European Antiques, Art, Apollo 11 Flight Plans Among Entries In Don Presley’s June 9-10 Auction Don Presley Auctions will offer more than 1,000 lots of antiques, fine art and quality collectibles.
Co. 9ft grand piano are reminiscent of the premier artistry of Linke. The spectacular musical instrument with lyre-shape foot pedal mount is valued for auction purposes at $60,000-$75,000. Also merging entertainment with classical design, an extravagantly decorated French billiard table with gilt-bronze ormolu trim on the side panels and cabriole legs is marked with a diamond-shape silver tag that says “Medailles D’Argent – Poulain, 72 Rue Amelot, Paris.” The auction estimate is $20,000-$30,000.
The two-day auction also features a tremendous selection of Chinese decorative art, sterling silver (including Tiffany) and a unique consignment of space memorabilia that will be apportioned into three successive lots. The space-related items are flight logs and flight plans for the Apollo 11 flight and Apollo Soyuz test flight. All are the property of Guy Sinclair, who was a flight engineer in the aerospace industry for 41 years in Downey, California, beginning with North American Aviation and following through its various corporate changes that culminated in being bought by Boeing.
Sinclair and his colleagues in the Flight Crew Support Division sat at consoles and monitored NASA’s Apollo 11 flight in real time, maintaining logs and adding handwritten notes to the logs as the flight progressed.
“A flight plan was developed in two stages,” Sinclair explained. “First there would be a preliminary flight plan, then a final flight plan that would be used for the actual voyage to the moon.”
Lot 822, the preliminary flight plan for Apollo 11, is dated May 9, 1969 and presented in a ring binder. The estimate is $1,200-$1,800. Lot 821 is the similarly packaged final flight plan. It is dated July 1, 1969 and also carries an estimate of $1,200-$1,800. Lot 823 is the final 1975 Apollo Soyuz flight plan for the docking of American and Russian modules in space. It contains a highly detailed timetable for the crews of both Apollo and Soyuz and an internal letter on North American Rockwell letterhead signed by the supervisor of System Performance & Procedures, Integration & Systems Projects. Estimate: $400-$800.
The auction will commence at 12 noon Pacific Time on June 9 and 10, 2012. The gallery is located at 1319 W. Katella Ave., Orange, CA 92867. All forms of bidding will be available, including live at the gallery, by phone, absentee or live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.com. For additional information, call Don Presley at 714-633-2437 or e-mail info@donpresleyauction.com. View the catalog at www.LiveAuctioneers.com or on the Presley website at www.donpresleyauction.com.
