for Gemini 12 I couldn't find any of these specific photos, but perhaps I wasn't looking in the right place, and probably not the full archive. There were two photos included of interest to us watch/space nerds, although they are just two sides of the same slide:

    18_f.jpg 19_f.jpg

    Pretty sure that's one of them is a Speedy, but can't tell what the other might be, since there's one on each wrist.

    Here's the link to the full gallery too:

    https://jpegbay.com/gallery/006848676-1.html#1
     
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  2. rcs914 May 16, 2018

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    Ok so a bit more poking and googling of the photo numbers turned up this:

    https://archive.org/download/S66-62782/S66-62782.jpg

    [​IMG]

    What is interesting is that the image number that is hand written on the slide is incorrect. Also the slides appear to be more vibrant color wise than the archive image.
     
  3. TLIGuy May 16, 2018

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    On the left arm the same Velcro strap was used to hold a mirror. If you look closely you can see where the strap goes into the mirror frame opening. Because the strap and mirror are so close to the pressure suit gauge it appears to be an additional watch but it is not.

    You can see the gauge below and how it could be misinterpreted as a watch from the angle above with the strap so close to it.

    12-gemini12recovery-23jpg_0.jpg
     
  4. rcs914 May 16, 2018

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    I could see that in the image from the Archive - just wasn't particularly visible in the original image. Makes sense though, thanks.
     
  5. ICONO May 16, 2018

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    The slides are simply much more vibrant.…because you are looking at transmitted light…rather than reflected light

    The sheer colour of well exposed transparencies are always stunning…and as someone who used to ‘shoot’ 10 x 8 transparency film for ‘48 sheet’ Advertising posters…I can tell you, those large format transparencies…, are sharper than actual reality !

    Frankly these 35mm slides are fabulous…and a real piece of social history…
     
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  6. rcs914 May 16, 2018

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    Pretty sure those are bigger than 35mm aren't they?
     
  7. ICONO May 16, 2018

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    Perfectly correct ! …I did not look closely enough at the auction images

    On review…they look like 6x6 …Possibly early Hass 500c + 80mm Planar… maybe ?