Fine assortment of material on or by astronaut JIM IRWIN from the estate of his cousins (photos, ephemera, autographed material, newsletters from Irwin's High Flight Foundation, etc.)
Hardcover. All housed in handsome folding blue cloth box. From the estate of Irwin's two first cousins, Olive Irwin and Edith Irwin Baum (both long-term employees at Gulf Oil). Irwin served as the Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15 (1971, 4th manned moon landing) and was the eighth person to ever walk on the moon -- and the only one from Pittsburgh. After a controversy regarding the sale of First Day Covers hand-canceled during the flight, he and two other crew members resigned from NASA after being officially reprimanded. He then became ordained as a Baptist minister and established a faith-based organization called the High Flight Foundation, with headquarters in Colorado Springs. Later in life, he became convinced that, with aerial surveillance, he could locate the remains of Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat and made several trips to Turkey to continue his search. Both Olive and Edith went to Cape Canaveral to witness the July 1971 Apollo 15 takeoff and retained lots of publications and ephemera from their time there. 1) AUTOGRAPHED MATERIAL: Letter to Edith from Irwin dated April 11, 1979 on local topics and support for his Uplift program, signed "Love from Beyond the Earth, Jim." Program from the irish Genealogical Association 1983 hosting of Irwin's talk, "Footprints on the Moon," inscribed to Olive. And a typed 1 page Christmas letter from 1978 from Jim Irwin's mother, Elsie, to Edith and her husband. 2) PHOTOS: Eight original snapshots of the takeoff, with the negatives and the original envelope; two small b&w studio shots of Jim Irwin; three original color photos -- Jim with Edith and Olive, Jim with his wife; and Jim with his mother, Edith and Olive. There is also a photo of Jim Irwin and his family and two 8x10 color photos from NASA of the crew of Apollo 15. 3) PUBLICATIONS: Menu from Stouffer's Restaurant from July 11, 1969 detailing what the crew of Apollo 11 would be eating while in 21-day quarantine (to insure they didn't bring back any harmful organisms from the moon!); The Gulf Oilmanac 10/71 with cover story on the adventures of Edith and Olive in Florida; Apollo 15 -- 6 pp. NASA brochure giving specifics about the flight, printed in browntone (2 copies); Florida's Space Coast, July 1971 Guide, 32 pp. illustrated guide to hotels, restaurants, etc.; International Moonwalk Festival '71, 50 pp. guide of things to do in Florida during the ten days of flight, with added bonus of a Moonwalk Festival bumper sticker; Apollo 15, the Celestial Endeavor, 15 pp, many of the pages fold out, published by McDonnell Douglas giving even more specifics and statistics on the flight. With Edith's address sticker on first page; Guideposts March 1972 with cover story by Irwin, "Mission to the Heart of Creation." 4) HIGH FLIGHT FOUNDATION: copies of "Apogee" (A Program of God Everywhere for Everyone) from April 1977 to September 1981 -- just a handful of issues, by no means a run -- and newsletters from the foundation from mid-1983 to 1990 that do seem fairly complete. 5) NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS. More than two dozen clippings from various papers, 1972 to 1991 (his obituary). 6) MISCELLANEOUS, other publications related to Irwin's activities, ephemera and brochures. PLEASE NOTE THESE CAME FROM THE HOME OF A SMOKER AND AND HAVE A DEEP RESIDUAL ODOR. Very Good. Item #H6404
Price: $1,500.00