Twenty weeks before her ill-fated challenger flight, the New Hampshire school teacher writes, "I'm excited about my upcoming shuttle flight." A rare and emotional piece of American space flight history. Typed Letter Signed "S. Christa McAuliffe," one page, 8.5 x 11, NASA letterhead, September 18, 1985. A response to a note from an admirer. In full: "Thank you for your note. I do not have my official photograph yet, but I have placed your name on a list and you should receive one this fall. I'm excited about my upcoming shuttle flight and appreciate your interest." Sharon Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986) taught junior high school in Maryland (1970-1978) and Concord, New Hampshire (1978-1979) and high school in Concord (1980-1985) before being selected as the primary candidate for the NASA Teacher in Space Project on July 19, 1985. She was a payload specialist on Challenger STS-51L which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 11:38 AM on January 28, 1986. McAuliffe and her six colleagues were killed when Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch. Light toning in lower right corner. Otherwise, fine condition.

All but Grissom have signed a group photo in space suits. The signature of the ill-fated Grissom is on a separate sheet Collection comprised of: (1) Photograph signed: "Alan/Shepard", "Gordon Cooper", "W M Schirra", "D K Slayton", "John/Glenn" and "Scott Carpenter". B/w, 4¾x4¾ overall, image 4½x3½ (one surface). Captioned at lower margin. Fine condition. (2) Signature: "Virgil I. Grissom", 3½x1¼. Fine condition. The seven space pioneers who signed this Project Mercury envelope were chosen by NASA in April 1959 as the first American astronauts. Project Mercury successfully attained its goal of launching a man into space and safely returning him to Earth. On May 5, 1961, ALAN SHEPARD (1923-1998) became the first American in space when Project Mercury launched its first manned capsule, the Mercury-Redstone 3 Freedom 7. Grounded due to an inner ear disorder, he later returned to space as Commander of Apollo 14 (January 31-February 9, 1971), during which mission he walked on the Moon. VIRGIL I.

Lindbergh's driver's license application signed by him twice and notarized, only three months before the kidnapping of his infant son. In the year after the kidnapping, with the baby found dead but no suspect yet apprehended, the New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commissioner (and future Governor) Harold Hoffman sent this application to a radio station which was closely following the case. Hoffman, later unmasked as a criminal himself, meddled extensively in the kidnapping case. Document signed twice: "C. A. Lindbergh", 2 pages (front and verso), 3¾x5. Mercer County, New Jersey, 1931 December 29. New Jersey Automobile Driver's Renewal Application, filled out by Lindbergh himself, giving his address (Hopewell, New Jersey) and physical description. He gives New York City as his place of (self) employment, and attests that he has never had his license revoked or suspended, nor had he been refused a license. Signed and attested as truthful by Lindbergh on verso and notarized by "Edward R. Whitehead". Light vertical crease at center (not affecting signatures). Signatures slightly smudged (still legible). Lightly worn at edges. Otherwise, fine condition. Accompanied by 1 page Typed Letter signed: "Harold G. Hoffman" as Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Trenton, New Jersey, 1933 January 26.

Wright signs a check for $6.22 to future Dayton mayor Frank B. Hale, who endorses it. Check filled out and signed "Wright Cycle Co,", 8¼x3. Dayton, Ohio, 1905 February 5. Drawn on the Winters National Bank, payable to Frank B. Hale for $6.22. Endorsed by Hale on verso. During 1904 and 1905, the Wrights built and tested new planes and engines. An improved Flyer II was flown near Dayton, Ohio in 1904. They began designing Flyer III. At Simms Station, Ohio, on October 5, 1905, Wilbur flew for 24 miles in 38 minutes, landing only when their new Flyer III gas tank ran dry. The Flyer III was powered by a 15 horse powered engine. This was the Wright brothers' first flight of more than a half hour and renewed their confidence in man's ability to sustain flight. They had invented the first fully practical airplane that could turn, bank, circle and fly figure eights. On May 30, 1912, Wilbur Wright died of typhoid fever at the age of 45. Frank B. Hale was a founder of the Dayton Aeroplane Club, and would attend Wilbur Wrights' funeral as one of its representatives. Later, as Mayor of Dayton, he would be active in the movement to memorialize the Wright brothers' achievements, and would name Orville Wright to serve on a commission to honor John H.

