Collectors can vie for a piece of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s personal collection for the first time, starting on Oct. 12, so ready your wallets: this could be a high-speed ride.
For those who need a brush-up on grade-school history lessons: Armstrong, a naval aviator and test pilot who served as Apollo 11’s spacecraft commander, was the first man to walk on the moon.
But Armstrong was also a known pack rat; his home in Cincinnati’s Indian Hill neighborhood was full of items he amassed through decades and a million some miles (literally from the moon and back).
Now, Armstrong’s sons — Mark and Rick — are letting loose of the late astronaut’s immense assortment of memorabilia and memories, with nearly 3,000 items available for bidding in an online and in-person auction. The digital catalog of the Armstrong Family Collection officially goes live Oct. 12 via Heritage Auctions, a Texas-based auction house. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, the first physical auction takes place Nov. 1 in Dallas, with sales stretching into next year. (Follow-up auction dates takes place May 9-10, 2019 and November 2019.)
“There will be flown items, autographed items and items of historical significance,” Mark, who still resides in Cincinnati, said in the family’s press announcement. “There will be items that make you think, items that make you laugh and items that make you scratch your head.”
The auction comes as a biopic about the American legend lands in theaters Oct. 12. The Damien Chazelle-directed First Man follows Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) through the years leading up to the historic Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. And, it’s already snagging strong reviews with a crisp 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The various pieces of Armstrong’s life and legacy include chunks of a wing and propeller from a 1903 Wright Brothers Flyer that the astronaut carried with him to the lunar surface, an assembly of rare sterling silver medallions minted for the flight and even items from his childhood, like his Boy Scout cap. (Armstrong became an Eagle Scout at age 17). Also up for bid is a silk American flag that Armstrong brought along on his voyage to the moon; the item is expected to draw the largest bids.
Some Ohio-related highlights: A third-grade report card signed by Armstrong for his son Mark from Holbrook Elementary School (in Lebanon, Ohio); young Armstrong’s handwritten letter to the Easter Bunny; and Armstrong’s 1943 Red Cross First Aid Instruction Card (from a course completed at Sandusky, Ohio), a well-worn possession “carried in the wallet of a teen-aged Armstrong for most of the three years it was in effect.”
Particular rarities include a Hasbro “Toy Space Capsule Model” (1966) signed by 12 Apollo astronauts and by the cast members of the then-popular TV series I Dream of Jeannie. Mark told reporters with the Associated Press in July that his father never confided in him about what he actually wanted done with the immense amount of items stored. “I don’t think he spent much time thinking about it,” he said. “He did save all the items, so he obviously felt they were worth saving.”
How much is the potential value of the lunar loot we’re talking here? By way of example, Armstrong’s tote bag, which contained trace amounts of moon dust, sold for $1.8 million last July at a Sotheby’s auction (pre-estimates listed the bag between $2-$4 million). Label it lunacy, but this October’s capsule payload may well fetch similar out-of-this-world earnings. (Proceeds will go to the family and auction house.)
“He was never about himself, so I would expect that he didn’t give much thought about how he would be remembered,” Armstrong’s other son, Rick, noted in the same family press release. “With that being said, I think he would be pleased to be remembered as being part of a program that demonstrated amazing things can be achieved when people come together to dedicate themselves towards a common goal.”
What many Cincinnatians may not remember is that later on in life, from 1971 to 1979, Armstrong was a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
Armstrong died in 2012 at age 82 of complications from cardiac surgery.
“For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request,” the Cincinnati family said in the Armstrong obituary in 2012. “The next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
Bidding for the Armstrong Family Collection auction starts online Oct. 12. For the full catalog, visit historical.ha.com.
This article appears in Oct 3-10, 2018.