One Giant Leap for Mankind: Vintage Photographs from the Victor Martin-Malburet Collection 
28 October 2022
One Giant Leap for Mankind: Vintage Photographs from the Victor Martin-Malburet Collection 
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Buzz Aldrin’s gold-plated sun visor reflects the photographer and the LM Eagle: Cover of LIFE and National Geographic (large format), Neil Armstrong [Apollo 11], 16-24 July 1969

printed 1969
large format vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper 11 h × 14 w in (28 × 36 cm)
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $3,250
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A very rare large format presentation close-up printing of “A Man on the Moon”, the legendary image of a lonely figure on another world matching the covers of LIFE, National Geographic, and magazines around the world.
'A Kodak Paper' watermarks to verso. [NASA image AS11-40-5903]

note: Media visuals referencing the original NASA photograph(s) not included.
literature: LIFE, 11 August 1969, cover National Geographic, December 1969, cover National Geographic, December 1969, ppg. 736-737 NEWSWEEK, 11 August 1969, cover LOOK, August 1969, cover LIFE, 8 August 1969, ppg. 26-27 Time, 8 August 1969, pg. 23 Space: A History of Space Exploration in Photographs, Chaikin, pg. 95 Moon: Man’s Greatest Adventure, Thomas, ed., frontispiece Apollo: Through the Eyes of the Astronauts, Jacobs, pg. 62 Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, Reynolds, pg. 145 Images from Space, The Camera in Orbit, Arnold, pl. 17 Voices from the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences, Chaikin, pg. 179 Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (NASA SP-350), Cortright, ed., cover

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This very rare vintage large format presentation chromogenic print of “ A Man on the Moon” shows the legendary image of a lonely figure on another world and was featured on the covers of LIFE, National Geographic, and magazines around the world.

National Geographic, December 1969, ppg. 736-737

Neil Armstrong framed this amazing full-length portrait of Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, also known as the “visor shot,”  with the 70mm Hasselblad 500EL Data Camera mounted on the Remote Control Unit of his chest. Buzz Aldrin was standing next to one of the landing pads of the LM Eagle. Aldrin’s shadow, his photographer Neil Armstrong, the LM Eagle, the US flag, the Solar Wind Collector and the Earth (top center of visor) are reflected in Buzz Aldrin’s gold-plated visor.

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National Geographic, December 1969

Many photo editors including the editors of LIFE and National Geographic dedicated to the lunar landing (LIFE, To the Moon and Back, August 11, 1969; National Geographic, First Explorers on the Moon, December 1969) added black sky to the top of Aldrin’s backpack to give balance to the picture; and consequently the radio antenna on the top of his PLLS (Portable Life Support System) is missing.

“Nothing prepared me for the starkness of the Moon. The barren terrain was a dusty gray with many little craters in every direction. The sky was utter blackness, void of any stars. As I walked away from the Eagle Lunar Module, Neil said, ‘Hold it, Buzz.’ So I stopped and turned around, and then he took what has become known as the ‘Visor’ photo.

I like this photo because it captures the moment of a solitary figure against the horizon of the Moon, along with a reflection in my helmet’s visor of our home away from home, the Eagle, and of Neil snapping the photo.”

—Buzz Aldrin (Jacobs, pg. 63)

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