Orville Wright signed this document in 1945 to lease 135 acres of farm and pastureland that he owned in Indiana. This document was signed three years before Wright's death and offers a look into how he paid his bills late in life. Lease signed "Orville Wright" as Lessor. 2 pages, 8½x12¾, single-sided sheets, bound with two staples at top edge. Feb. 6, 1945. Wright signed this lease agreement to lease 135 acres of farm and pastureland in "Township 23 North", Indiana [possibly Fowlerton] to Clayton W. Dickerson of Jonesboro, Indiana. The lease's term was from March 1, 1945, to Feb. 28, 1946. Dickerson leased the farm - which included improvements like an orchard, garden lot and barn - for $6 per acre or a total of $810, paid in full to Wright on Sept. 1, 1945. This lease also laid out Dickerson's responsibilities. In short, he had to maintain the land and its buildings out of his own pocket and pay one-half the cost for seed and fertilizer and for threshing and hulling any crops, with Wright paying the other half. Wilbur (1867-1912, born near Millville, Indiana) and Orville (1871-1948, born in Dayton, Ohio) formed the Wright Cycle Company in 1892 and manufactured bicycles.

The man who pioneered the concept of the space shuttle writes about space travel. Autograph Manuscript signed: "By Dr. Wernher von Braun" in title, 1p, 8¼ x 10½ ruled sheet. Manuscript page, which is written in pencil, is part of a longer manuscript ("1" written by von Braun at upper margin). Headed: "Space Travel/by Dr. Wernher von Braun/Chief, Guided Missile Development Division//Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Ala." In full: "There are few dreams of the future which have woven so fascinating a web around human fantasy as flight through space. Since the first, epoch-making experiments of the great American pioneer of rocketry, Robert H. Goddard; since the days when Hermann Oberth, the German, and the Russian Constantin E. Ziolkovsky published their startling writings on rocket propulsion, a veritable spate of literature has overwhelmed the public. This has covered the entire field ranging from serious, scientific dissertations to comic strips. Thus, the intelligent layman outsider who is at tempting to sift the actual promises of space flight from idle conjecture frequently finds himself more confused than before he began to [word crossed out] study space flight literature.…"

Limited edition lithograph (35x23) by George Bishop signed in pencil by astronauts Stafford and Slayton and by cosmonauts Leonov and Kubasov, framed to an overall size of 43x41. Printed Art signed in Pencil: "Tom Stafford", "D.K. Slayton", "V. Kubasov" and "A. Leonov" beneath image. Color, 35x23. Numbered 245/1500. Lithograph by artist George Bishop, published by Pacific Coast Galaxy Inc., pictures the U.S. Apollo 18 and U.S.S.R. Soyuz 19 spacecrafts about to dock in space on July 17, 1975. Each nation's flag and flight emblem and words Apollo and Soyuz in English and Russian are part of the image. THOMAS P. STAFFORD (1930-2024) was the commander and DONALD SLAYTON (1924-1993) was the docking module pilot of Apollo 18. ALEXEI LEONOV (b.1934) was the commander and VALERI N. KUBASOV (1935-2014) was the flight engineer of Soyuz 19. Vance Brand, command module pilot of Apollo 18, did not sign. Fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 43x41¼.

13x16 color poster mount signed by 29 celebrities for the Hilton Head Island Celebrity Golf Tournament. Poster Mount signed: "Neil Armstrong", "Johnny Bench", "Gale Sayers", "Spanky McFarland", "Ed Marinaro", "Mary Ann Mobley", "Alex Trebek", "Dale Robertson", "Boom 'Boom' Geoffrion", "Vince Gill" and 19 others on the mount. Color, 9x11 matted by unknown individual to 13x16. Depicts the cover of the program for the "Hilton Head Island/Celebrity Golf/Tournament/September 4-6, 1987". Horizontal crease at right mount touches 1 signature. Worn at corners. Fine condition. Poster is slightly worn. Accompanied by the program for the event, unsigned, 64p, 8½x11. Covers lightly creased, ¾-inch separation at lower edge of mid-vertical fold. Overall, fine condition. Two items.

