Images of NASA's earliest forays into space are going under the hammer on February 26th at London’s Bloomsbury Auctions. From the Earth to the Moon – named after Jules Verne’s proto sci-fi – the sale is a treasure trove comprising hundreds of vintage photographs from the infancy of space exploration, including the first photograph of the Earth from space (shot in 1946 by a camera fitted onto a missile), snaps from John Glenn’s trip into orbit and a rare photograph of the era-defining Apollo moon landing, showing Neil Armstrong on the milky lunar surface with the American flag behind him. It was the golden age of space travel, and though the quest for the final frontier marched to the beat of the Cold War, the Earth pictured in these vintage shots, often in muted 60s colour palette, is eerily serene. Some of the photographs look almost like stills from Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. With Mars One’s plan to settle humans on the Red Planet gathering pace, these pictures provide a timely document and salute to the original pioneers of outer space.
From the Earth to the Moon goes on sale on February 26 at Bloomsbury Auctions.
