APOLLO 8: FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE EARTH FROM THE MOON TAKEN BY A HUMAN RARE GODDARD PRINTING. Ch...

APOLLO 8: FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE EARTH FROM THE MOON TAKEN BY A HUMAN RARE GODDARD PRINTING. Chromogenic color photograph on fiber-based paper, December 21, 1968, 8 x 10 inches (204 x 254 mm), NASA ID in black: G-69-3710, also known as AS8-16-2593, Goddard Space Flight Center press information and 'A KODAK PAPER' watermark on verso. The Apollo 8 crew were about 3 hours into their journey when they were asked by Michael Collins at Mission Control what the Earth 'looks like from way up there.' It was then that they took a moment to look back and become the first humans to see the whole Earth from space. The present image, taken by William Anders, was the first of a sequence and shows the Western Hemisphere from Newfoundland to Tierra del Fuego at the Southern tip of South America. 'At first, the sight of the third stage itself—a hulking cylinder aglow in the unfiltered sunlight of space—caught their attention. But then, as the spacecraft turned, Borman's crew could see the place they left behind, not a landscape but a planet, a luminous sphere whose roundness was apparent to the eye. Apollo 8 was departing at such fantastic speed that the men could see their world receding from them almost as they watched. Already the entire globe fit neatly within the round window of the command module's side hatch' (Chaiken, Andrew, A Man on the Moon. NY: 1994). Goddard's photographic facilities were likely limited during this period judging by the few Goddard-printed photographs that appear on the market. Interestingly, Goddard printings have a high gloss finish not often seen on other examples. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing