[Whitaker, Ewen Adar] (1922-2016). Historically Significant Collection of ca. 409 Original Gelatin Silver Photographs of the Moon (Views from Space, Closer Images of the Lunar Surface and Craters), Taken by Several NASA Spacecrafts - Ranger VII (1964), Surveyor I (1965), Ranger VIII ad IX (1965), Lunar Orbiter III and IV (1967), and by Apollo 15 Mission (1971). Ca. 1960s ? 1970s.

[Whitaker, Ewen Adar] (1922-2016)

Published by Publication Date: 1960

Ca. 409 loose gelatin silver photos (including over eighty duplicates), mostly ca. 20,5x25 cm (8x10 in) (with narrow or wide margins); seventeen larger images are from ca. 21,5x27,5 cm (8 ½ x 11 in) to ca. 23,5x28 cm (11 x 9 ¼ in); ca. 58 smaller photos from ca. 20,5x20,5 cm (8x8 in) to ca. 7x7,5 cm (2 ¾ x 2 ¾ in). Twenty photos with ink-stamped credentials of NASA Washington, D.C. and Langley research centres, dating the images from August 28, 1964 to June 2, 1967. Three images with ink stamps "Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tuscon" on verso; one - with an ink stamp "Jan. 13, 1959" on verso. One photo with an ink stamp "Cambridge Research Center, L.G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, Mass." and pencil note "Dr. G.P. Kuiper, Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay, Wisc." on verso. Seven photos with E.A. Whitaker's handwritten initials or full name on verso or recto. Over forty photos with attached plastic sheets with manuscript numbers or trajectories on rectos, most also with manuscript pencil notes on verso. About twenty photos with ink or pencil captions or notes on recto or verso; over fifty photos with ink or pencil markings or notes on recto or verso. Fourteen photos with period ink captions on paper labels mounted on the top margins. Over twenty photos with numbers or markings in negative. Several photos with creases or tears on the margins, over a dozen with glue residue on verso, but overall a very good collection of important photos. Historically significant extensive collection of ca. 409 original gelatin silver lunar photos from the estate of an outstanding selenographer (geographer of the lunar surface) and lunar cartographer Ewen Whitaker, who co-founded the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona (1960), co-authored multiple Moon atlases and helped NASA to select a landing site for the Apollo 12 mission in November 1969. "Over his career, Whitaker quite possibly developed the best knowledge of the geography, or selenography, of the lunar surface of anyone alive" ( see more ). The photos, taken by several NASA spacecrafts, date back to the 1960s-1970s and were apparently used by Whitaker during his work at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL). Seven images bear his handwritten initials or full name on verso or recto; one image has the handwritten name of the Laboratory's Director, Gerard Peter Kuiper (1905-1973). Twenty-four photos have ink stamps of NASA research centres, the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and Air Force Cambridge Research Labs at Hanscom Field (Bedford, Mass.). The images include views of the Moon taken from space and during the spacecrafts' approach, with a series of photos of the lunar surface, documenting the track of the spacecrafts. Among the identified general views are photos of the northeastern quadrant of the Moon's nearside with Mare Serenitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis, Mare Crisium and Mare Fecunditatis; Mare Orientale; Mare Imbrium and Copernicus crater. The photos with the official stamps of NASA research centre in Washington, D.C. include six images, taken by the Ranger VII spacecraft on July 31, 1964 (southern lunar highlands near crater Tycho); seven photos transmitted by Surveyor I spacecraft on June 2, 1966 (lunar surface and the spacecraft itself); and two photos taken by the Lunar Orbiter III on February 20 and 22, 1967. Four photos with the stamp of NASA's Washington, D.C. centre and one photo with the stamp of NASA's Langley centre are the images taken by the Lunar Orbiter IV in May-June 1967 (Mare Orientale, Mare Veris and Rock Mountains; Moon's North Pole; Inghirami crater; Moon's South Pole). Forty-five photos with attached plastic sheets document the track of the Ranger VII spacecraft on July 31, 1964 (the photos' numbers, date and time are visible on the lower margin). Three plastic sheets have handwritten numbers, apparently indicating lunar craters; most plastic sheets have green and red. Seller Inventory # PB11

Bibliographic Details

Title: [Whitaker, Ewen Adar] (1922-2016). ...
Publication Date: 1960
Binding: None
Condition: None