Project Mercury Astronauts Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, and Deke Slayton Framed Signatures.

SHEPARD, Alan; John Glenn; Scott Carpenter; Wally Schirra; Gordon Cooper; Deke Slayton.

Item Number: 145379

Rare framed autograph collection containing six ink signatures of the original Project Mercury astronauts. The collection includes six 3.25 inch by 1 inch clipped signatures of Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, and Deke Slayton. In fine condition. Handsomely double-matted and framed with a portrait of the astronauts together and a Mercury 7 emblem. The entire piece measures 16.25 inches by 20.25 inches.

"The first seven American astronauts were an admirable group of individuals chosen to sit at the apex of a pyramid of human effort… They chose to lead by following the opportunity that chance, circumstance, technology and history had prepared for them" (Swenson, Grimwood & Alexander). NASA introduced the seven astronauts in Washington on April 9, 1959. Although the agency viewed Project Mercury's purpose as an experiment to determine whether humans could survive space travel, the seven men immediately became national heroes and were compared by TIME magazine to "Columbus, Magellan, Daniel Boone, and the Wright brothers" (TIME 1959).