First Hasselblad in space goes to auction next month
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The first Zeiss lens and Hasselblad 500C camera to visit space will be going up for auction on November 13 via RR Auction in Boston. The unit is a piece of history, having joined Wally Schirra during the Mercury-Atlas 8 mission and, later on, Gordon Cooper during the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission.
RR Auction has laid out the evidence that its Hasselblad camera is the real deal, pointing toward abrasions that match up between historic and current photographs and the same "TV 45279" serial number housed below the shutter. Joining the camera and lens is an attached film magazine that was flown by Gordon Cooper on the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission, as well.
Interested parties will need to bid either in person at the RR Auction Gallery on Commercial Street in Boston or over the phone. Bidding starts at $10,000, with predictions that the camera will go for at least five times that amount.
First Hasselblad in space goes to auction next month
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From RR Auction: 'Schirra reportedly purchased the Hasselblad 500c camera at a Houston photo supply shop in 1962, and brought it back to NASA for mission use preparation.'
First Hasselblad in space goes to auction next month
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The lens is a Carl Zeiss, Planar 1:2.8 f=80mm.
First Hasselblad in space goes to auction next month
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Gordon Cooper holding the Hasselblad 500C, in 1995.
First Hasselblad in space goes to auction next month
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Supporting document to prove the camera's authenticity.
First Hasselblad in space goes to auction next month
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A NASA document including the camera in an equipment list for Mercury-Atlas.
First Hasselblad in space goes to auction next month
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Photo of Earth taken in orbit by Wally Schirra with the Hasselblad camera taken on Mercury-Atlas 8.
First Hasselblad in space goes to auction next month
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Photo of Earth taken in orbit by Wally Schirra with the Hasselblad camera taken on Mercury-Atlas 8.
First Hasselblad in space goes to auction next month
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From the auction house, modifications made to the camera include 'the installation of a 100-exposure film container, an aiming device mounted on the side, and modification of the camera surface, plus the original metal facing was repainted black to minimize reflections.'