RARE APOLLO 1 CREW “PRAYING HANDS” PHOTO SET SHOWING GRISSOM, WHITE AND CHAFFEE

Description

This is a
a set of two 8x10 black & white photos depicting the prime crew of Apollo 1 during lighter moments.
These two photos were taken during the Apollo 1 official crew photo sitting on September 23, 1966 and are two of a series of humorous crew photos that have never been officially released by NASA but were taken during the Gemini and Apollo programs by long-time NASA Johnson Space Center staff photographer Andrew R. “Pat” Patnesky. Now retired, Pat took numerous staged funny photos for the crew at their request. These photos never received official NASA photo ID numbers but limited copies were made at the crew’s request for distribution to friends and family.
The Apollo 1 “praying hands” photo was given to Joe Shea, NASA Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager by Gus Grissom and signed by all of the crew members with the phrase “It isn’t that we don’t trust you, Joe, but this time we’ve decided to go over your head.”
The full story behind this photo is fairly accurately portrayed in the HBO series “From the Earth to the Moon.” In Episode 2 of this series entitled “APOLLO 1,” a facsimile of the actual photo that substituted the actors who played the crew members in the episode is shown being presented to both Shea and Harrison Storms, head of the Space Division at North American Aviation. Recall that the Apollo Block I spacecraft was originally plagued by problems in production and the presentation of the “praying hands” photo to upper management was the crew’s way of helping to poke fun of and calm nerves during those difficult times. Little did anyone realize how eerily somber and prophetic the tone would become for this photo in light of the tragic fire.
The second “funny hats” photo in this package was taken during the same sitting by the crew and has been used with particular fondness for the memory of Gus Grissom who, though serious in his work, had a wonderful sense of humor that was shared many times among his colleagues and friends.
It is difficult if not impossible to find copies of these photos.
BOTH OF THESE PHOTOS ARE 8x10 HIGH-QUALITY BLACK AND WHITE MODERN DIGITAL REPRINTS MADE FROM HIGH RESOLUTION SCANS OF THE ORIGINALS. THESE ARE NOT THE ORIGINAL NASA ISSUED PRINTS BUT MODERN REPRODUCTIONS OF THE ORIGINALS. MAKE SURE YOU READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS. YOU ARE NOT BUYING THE ORIGINALS BUT MODERN REPRINTS OF THE ORIGINALS.
We
consider our photos to be part of our description. Please view carefully as they are the actual item. Be sure to ask any questions prior to bidding.
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