Lunar Archive: The Russians

Yuri Gagarin

The story of this Gagarin autograph...
"In September 1962 the Teachers’ Training College of Kristianstad, Sweden went for a trip to Denmark.On the ferry between the islands of Sealand and Fyn they met with the Kosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The 20-year old Ewa Månsson, forward as ever, decided to reach him to get an autograph. She took a friend and went to the captain’s bridge where Yuri Gagarin was being filmed by the Danish Television.He was wearing make-up and the most noticeable feature about him was that the uniform jacket and trousers had different colors. Ewa did not find any other scrap of paper than a freight note for a bicycle and on the back of that Yuri Gagarin wrote his signature with her Ballograf ballpoint pen after first having tested the tip for ink fluency! He then gave her a hug and kissed her on both cheeks. This autograph has been in her possession ever since. Carefully kept she has shown it to all her students. On Sept 7, 1962 Gagarin was received by the Danish King and afterwards he was given dinner by the Danish Government."

She didn't go to the Moon.

When Valentina saw this photo she gave me a big smile and commented in her charming Russian accent "I did not go to the Moon!" I replied that she did take a major first step towards it. She then showed the photo to Alexei Leonov's wife who was sitting next to her and they both warmly smiled.
Later that evening I found myself alone on the elevator with these two women. I commented on how wonderful it was to have them at this gathering. I could tell by their looks that they had no idea what I was saying. So, I told them that their English was much better than my Russian, which they both laughed over. Then the elevator door opened up and Valentina got off and the door quickly shut behind her, with her getting off on the wrong floor.
The door opened on the next floor and someone got on. Leonov's wife told this new passenger that "This young, charming American distracted Valentina and I so much that Valentina is now lost in the hotel!" She gave me a loving, scowling stare. I will always treasure that moment.

The first woman to leave home

Valentina Tereshkova signed and inscribed this beautiful photo of our home planet, originally taken by the crew of Apollo 8. She copied an inscription from a small piece of paper that I had given her. Where the extra "V" came from I don't know... but I've grown to like it.

Leonov's Lander

If the Soviet Union had succeeded in landing a man on the Moon, this is the lander that would have taken him there. There was barely enough room in this small spacecraft for one man to journey down to the lunar surface, and that one man would have been Alexei Leonov, who has signed the photo.

Check out the rest of the collection at these sites...

Autographs
Project Mercury and Gemini
The Moon, space models, and miscellaneous memorabilia
The Russians and the rest

Consider starting your own collection!

It is hoped that the artifacts here at the Lunar Archive will inspire you to start your own collection... consider visiting the following website where you will find some suggestions on what items to pursue when starting your own personal space archive.
An Introduction to Space Collecting