UPDATE: Click here to view a more detailed description of the collection.
Enormous philatelic archive amassed by noted space memorabilia collector Klaus Krause between 1965 and 1975, containing roughly 10,000 commemorative covers honoring essentially all corners of astronautical history, from Project Mercury to Apollo-Soyuz, with particular emphasis on all aspects of Apollo missions. Spanning the golden years of aerospace achievement, the archive documents the myriad test flights, satellites, space probes, and rockets that helped usher man’s voyage to the moon, and chronicles the sundry important programs, flights, and innovations that furthered humanity’s understanding of the firmament above. The covers, the majority unaddressed, bear important mission-specific postmarks relative to launch, tracking, and recovery, with an abundance featuring hard-to-get cancellations from recovery ships and tracking stations alike; such distinctions would markedly upgrade or complete an existing collection struggling to address hard-to-fill gaps. The preponderance of rare and obscure covers, with equally uncommon cancellation dates, cannot be overstated—for example, a splashdown cancel on the floatation-collar material from Apollo 8, the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon.
In addition to its sheer quantity and diversity, the archive features several autographic highlights from legendary astronauts, engineers, and rocket scientists, including: Neil Armstrong (X-15 cachet, postmarked at Edwards Air Force Base in 1962), Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Charles Conrad, the crew of Apollo 15, Donn Eisele (2), Glenn T. Seaborg, James Van Allen, Kurt Debus, and a National Space Hall of Fame ‘First Annual Honors Awards Dinner’ program signed inside by the impressive quartet of Wernher von Braun, Maxime Faget, Robert R. Gilruth, and Debus.
In addition to these rare signatures, the archive wields a varied abundance of philatelic souvenirs and coins, photos and lithos, patches and pins, and other vintage memorabilia issued during the most exciting decade in space exploration. In overall fine condition.
Interested parties are encouraged to view the collection in person at our offices or call us with specific inquiries, as this collection is sold as is and no returns will be accepted.
