1303301
Virgil I. “Gus" Grissom
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In-person signed photo of America's second man in space preparing for a pre-flight test
Virgil Ivan Grissom, 1926-1967. American astronaut. Vintage 8" x 10" photograph signed in person, Virgil I. Grissom. With affidavit of provenance.
This glossy black-and-white photograph shows Grissom, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, being fitted with medical sensors for a pre-flight test. Grissom has boldly signed with a 2½" blue ballpoint signature in the light area above his image.
Grissom signed this in person in August 1965 for a Boy Scout at Camp Okee, a camp on the banks of the York River near Yorktown, Virginia. One of Grissom's sons attended the camp. When Grissom visited, he brought several photographs and signed them for teenagers who were attending. The person who received both this photograph and another one, which we are also offering, saw Grissom sign them and has owned them since then. They left his possession only when he sent them to us. Thus, neither photograph has ever been on the autograph market before. Both this photo and the other one come with the recipient's original notarized affidavit of provenance. Click here to see the other signed photograph, which shows Grissom's Mercury-Redstone launch vehicle on the launch pad.
This is an official photograph taken by the United States Air Force for NASA. According to the back stamp on the photo, it was taken of Grissom when he was being fitted with medical sensors in preparation for a pre-flight test of his Mercury Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft. The back stamp reads:
CCMTA, NASA Hangar ‘S'
Astronaut Grissom Getting
Suited Up for SEDR 77, MR-4
The acronym “CCMTA" stands for the Air Force's Cape Canaveral Missle Test Annex, from which all of the Mercury flights were launched. “SEDR" stands for “Service Engineering Department Report,” and “MR-4" stands for “Mercury-Redstone 4,” which was Grissom's suborbital flight on July 21, 1961. Grissom's spacecraft was launched atop an 83-foot-high Redstone rocket.
Grissom was one of America's early space heroes. A member of the original group of seven Project Mercury astronauts, he spent 15 minutes, 37 seconds on his suborbital flight in Liberty Bell 7, reaching an altitude of more than 118 miles and traveling about 300 miles, before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Bahamas. His successful flight followed Alan Shepard's inaugural Freedom 7 flight some 2½ months earlier and paved the way for John Glenn to become the first American to orbit the earth aboard Friendship 7 in February 1962. Grissom subsequently became the first American astronaut to travel in space twice when he and John Young flew the Molly Brown, Gemini III, the first manned flight in the Gemini program. He was set to command Apollo I, the first mission in the Apollo moon landing program, but died tragically in a fire during a launch pad test of the command module on January 27, 1967.
This photo has pin holes in the corners and the center of the bottom white margin, and there are scattered creases and bends that are not as noticeable as the light reflection in the scan below suggests. A ¼" tear in the left blank margin has been archivally repaired on the back side of the photo. As noted above, there is an informational Air Force back stamp on the back. The recipient's name is also written at the top right corner of the back. Overall the photo is in good condition.
This is a nice example of Grissom's autograph reflecting the early days of the American space program, and—especially as an in-person autograph with provenance—it is a worthwhile addition to any space collection.
Unframed. Click here for information about custom framing this piece.
This item is no longer available.
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For privacy reasons, we have not displayed a scan of the affidavit here.
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