Description:

Apollo 11
[Los Angeles, CA], [ca. 1969]
Apollo 11 Ephemera Collection From Richard Nixon's 1969 Celebratory Dinner at Century Plaza, 90+ Pages!
Archive
A sizable archive of ephemera, photographs, and documentation relating to President Richard Nixon's 1969 dinner honoring Apollo 11 astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. Totaling approximately 98 pages of material, [Los Angeles, California], [ca. August 1969]. Highlights include material directly collected and preserved with assistance from Sanford Fox (1919-1996), former Chief Officer for the Social Affairs department during the Nixon Administration, such as 60 pages of high-resolution scans of his official guest list and a hand-drawn seating chart used during the early stages of event planning. Exhibits varying degrees of surface creasing, age toning, and uneven soiling throughout. Overall, very good condition.

The collection contains the following components:

- NASA "Log of Apollo 11", 12 pages of photographs and text chronicling the days and events of the mission.

- Official "Accept & Regret" guest list, 37 pages of high resolution scans from original copy showing complete registry of all individuals invited to the dinner along with a note ("a" or "r") indicating whether or not they were in attendance; with hand-written notes from Sanford Fox. Full-color scans were sensitive enough to capture the highlighting, different color inks, and even the rust from the clips and staples.

- Blank table seating guide showing layout of event.

- Blank "Century Plaza" Hotel card.

- Blank hotel entry pass.

- Presidential Party Apollo XI Dinner parking pass.

- "Century Plaza" hotel guest notice informing the residents of extra security and procedures in place to "protect our heads of state".

- Original hand-written seating chart showing final seating arrangements for the President and Mrs. Nixon along with the astronauts and their significant others (drawn by Fox).

- Original seating diagram showing the positions of tables, written in pencil and traced using pennies as place-savers (also in the hand of Fox). Diagram on thin tissue paper and in Very Good- condition with Light+ age toning, creasing, and a few closed partial tears.

- Four 8" x 10" color photographs (high-resolution scans from Library of Congress) capturing President Nixon with the astronauts before and during ceremony.

- 14" x 10" Official White House color photograph (C1830-02) providing a general overview of the event, the guests and the Bands of the Armed Forces.

- Two magazine article photographs of ceremony and parade.

- One copy of a typed letter written by Robert Goddard to Ruth Johnston after the event dated August 20, 1969 expressing gratitude for the "most prestigious and beautiful occasion I have ever attended".

- Official NASA APOLLO XI astronaut stamp collector's sheet, postmarked July 20 and September 9, 1969.

- One typed memo on White House letterhead dated September 9, 1969 bearing Nixon's printed signature.

- Apollo 11-related news publications, 18 pages (photocopied)

- "Dinner at the Century Plaza Hotel" guest registry, 27 pages of high-resolution scans showing all guests present at the event.

On July 20, 1969 the astronauts of Apollo XI became the first humans to step foot on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had the privilege of actually placing feet on the lunar surface while Michael Collins commanded the lunar module while in orbit. In honor of their historic accomplishment, President Nixon hosted a dinner at the Century Plaza Hotel just a few weeks following their return. On August 13, 1969 the astronauts and their significant others gathered in Los Angeles with top NASA and state officials and other VIP's to celebrate Apollo XI.

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This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: Oversized box: 24" x 18" x 4"
  • Medium: Archive

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March 12, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
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