M. Edward Thomas NASA Photography Collection

Substantial archive from the career of M. Edward Thomas, NASA's official astronaut photographer at Kennedy Space Center for a period of 25 years. The collection includes three of his cameras, over 300 original vintage photographs, 200 official NASA lithographs, and unique ephemera gathered during his time as a NASA insider.
Contents include:
Thomas's cameras and equipment—presumably used to take some of his many photographs of America's spacemen—including: a Polaroid 100 Automatic Land Camera with Polaroid Model 268 Flash; a Yashica-Mat TLR camera; a Paillard-Bolex H16 movie camera with three-lens turret; a leather bag bearing numerous affixed NASA decals, filled with accessories including a mini tripod, lens filters, camera straps, grips and brackets, cords and cables; and a hardshell briefcase featuring numerous affixed NASA decals representing several different programs and projects.
Over 250 vintage glossy 8 x 10 photos, with subjects including: crew portraits, behind-the-scenes astronaut photos (John Young and Gus Grissom perched atop a Gemini capsule, Gene Cernan during training, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin eating dinner), concept artwork, mission insignias, Ed White's historic Gemini 4 spacewalk, John Glenn and his Friendship 7 capsule, the Surveyor probe, Apollo 16 EVAs, Mission Control and NASA Support staff, launches from Cape Canaveral, aerial views of Earth, hardware tests and inspections, photos of Thomas with large-format cameras, and so on. Many bear purple caption text on the reverse.
A box of negatives and smaller prints (2.5 x 2.5 to 5 x 4) from the Mercury through Space Shuttle eras, highlighted by: three different large-format negatives of the Apollo 15 crew, plus ten prints of slightly different variations of the Apollo 15 crew portrait; a portrait of Scott Carpenter, with its original negative; two glossy candids of Gordon Cooper on the set of his Project Mercury photo shoot; two glossy candids of the Apollo 9 crew at the launch pad; three glossy photos of Wally Schirra with Lyndon B. Johnson; several rare behind-the-scenes images of early Apollo boilerplate spacecraft; and a large number of Shuttle-related images.
Thomas's access passes and badges for Apollo 8, Apollo 17, Apollo/Soyuz Health Stabilization Program, ASTP (three different), Spacelab Arrival Ceremony, Space Shuttle Health Stabilization Program, STS-2, STS-4, STS-5, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, and three others, along with vehicle permits for the Apollo 16, Apollo-Soyuz, and STS-1 rollout ceremonies, John Glenn's anniversary event, and the fifth anniversary of Apollo 11.
Noteworthy ephemera includes: a 5.75 x 4 flag of South Carolina, attributed to having been flown on Apollo 16 by a small annotation on its envelope: "So. Car. state flag flown on Apollo 16 by Charley [sic] Duke"; a swatch of excess Skylab parasol material laminated on an official presentation card; bumper stickers for Apollo 16 and STS-1; large embroidered patches for the Apollo Program, Technicolor, and RCA; a collection of 200 official NASA lithographs, including portraits of full crews and singular astronauts; assorted mission patches, buttons, and decals; Thomas's achievement award certificates recognizing his contributions to the Skylab, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs (all bearing facsimile signatures of astronauts); various NASA booklets, brochures, and publications; a KSC telephone directory; small scale models of the Saturn V, Apollo Command Module, and Gemini capsule; and two relic presentation cards with fragments from the Complex 26 gantry where Explorer I was launched.
Eight reel-to-reel audio tape recordings of early American spaceflights, identified on their box edges: "Flight of Friendship 7 - John Glenn" (2), "On Board Tape - Flight of Faith 7 - Cordon Cooper" (2), and "Sigma 7" (3), plus one unidentified reel (possibly Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 flight). These tapes were created at the home of Edward Thomas where one or more astronauts would visit on the weekend. The astronaut would bring the original version of the mission tape and copies were made from that original for the astronaut and his family; Ed also made a copy for himself, as well. Thus, these tapes are unedited and reflect what was on hand at NASA at the time of the taping, shortly after the mission was completed.
Nine oversized prints and photographs, showing a Mercury-Atlas launch, the Apollo 15 liftoff, the Apollo 16 crew, Space Shuttles on the launch pad, and the Gemini capsule.
In overall very good to fine condition.
Format: Collection