LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 MAR Grand Format Air & Space Sale #6000  / 

58014

Skylab II Wives Patch w/ LOA from Bean-Gilliam

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:240.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 700.00 USD
Skylab II Wives Patch w/ LOA from Bean-Gilliam
<B>Skylab II Wives Patch.</B></I> Everyone recognizes the familiar Skylab II logo, an adaptation of a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci known as <I>The Vitruvian Man</B></I>. It depicts a nude male figure in two superimposed positions with arms and legs apart, standing within a circle and a square, and is meant to reflect on the proportions of the human body. This drawing was adapted for the Skylab II mission and patches were created with the image/logo surrounded by the last names of the astronauts that flew the mission (Alan Bean, Jack Lousma and Owen Garriott). <BR><BR>As a joke, the wives of the Skylab crew had a similar patch made, featuring a nude female surrounded by the wives' first names, and had them secreted onto the command module. Ultimately, 320 of these patches would be made. As Jack Lousma would later recall: "The first time we saw the wives patch was when we arrived in orbit and began to open the storage lockers in the Command Module to get our gear out. Neatly pasted to the interior of three of these locker doors were decals of the wives patch. This was a great idea and consistent with one of our mottos, 'Never lose your sense of humor.'" Patch can be identified as authentic by the belly button; reproduction patches do not have this feature. Like new! Includes a photo of the wives meeting "their fellas" at Ellington field after the flight, in pioneer women's garb, in an old car owned by a friend (and with Deke Slayton as driver). Also with a handwritten and signed Letter of Authenticity from Sue-Bean Gilliam. <I>From the collection of Sue Bean-Gilliam</B></I>.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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