A signed card and piece of fabric from Earhart's original Lockheed  Vega 5B. Collection comprised of: 1.) Card signed “Amelia Earhart”. 3½ x 1½, toned. Small smudge at “t”. Fine condition. 2.) Fabric tile, 2 inches x 2 inches affixed to a 13x18 poster. This swatch of fabric is from the original Lockheed Vega 5B flown by Amelia Earhart when she became the first women to make a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic (May 20-21, 1932). Earhart made the 3260-kilometer flight from Harbor Grace, newfoundland to Culmore, Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 14 hours 54 minutes. On August 24-25, 1932, in the same Vegas, Earhart flew from Loas Angeles, California to Newark New Jersey covering the 3940 kilometers in 19 hours 5 minutes. This was the first solo nonstop transcontinental flight by a woman. The Lockheed Vegas is now part of the collection of the National Air and Space Museum. Earhart established other aviation records that did not include "woman", such as first Hawaii-to-mainland solo and first Mexico City-to-New York flight (both 1935). In 1937, Earhart was lost over the Pacific in an attempted around-the-world flight. Framed to an overall size of 28¾ x 26¼. Frame exhibits wearing at corners.

. The airship pioneer writes a letter regarding the receipt for cigar-cases benefiting the Red Cross. Third Person ALS: "Graf Zeppelin" in German, 1p, 5½ x 8½. Friedrichshafen, 1917 January 22. Fully translated: "Graf Zeppelin recommends to the Zeppelin Airship Construction Company to give the attorney at law, Mr. Schwab, the opportunity to receive orders for his timely cigar-cases benefiting the Red Cross." Ferdinand, Count von Zeppelin (1838-1917) entered the Prussian Army in 1858 and served in the Seven Weeks War and in the Franco-Prussian War. He was an observer with the Union army during the American Civil War. In 1891, he retired from the Prussian Army to devote himself to the building of motor-driven airships. Zeppelin invented the first rigid airship in 1900 and in 1906, built one that had a speed of 30 miles per hour. In 1908, he established at Friedrichshafen the Zeppelin Foundation for the development of aerial navigation and the manufacture of airships. Zeppelin died on March 8, 1917, seven weeks after writing this letter. Fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 33½ x 21.

This official NASA photograph is a crew photo of the ill-fated Challenger mission STS-51L, which exploded in midair on January 28, 1986 and was the deadliest accident in NASA history until the destruction of the Columbia in 2003. This rare photograph contains the signatures of all seven crewmembers of STS-51L, who are shown in flight suits and holding their helmets Printed Photograph Signed in Ink: "Mike Smith", "Dick/ Scobee", "Ron McNair", "El Onizuka", "S. Christa/McAuliffe", "Greg/Jarvis", "Judy/ Resnik". Color, 10x8. Captioned: "Crew of Space Shuttle/ Mission 51-L. This photograph is an official NASA crew photo of the ill-fated Challenger mission STS-51L. It contains the signatures of all seven crewmembers, including teacher Christa McAuliffe, who died when the space shuttle exploded 73 seconds after launch. The recipient of this photo, Dot Davis, worked with the Challenger crew at the Johnson Space Center. Accompanied by: A letter of provenance from Davis noting that the Challenger crew signed this photo in quarantine at the Kennedy Space Center's while awaiting their launch.…"

This extremely rare piece of space history is a Great Seal of the State of Florida presented to Gemini IV crewmember Edward H. White II, the first American to make a spacewalk. Accompanied by an printed copy of an Associated Press photo of crewmember James McDivitt holding a similar seal. This seal belonged to White and comes with a photocopy of the letter of provenance from his son Edward H. White III! Ephemera unsigned. 12-inch diameter metal seal mounted on a 15¼x17 wood plaque with beveled edges. Gold-colored Great Seal of the State of Florida. Metal plate at top edge of plaque reads: "Astronaut Edward H. White II". Metal plate at bottom edge reads: "A Token of Friendship From/The People of Florida/Haydon Burns/Governor". Lightly soiled, scratched and dented. Light chipping and dents along edges. Corners are lightly worn and rounded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by 2 items: 1) Printed, Unsigned photograph. B/w, 9¾x8 overall, 7¾x6¼ image, one surface. Associated Press wire photo, datelined Mayport, Florida, June 10. Caption at left edge in part: "SPACEMEN HONORED - Astronaut James McDivitt holds aloft a plaque of the great seal of the state of Florida which was presented to him by Florida Gov.…"