Collection of Apollo 8 recovery material deriving from the personal collection of Ted Hurley, an ABC-TV technical director who covered the successful rescue of the Apollo 8 command module aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10) in mid-to-late December 1968. The collection is highlighted by a swatch of gold Kapton foil, 2.25 x 1.25, ostensibly flown as part of the Apollo 8 command module and removed after splashdown; a pair of very rare “ABC Television Apollo 8 Recovery Team" patches with multi-colored cloth and silver-tone wire bullion; and 46 glossy color photos taken by Hurley, a former LA Times photographer, 5 x 3.5 and 3.5 x 5, each containing images of the Yorktown’s oceanic rescue of the Apollo 8 crew, four of which show the command module inside the vessel after recovery; the balance of the photos feature various images of the Yorktown and her crew, as well as rescue helicopters, crew quarters, control room, and other nearby United States Ships. Includes seven smaller photos, 3.5 x 2.5, showing images of a plane and an ABC equipment van being hoisted onto the Yorktown. Reverse of all photos bear “A Kodak Paper” watermarks.
The collection also includes three glossy 10 x 8 photos: the Apollo 8 crew on board the Yorktown (with facsimile signatures), the television media crew on board the Yorktown, and the USS Yorktown at sea (signed by Commander John Fifield); two matte-finish 7 x 5 photos of Hurley on the ship; two production transparencies from the ABC coverage of the Apollo 8 rescue, each a title or credit card, with one marked “Christmas Day, USS Yorktown,” and the other listing Hurley as “Technical Director”; a leather-bound “Travels” book belonging to Hurley, who, in ballpoint and pencil, has documented the various Apollo 8 recovery operations aboard the Yorktown between December 14 and 28, 1968; a gold-tone .75 x .5 pin of the Yorktown; an Apollo 8 / Yorktown information booklet; a “Welcome Aboard” packet for the Yorktown issued to Hurley; two Yorktown “Plan of the Day” daily schedule sheets for December 26 and 29, 1968; two issues of the Yorktown’s ‘The Daily Town Crier,’ dated December 25, 1968, and January 3, 1969; and two sticker emblems for the Yorktown. In overall very good to fine condition. Accompanied by various other ephemera related to the Yorktown or the Apollo 8 mission, such as stamps, postcards, and covers.
