Grant Zahajko will Conduct a NASA, Space and Aviation Collectibles Auction Oct. 1st, live and online

2024-04-17 10:11:01 Art & Entertainment

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Davenport, WA, USA, September 16, 2020 -- An auction dedicated entirely to the burgeoning field of NASA, space and aviation collectibles ? led by the outstanding lifetime collection of the late Bill Endicott, plus a golf ball signed by America?s very first astronaut, Alan Shepard ? will be held on Thursday, October 1st, by Grant Zahajko Auctions, live and online. The sale will start at 9 am Pacific time.

Previews and in-house bidding will be by appointment only in the Grant Zahajko gallery, located at 510 Morgan Street in Davenport. To schedule an appointment, call 509-725-5600. People can register and bid on the Grant Zahajko website: www.bid.gzauctions.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. For info, visit https://www.gzauctions.com/other.html#tab_Absentee.

The Bill Endicott collection is a trove of NASA photographs and films, dating as far back as 1961 when, as a reporter, he was assigned to cover America?s fledgling space program in Cape Canaveral, Fla. He met the first seven astronauts and interviewed many others, along with other distinguished men and women serving in the space program. Mr. Endicott died in 2018 at age 91.

Remarkably, Mr. Endicott?s collection only came to light upon his passing, when his family discovered it amongst his possessions. The collection ? a historical archive, chronicling the birth of America?s space program and quest to be the first to put a man on the moon ? reflects the gravity of his love for ?The Final Frontier?. It will be remembered as Endicott?s legacy to NASA.

?What?s exciting about this auction is that we have three separate estate collections of rare and unusual, fresh-to-the-market NASA, space and aviation collectibles in all price ranges,? said Grant Zahajko of Grant Zahajko Auctions. ?Specifically, Mr. Endicott?s archive of NASA photos, films and slides give us a glimpse into the 1960s space programs and the astronauts.?

Mr. Zahajko added, ?The auction includes many images that I?ve not seen previously and some rare autographed pieces, including a Neil Armstrong State of Texas Medal of Honor Ceremony program. And, of course, the first golf ball that Alan Shepard ever signed must be considered the prize lot of the catalog. This auction is a must-attend event for collectors of space memorabilia.?

With a pre-sale estimate of $4,000-$6,000, the Alan Shepard signed golf ball is a prime candidate for top lot of the auction. It comes with impeccable provenance. Shepard signed it for the consignor ? a former friend of the astronaut ? when both were at the Vince Lombardi Open golf tournament in Wisconsin, Shepard as a celebrity golfer and she as a nightclub entertainer.

?I asked him if he would sign a golf ball, since he was, after all, the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon,? the woman recalled. ?He?d never signed a golf ball before and said, ?How am I supposed to write my name across all these dimples?? I got a nail file and filed down an area on the ball. That?s where he signed it.? The ball comes with double provenance: a letter of authentication from Beckett Authentication Services and a testimonial provided by the seller.

Other items to watch include lot #11, a full sheet of Apollo 11 10-cent U.S. stamps (?First Man on the Moon?) signed by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (est. $1,000-$2,000); and lot #8, a State of Texas Medal of Honor Presentation program from October 17, 1970, for the Apollo 11 astronauts, signed by Neil Armstrong (est. $2,000-$3,000). Both have Beckett LOAs.

The Bill Endicott trove features a NASA Gemini GTA-8 Master 16mm film, 14 inches in diameter, distributed for institutional, educational and/or news reporting organizations (est. $400-$600); and a group of six vintage 16mm film reels, all pertaining to NASA?s Apollo space program, some in color and some black-and-white, being offered as one lot (est. $100-$150).

readmore: https://www.prpocket.com/2020/09/grand-zahajko-will-conduct-an-auction-dedicated-to-nasa-space-and-aviation-collectibles-on-october-1st-live-and-online.html

To learn more about Grant Zahajko Auctions and the Oct. 1 NASA, space and aviation collectibles auction, please visit www.gzauctions.com.