#Stratospheric #Auction #NASA #Space #History #WorthPoint
Today, the Space Force is an entire branch of the United States military dedicated to exploring the galaxy, but during the mid-20th century, space travel was just beginning. In the 1950s and ’60s, styles changed along with the push to get into outer space—many home décor pieces, furnishings, and even appliances had a streamlined, aerodynamic look.
The sleek designs and futuristic aesthetic, creating the concept that humanity might someday live in space colonies, were all the rage back then. NASA was constantly in the news with the latest developments in launching a man into space. When the agency announced the selection of the seven Project Mercury astronauts in 1959, the race was on.
The era of space travel sparked a whole new class of collectibles and vintage items, some of which are part of an upcoming auction at Julien’s. Known as the “auction house to the stars,” some of the lots include pieces from spacecraft and equipment that NASA used in the global race to the celestial stars. Collectors will want to pay attention to this sale, as some of the items are historical relics from a time when the world looked skyward to a new future.
THE OG OF SPACE COLLECTORS
Many space enthusiasts collect memorabilia like toys, postcards, documents, and mission patches. One person stands out, however, as perhaps the first collector of mission-flown and ground support equipment.
Charles Bell, a Kennedy Space Center (KSC) engineer, started collecting space equipment when he realized how much NASA was throwing away. Everything from rocket boosters to control panels and NASA monitoring equipment was being sold for scrap or, in some cases, dumped into landfills. Bell couldn’t bear to see so much history surrounding spaceflight going in the trash, so he started rescuing it.
At the time, many of Bell’s colleagues may have thought his collection of pieces parts was a little odd, but Bell hoped to preserve as much as possible so he could open a museum dedicated to the history of spaceflight. Eventually, he amassed fifty-six tractor-trailer containers of the space equipment on two storage sites near his home in Merritt Island, Florida.
Bell died unexpectedly in February 2000, and the auction of his estate three months later included thousands of pieces of space equipment, gauges, space suits, and other NASA castoffs. It even included two reassembled Atlas Rockets. Twenty years later, a buyer who scooped up several trailers worth of Bell’s treasures at the initial auction put some pieces up in his own sale. According to some accounts, many of the NASA launch control items held in private collections came from Bell’s trove of space treasures.
Image courtesy: Julien’s
SPACE HISTORY
In addition to military photos, launch control manuals, and models of planes and spacecraft, the auction at Julien’s will include some of the items from the Charles Bell estate auction. Collectors looking to own something rescued by Bell will want to pay close attention to the lots available at the upcoming auction. Bidding is now open on Julien’s website and will close on February 1, 2024.
WorthPoint spoke to Martin Nolan, co-founder and executive director of Julien’s, about the sale. Nolan said, “Julien’s Auctions is thrilled to present a collection of historic space-race items, including original hardware and devices designed by NASA engineers as part of the American effort to launch humans into space.”
Nolan said because of the tremendous interest in space now, with private companies, auctions of vintage pieces surrounding space history do well. “We aim to do a space auction each year,” he told WorthPoint, “based on the interest people have with the current space race among private companies such as our neighbors SpaceX here in Gardena/Hawthorne area of Los Angeles.”
Concerning the Bell items, Nolan explained, “Charles Henry Bell would have been considered a hoarder back in the ’60s and ’70s as he kept everything that was discarded by NASA. Today, we are celebrating his heroic efforts at NASA for saving all of these incredible pieces available in this historic auction of original items from the Space Race era in the 1960s, including circuit boards and pieces from the Space Shuttle.”
Image courtesy: Julien’s
THE SPACE EQUIPMENT MARKET
There are thousands of collectibles for space enthusiasts—stamps, autographed photos, commemorative coins, and personal astronaut-owned items are all popular items collectors want. On the other hand, space equipment like control panels, tools, and engine parts are more of a niche interest.
Equipment, even random bits and pieces, falls into two main categories that concern collectors. Items like those from the Bell estate are either space-flown or part of ground support equipment. Space-flown items are not always equipment-related. On some missions, astronauts would take souvenir pins, cards, or other items into space with them as souvenirs or to give as gifts to the ground crew or family and friends.
Are space collectibles the next hot commodity in the vintage business? Perhaps, since in other areas like home décor and furniture, the mid-century modern look, with its sleek lines and atomic design, brings back memories of the space race and the mission to land a man on the moon. With the attention the lots up for bid at Julien’s are garnering, at the very least, the history that Charles Bell and others have tried to preserve will live on in private collections.
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
WorthPoint—Discover. Value. Preserve.
