“Apollo 11 Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong” Signed Limited Edition Paul Calle Print.

ARMSTRONG, Neil; Paul Calle.

Item Number: 142783

Signed limited lithographic print of Paul Calle’s pencil sketch of Neil Armstrong captured as he suited up on July 16, 1969 in preparation for his launch to the moon. One of 1000 numbered copies signed by Armstrong, this is number 243. Additionally signed by Paul Calle beneath his printed facsimile signature. New York born artist Paul Calle was one of eight artists chosen by NASA in 1962 to document the U.S. space program and was the only artist present when the crew of Apollo 11 prepared to enter the spacecraft for their historic mission. Four days later Armstrong became the first human being to land a spacecraft on the moon and to set foot on the lunar surface. This limited edition of 1000 numbered copies of Calle’s graphite pencil drawing was signed by both Calle and Armstrong and presented by the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. All profits from the sale of the prints were donated to the Charles A. Lindbergh Memorial Fund. Calle subsequently designed the iconic “First Man on the Moon” 10-cent stamp, and in his long career he would design over 40 stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. In fine condition. Matted and framed. The lithograph measures 15 inches by 25 inches. The entire piece measures 22 inches by 32 inches. Highly desirable, being the only limited print edition that Armstrong signed which remains among the most sought-after of all NASA-related lithographs.

The first man to walk on the Moon, American astronaut and aeronautical engineer Neil Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962. He made his first spaceflight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966, becoming NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space. During this mission with pilot David Scott, he performed the first docking of two spacecraft; the mission was aborted after Armstrong used some of his re-entry control fuel to stabilize a dangerous roll caused by a stuck thruster. During training for Armstrong's second and last spaceflight as commander of Apollo 11, he had to eject from the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle moments before a crash. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Apollo 11 Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin became the first people to land on the Moon, and the next day they spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the mission's command module. Along with Collins and Aldrin, Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon. President Jimmy Carter presented Armstrong with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, and Armstrong and his former crewmates received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.